Zomato expects its food delivery business to be profitable in the next few quarters, even as the Blinkit acquisition will be a drag on its overall financial performance.

This was indicated by the top management of the online food delivery platform at its annual general meeting (AGM) on Tuesday, the first since it got listed in July 2021.

In June this year, Zomato had acquired quick commerce player Blinkit earlier known as Grofers India in an all-stock deal worth Rs 4,447 crore.

Shareholders at the AGM asked the management how soon the company will become profitable.

They also raised queries on the prospects for Blinkit and why the Zomato share price continues to remain below the issue price.

Responding to their queries, chairman Kaushik Dutta said that the core food delivery business is doing well and that it is headed towards profitability this fiscal.

He added that food delivery still has a large runway for growth.

This is because though restaurant food consumption has increased in the past few years, its overall penetration in India is still significantly low compared with some of the other global markets.

Commenting on the quick commerce business, he disclosed that the acquisition of Blinkit was completed this month and the integration of the two teams has started.

Inter-city delivery Zomato has started a pilot project to deliver unique food from any city in India to different parts of the country, according to founder and chief executive officer Deepinder Goyal.

In a blogpost, Goyal said through its ‘Intercity Legends’ project, Zomato is working to enable customers to order anywhere from India “legendary dishes such as baked rosogollas from Calcutta, biryani from Hyderabad, Mysore Pak from Bangalore kebabs from Lucknow, butter chicken from Old Delhi, or pyaaz kachori from Jaipur” and deliver it the next day.

“By leveraging Zomato’s vast network of restaurant partners and delivery partners, legendary dishes will be delivered from across India to you, the very next day,” he wrote.