India's Arvind Fashions posts smaller Q3 sales growth, sending shares down 9%

Shoppers Stop

13/02/2024 10:10

BENGALURU, Feb 13 (Reuters) - India's Arvind Fashions
 ARVF.NS , which retails clothing from brands such as Arrow,
Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, reported a slowdown in revenue
growth in the key holiday quarter and warned that any
improvement would only come next quarter.
    The company's shares tumbled nearly 9% after the results, in
their biggest intra-day slide in five weeks.
    Arvind Fashions' consolidated revenue rose about 5% to 11.25
billion rupees ($135.5 million) in the October-December quarter.
That was less than the 7% growth in the previous quarter and a
17% jump in the year-ago holiday quarter.
    "Demand trends continue to remain soft," the company said in
a statement and said it expects an improvement by the first
quarter, which starts in April.
    Retailers have grappled with subdued demand for over a year
as inflation-weary consumers cut back on spending.
    However, Arvind Fashions' profit from continuing operations
rose 14% to 301.2 million rupees in the third quarter. That
excluded a one-time gain of 348.2 million rupees from the sale
of its unit, Arvind Beauty Brands.
    The Bengaluru-based company said its premium brands such as
Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger pulled in customers, while its
kids wear product sales jumped 15%.
    Its rival Shoppers Stop  SHOP.NS  has reported a third
consecutive fall in quarterly profit, although Tata Group-owned
Trent's  TREN.NS  profit surged on strong festive-season sales.
    Shares of Arvind Fashions fell as much as 9% after the
results before recovering to trade down about 3%.
    They have gained about 44% over the past 12 months, more
than Shoppers Stop's 9% increase but well below Trent's 190%
surge.
 
 ($1 = 83.0069 Indian rupees)

 (Reporting by Ashna Teresa Britto in Bengaluru; Editing by
Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Savio D'Souza)
 ((AshnaTeresa.Britto@thomsonreuters.com;))