Founder Stack

Kotak retains 'Buy' on Eternal, Swiggy; says Blink

Kotak retains 'Buy' on Eternal, Swiggy; says Blinkit remains best placed in quick commerce

· Business · Entrackr

Brokerage firm Kotak Institutional Equities expects Eternal to deliver a stronger June quarter than Swiggy, with Blinkit continuing to outpace Instamart in the quick commerce segment. According to Kotak, Eternal's food delivery business is expected to remain healthy, while Blinkit is likely to continue its strong growth momentum. The brokerage estimates Eternal's food delivery net order value (NOV) will grow 18% year-on-year to Rs 10,581 crore. Blinkit, meanwhile, is expected to post an 88% jump in NOV to Rs 17,277 crore. Kotak expects Blinkit to add around 225 dark stores during the quarter, taking its total network to nearly 2,470 stores. It also expects Blinkit's adjusted EBITDA to improve to around Rs 102 crore from Rs 37 crore in the previous quarter. The brokerage, however, expects Eternal's food delivery margins to come under slight pressure because of higher delivery payouts, rising fuel prices and lower availability of delivery partners during the early monsoon. Even so, it expects the food delivery business to report an EBITDA margin of 5.2%. For Swiggy, Kotak expects food delivery to remain steady. Gross order value (GOV) is estimated to grow 20% year-on-year to Rs 9,703 crore, while revenue is expected to increase 25%, supported by higher platform fees. Instamart, however, is expected to grow at a slower pace than Blinkit. Kotak estimates Instamart's GOV and NOV will grow 49% and 41% year-on-year, respectively, while sequential NOV growth is expected at 4.1%, compared with Blinkit's projected 20% growth. The brokerage said Instamart is expected to achieve contribution margin breakeven during the quarter. However, it still expects the business to post an adjusted EBITDA loss of around Rs 730 crore, an improvement from the Rs 858 crore loss reported in the previous quarter. Kotak maintained its 'Buy' rating on both stocks, with a fair value of Rs 385 for Eternal and Rs 370 for Swiggy. The brokerage said Blinkit remains well placed in the quick commerce market, supported by its strong execution, rapid store expansion and improving profitability. It added that management commentary around competition, pricing and the pace of profitability improvement will be key areas to watch when the companies announce their June quarter results. Bareback Media has recently raised funding from a group of investors. Some of the investors may directly or indirectly be involved in a competing business or might be associated with other companies we might write about. This shall, however, not influence our reporting or coverage in any manner whatsoever. You may find a list of our investorshere.

Original source: Entrackr
Read more on Founder Stack