Zomato founder Deepinder Goyal enters the billionaire club
PTC News Desk: Zomato’s founder and CEO, Deepinder Goyal, has amassed a billionaire fortune as a result of the company’s record-breaking share price increase in the last 12 months.
On the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), shares of the online meal delivery company increased by 4 per cent today, reaching a new all-time high of Rs 232.
It should be mentioned that from the stock’s July 2023 low, it has risen by more than 300 per cent. With Zomato’s market capitalisation surpassing Rs 1.9 lakh crore and Goyal’s net worth surpassing Rs 8,000 crore, the spike has made the 41-year-old the richest professional manager in India.
Goyal has 36.95 crore shares, or 4.24 per cent of the firm, under his ownership. Blinkit, Zomato’s rapid commerce business, has performed exceptionally well, which has contributed to the company’s stock price increase.
With its superior performance over rivals such as Swiggy, Instamart, and Zepto, Blinkit is predicted to become profitable ahead of schedule. According to Zomato, Blinkit might reach EBITDA break-even in the first quarter of the 2025 fiscal year. Investor confidence has also increased as a result of Zomato’s meal delivery business’s profitability.
Zomato is anticipated by analysts to augment its stake in Blinkit subsequent to its break-even point, potentially resulting in an earlier than anticipated rise in Blinkit’s gross order value (GOV) over the meal delivery industry. Despite escalating rivalry, Zomato’s market position is intended to be strengthened by this strategy.
Even though it might take longer for Blinkit to reach sustainable EBITDA margins, over time, elements like take-rates, advertising revenue, and operational efficiency should increase profitability.
Blinkit now has a larger indicated value than Zomato’s main meal delivery business, according to a recent report from Goldman Sachs. Blinkit’s valuation has increased to $13 billion from $2 billion in March 2023. The company’s value per share is Rs 119, while food delivery is valued at Rs 98.
According to Goldman Sachs, Blinkit’s GOV would increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 53% between FY2024 and FY2027. By FY29, its GOV and EBITDA will surpass that of food delivery.
After Blinkit was purchased by Zomato in 2022 for $568 million, Zomato’s portfolio now includes the most valuable division due to Blinkit’s notable financial improvement.
While employed at Bain & Company, Deepinder Goyal, a mathematics and computer science graduate from IIT Delhi, co-founded Zomato, which was once known as FoodieBay.com.
His love of food inspired him to dedicate himself full-time to the business in 2011, receiving seed money from Info Edge. In India’s food tech sector, Zomato rose to prominence fast and became a unicorn in 2018.