Rising tech costs drive EMI sales; Shadowfax Q2 profit soars

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Happy Friday! Shoppers are turning to EMIs as electronics prices rise. This and more in today’s ETtech Morning Dispatch. With prices of smartphones, laptops and other electronics rising rapidly in recent months, consumers are increasingly relying on equated monthly instalments (EMIs) and buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) options to make purchases this festive season, cushioning retailers against a slowdown in demand.

By the numbers: At Pai International Electronics, which operates across Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, 70-80% of smartphone sales this festive season were financed through EMIs, up from 40-50% last year. At Vijay Sales, which has 181 stores nationwide, EMIs accounted for about 70-75% of festive-season sales.

Price hike: Laptop prices have risen by nearly 35-40% in the last six months, and in some cases, even more. Mobile phone prices have increased by 25-40%. What’s driving the cost: A two- to three-fold surge in memory chip prices, rupee depreciation and higher freight costs have driven up electronics prices, industry executives said.

Tell me more: Retailers are seeing greater participation from banks and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), while brands are extending repayment periods to ease the upfront cost of purchases. Shadowfax revenue rises 57% in Q2, net profit jumps fivefold New-age logistics platform Shadowfax reported an increase in operating revenue in the September quarter, driven by growth in its express parcel and hyperlocal delivery businesses.

Operating revenue: Rose 57% to Rs 1,538 crore from Rs 982 crore a year earlier.Net profit: Jumped fivefold to Rs 68 crore from Rs 13 crore.Total revenue: Including other income, increased 58% to Rs 1,558 crore.Total expenses: Climbed 53% to Rs 1,490 crore.BlackBuck Q2 profit rises 42% to Rs 41 crore, revenue up 56% Trucking aggregator BlackBuck reported a rise in net profit in the September quarter of FY27, owing to growth in its tolling, vehicle tracking and newer businesses.

Net profit: Rose 42% to Rs 41.4 crore from Rs 29 crore a year ago.Revenue from operations: Increased 56% to Rs 235 crore.Total income: Grew 51% to Rs 253 crore from Rs 167.2 crore.Ebitda: Rose 39% to Rs 51 crore from Rs 37 crore.Total expenses: Climbed 36% to Rs 114 crore, driven by higher customer acquisition spending and investments in Superloads.Pine Labs’ Q2 profit surges over six-fold to Rs 39 crore; revenue rises 24% Payments technology firm Pine Labs reported a more-than-sixfold rise in net profit in the September quarter, on the back of rising revenue from transactions processed through its existing merchant network.

Net profit: Rs 38.57 crore versus Rs 5.97 crore a year ago.Revenue from operations: Grew 24% to Rs 806.19 crore from Rs 649.90 crore a year earlier.Revenue from digital infrastructure, transaction platform business: Up 21% to Rs 531.55 crore.Online payments: Grew more than 45%; mid-market merchant checkout-point base increased 49%.Total expenses: Climbed 16% to Rs 770.37 crore.Meesho sees near-term margin pressure as it reinvests in growth Meesho's improving unit economics may face a near-term reversal as the ecommerce platform steps up investments to drive growth during the festive season.

Margins: The value commerce platform’s September quarter results on Wednesday showed its contribution margin rising to 6% of net merchandise value (NMV) in the second quarter of FY27 from 4.6% in the April-June period. Contribution margin is the income after deducting direct, order-linked expenses.