Zomato has rehired its former executive, Shalin Bhatt, to lead the dining out division, replacing Sankalp Kathuria, who stepped down as the senior vice-president and business head of Zomato Dining in December 2024. This move was first reported by Economic Times.
Bhatt initially left Zomato in 2021 to launch a bootstrapped SaaS and e-commerce venture after the company went public, but the startup was shut down two years later. His return signals Zomato’s renewed focus on its dining out vertical, which has undergone several changes recently.
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In a notable shift, Zomato brought back former senior executives Rahul Ganjoo and Pradyot Ghate in July 2024 to scale the dining out segment. That was followed by a major acquisition in August 2024, when Zomato bought Paytm’s entertainment ticketing business for INR 2,048 crore.
Zomato then merged the dining out business with the ticketing segment, launching the ‘District’ app in November 2024 to combine restaurant reservations with bookings for movies, sports, and live events. The app has already crossed 6.5 million downloads and is led by Ganjoo.
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The company is also working on expanding its quick commerce platform, Blinkit, which faces rising competition. Zomato is experimenting with faster food delivery services through Blinkit’s Bistro and a new 15-minute food delivery offering under the Zomato brand.
On the financial side, Zomato raised INR 8,500 crore (about $1 billion) through a qualified institutional placement (QIP) in November 2024. However, its net profit for Q3 FY25 dropped 57.2% to INR 59 crore, down from INR 138 crore in the same period the previous year. This was attributed to a slowdown in the food delivery segment and increased competition in the quick commerce space. Operating revenue, however, saw a 64% increase, rising to INR 5,405 crore from INR 3,288 crore year-over-year.
Zomato’s stock ended the trading session on January 28, 2025, at INR 208.35, up 1.07% on the BSE.
