Avenue Supermarts Ltd, which runs the DMart retail chain, posted a mere 2.5 per cent on-year rise in profit for the first quarter of FY24 at Rs 658.75 crore as against Rs 642.93 crore during the same quarter last year, missing estimates. However, it posted revenue from operations at Rs 11,865.44 crore, up 18.2 per cent in comparison to Rs 10,038.07 crore during Q1FY23. DMart clocked a total income of Rs 11,904.18 crore during the period, while the total expenses for Q1FY24 was at Rs 11,006.92 crore, up 19.7 per cent in comparison to the previous year.
According to CNBC TV18 estimates, Avenue Supermarts was expected to post the quarter profit at Rs 750 crore and revenue at Rs 11,800 crore. The company’s EBITDA stood at Rs 1,035.3 crore, up 2.8 per cent on-year. Meanwhile, the EBITDA margin stood at 8.7 per cent in Q1FY24 as compared to 10.0 per cent in Q1FY23.
“Overall gross margins are lower compared to the same period in the previous year, primarily due to lower sales contribution of apparel and general merchandise. However, general merchandise contribution is recovering and trending towards pre pandemic levels,” said Neville Noronha, CEO & Managing Director, Avenue Supermarts Ltd. He added that the company added 3 new stores during the quarter taking the total store count to 327.
The company board also decided to offer employee stock options, subject to the approval of shareholders at the ensuing annual general meeting, it said in a regulatory filing.
D-Mart follows Everyday low cost – Everyday low price strategy which aims at procuring goods at competitive prices, using operational and distribution efficiency and thereby delivering value for money to customers by selling at competitive prices, the company said. D-Mart is a national supermarket chain that offers a range of home and personal products under various categories, such as grocery and staples, dairy and frozen, fruits and vegetables, home and personal care, bed and bath, crockery, footwear, toys and games, kids’ apparel, apparel for men & women and daily essentials.