India's Blue Dart Express Q3 profit falls on higher expenses

Blue Dart Express

25/01/2023 13:02

BENGALURU, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Indian courier services
provider Blue Dart Express  BLDT.NS  reported a 28.2% fall in
quarterly profit on Wednesday, as high fuel costs hit margins,
while demand also slowed.
    Net profit fell — for the first time since June 2020 — to
886.6 million rupees ($10.87 million) for the three months ended
Dec. 31 from 1.23 billion rupees a year earlier.
    Blue Dart said revenue from operations climbed 6.6% to 13.37
billion rupees, marking its slowest growth in the last nine
quarters. 
    The Deutsche Post DHL Group-controlled  DPWGn.DE  firm is
still grappling with high expenses as aviation turbine fuel
(ATF) prices – which Motilal Oswal analysts say forms 40% of
expenses for air express logistics firms – have not a tracked a
recent fall in brent crude prices.
    In addition to ATF prices, high inflation, rising wages and
the rupee's depreciation against the U.S. dollar - that made
imports more expensive - hurt revenue growth, the company said. 
    Until recently, Blue Dart had benefited from a
post-pandemic-led online sales boom, as people have taken to the
ease of shopping from the comforts of their homes after trying
it out during the coronavirus lockdowns.
    It had previously announced a 9.6% hike in average shipment
prices for 2023 – which it undertakes annually to offset rising
costs.
    For the quarter, Blue Dart's core earnings margin was 12.3%,
compared with 16.9% a year earlier, as total expenses jumped
11%.
($1 = 81.5800 Indian rupees)
 (Reporting by Priya Sagar & Nandan Mandayam in Bengaluru;
Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee)
 ((Priya.Sagar@thomsonreuters.com;
Nandan.Mandayam@thomsonreuters.com;))