Apple distributor Redington's Q3 profit falls as costs outpace topline growth

Redington

01/02/2023 11:18

CHENNAI, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Redington (India) Ltd
 REDI.NS , the country's biggest Apple and IT products
distributor, reported a 2% fall in third-quarter profit on
Wednesday, as ballooning expenses countered record revenue.
    For Redington, which distributes electronic products made by
Apple  AAPL.O  and Dell  DELL.N  among others, consolidated
profit slipped to 3.8 billion rupees ($46.4 million) for the
quarter ended Dec. 31.
    Companies across the globe have had to battle higher
transportation and raw material costs as the Russia-Ukraine war
led to an increase in the prices of several major commodities.
        Redington's expenses rose about 32% to 212.2 billion
rupees, narrowly outpacing a near-31% jump in revenue from
operations to a record 216.74 billion rupees.
    The company said revenue from Singapore, India and South
Asia (SISA) increased nearly 29%, while that from the rest of
the world, including the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa, rose
around 32%.
    Chennai-based Redington's topline went up even as the gadget
distributor cautioned demand for remote-working equipment likely
declined with people gradually returning to offices.
    High inflation and interest rates as well as weaker
currencies in markets where Redington operates posed further
challenges.
    Redington shares, which rose 25% in 2022 and 2% last month,
closed over 1% lower at 182.65 rupees on Wednesday.
($1 = 81.8750 Indian rupees)
 (Reporting by Praveen Paramasivam in Chennai; Editing by Janane
Venkatraman)
 ((Praveen.Paramasivam@thomsonreuters.com; +91 867-525-3569;))