India's Raymond posts flat Q2 profit on soft demand, higher costs

Raymond

08/11/2023 10:51

BENGALURU, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Indian textiles maker
Raymond  RYMD.NS  on Wednesday reported a flat second-quarter
profit as a delayed festive season and high inflation hurt
demand, while higher costs weighed.
    Raymond's consolidated net profit came in at 1.60 billion
Indian rupees ($19.22 million) for the quarter ended Sept. 30,
compared with 1.59 billion rupees last year.
    Raymond flagged postponement in consumer spending cycle on
account of delay in the festive and wedding seasons. Fashion
retailers have seen a shift in demand due to a late start to the
festive season this year.
    Revenue from operations rose about 4%, as buyers also curbed
discretionary spends in the face of sticky inflation. Meanwhile,
the company's total expenses climbed over 7%.
    India's retail inflation eased from last year, but remained
above the Reserve Bank of India's 2%-6% tolerance band with the
only respite in September, when the gauge dropped to 5.02%.
    However, continued office wear demand and high demand in
U.S. and Europe drove growth at its branded apparel and
garmenting segments respectively, the company said.
    After selling its consumer business to Godrej Consumer
Properties in April, Raymond currently operates in apparel, real
estate and engineering.
    Last week, Raymond announced it was buying a majority stake
in an auto parts maker, adding heft to its engineering unit and
foraying into aerospace, defence and electric vehicles
businesses.
    While the deal is expected to complete in the current fiscal
year, sluggish export market condition in engineering business
impacted the topline, Raymond added. 

($1 = 83.2455 Indian rupees)

 (Reporting by Hritam Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry
Jacob-Phillips and Varun H K)
 ((Hritam.Mukherjee@thomsonreuters.com; X: @MukherjeeHritam;))