Eternal sees no margin impact from labour codes, says CFO Akshant Goyal

Eternal Ltd does not expect any change to its long-term margin guidance across businesses due to the Centre’s recently announced labour and social security codes, Chief Financial Officer Akshant Goyal said, even as the company factors in additional compliance requirements for gig workers.

Speaking after the company announced its third-quarter FY26 results, Goyal said Eternal expects to absorb most of the impact of the new labour codes without any adverse effect on margins. “We don’t expect any changes in long-term margin guidance in any of our businesses,” he said.

Goyal welcomed the Centre’s four labour codes, noting that the welfare of gig workers has long been a priority for the company. He said Eternal’s food delivery and quick commerce platforms, Zomato and Blinkit, spent over Rs 100 crore on insurance coverage for delivery partners in 2025 alone.

However, Goyal cautioned that the full operational and financial implications would become clearer only once the rules under the social security code are notified. “The exact operational and financial details will be clear only after the rules are notified, and only then will we be able to share more specifics on the impact on our business and margins,” he added.

Under the new labour codes, aggregators are required to contribute 1–2% of their annual turnover towards worker welfare, subject to a cap of 5% of total payouts to workers. The codes also mandate timely wage payments, curb unauthorised deductions, and extend safety, health and social security provisions to all workers, irrespective of wage thresholds.

The comments come as Eternal reported a 73% year-on-year rise in consolidated profit to Rs 102 crore for the October–December quarter of FY26. Revenue from operations surged 201% YoY to Rs 16,315 crore, compared with Rs 5,405 crore in the same quarter last year.

Advertising and promotional expenditure also rose sharply during the quarter, increasing 80% year-on-year to Rs 937 crore, up from Rs 521 crore in Q3 FY25.

Separately, the company announced a leadership transition, with founder Deepinder Goyal stepping down as Group Chief Executive Officer. The board has appointed Albinder Singh Dhindsa, currently CEO of Blinkit, as the new Group CEO.

Deepinder Goyal has been redesignated as Vice Chairman and Director on the board for a period of five years and will continue to be involved in long-term strategy, culture, leadership development, and ethics and governance.