Bata India profit up 72% to Rs 119.37 crore in April-June
New Delhi:
Bata India on Thursday reported a 71.82 percent increase in consolidated net profit at Rs 119.37 crore for the first quarter of FY23 as the shoemaker posted its “highest quarterly revenue ever”.
The company posted a net profit of Rs 69.47 crore in the April-June quarter a year ago, Bata India Ltd said in a BSE filing.
Operations revenue during the assessed quarter was Rs 943.01 crore, more than three times higher than Rs 267.04 crore in the corresponding quarter of FY22 hit by the pandemic.
“A direct result of the continued focus on the key focal points of franchise and MBO expansion, consumer-relevant communications, portfolio casualization and digital footprint expansion was reflected in quarterly revenue reaching a lifetime high,” Bata India said in the earnings statement. .
This was supported by a continuous increase in portfolio and marketing investments. In addition, visitor numbers in stores saw significant growth in addition to sales through digital channels, it added.
The total cost of Bata India was Rs 792.58 crore, doubling in Q1FY23 compared to Rs 371.61 crore a year ago.
During the quarter, the company continued to optimize cost structures and drive efficiencies across its value chain.
“All cost-focused initiatives, implemented in multiple workflows, are showing increasing impact each quarter,” said Bata India.
MD and CEO Gunjan Shah said in the past three quarters that Bata is witnessing a significant increase in sales with a rising demand for fashionable, trendy and comfortable shoes.
“We continue to expand our reach through new franchise stores and multi-brand outlets. We have opened more than 20 new franchise stores, totaling over 320 with a strong future pipeline, expanded availability through distribution channel that continued to scale to nearly 1,100 cities,” said Shah.
At the same time, Bata also continued to focus on driving volumes in these inflationary times, which should have an effect in the subsequent period.
“In light of volatile inflation and geopolitical turmoil, we are aware of our cost savings and accordingly, several cost-cutting measures are still being implemented in our network, which is reflected in the profitability statistics. We continue to work out new opportunities in our value chain, which give us will help to efficiently respond to emerging consumer demand,” he said.
On the outlook, Shah said, “We remain optimistic about the momentum to continue, driven by innovation through flexible product creation, digital channel scaling, expansion in Tier 3-5 cities and productivity improvement, along with investments in our brands and stores.”
