India's Shoppers Stop posts third straight fall in quarterly profit

Shoppers Stop

18/01/2024 13:55

BENGALURU, Jan 18 (Reuters) - India's Shoppers Stop
 SHOP.NS  reported a third consecutive fall in quarterly profit
on Thursday as consumers spent less on clothes and cosmetics
amid elevated prices.
    Net profit fell 41% to 368.5 million rupees ($4.43 million)
in the three months ended Dec. 31, the department store operator
said in an exchange filing.
    India's inflation was on the higher side during the quarter,
largely driven by a spike in food prices, which resulted in
people cutting back spending on discretionary items such as
clothing and footwear.
    The company, which houses products ranging from Vero Moda
clothing to Michael Kors watches, said total expenses rose
nearly 11%, outpacing a 9% growth in revenue to 12.38 billion
rupees.
    This led to a contraction in the margin on earnings before
interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) to 6.9%
from 10.2% a year earlier.
    The company is set to open 14 stores in the fourth quarter,
it said. It currently operates a total of 105 department stores
across the country.
    Shares of Shoppers Stop closed 1.9% higher ahead of the
results. They rose 0.8% in the December quarter.
    Peers such as Arvind Fashions  ARVF.NS , Tata Group-owned
Trent  TREN.NS  and Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail are expected
to report quarterly results in February.
    
($1 = 83.1140 Indian rupees)

 (Reporting by Ashna Teresa Britto in Bengaluru; Editing by
Sonia Cheema)
 ((AshnaTeresa.Britto@thomsonreuters.com;))