Retailer Shoppers Stop on Thursday reported a year-on-year decline of 41.3% in consolidated net profit to Rs 37 crore in the quarter ended December, amid a slowdown in discretionary spending. Net profit came in below Bloomberg consensus estimates by a wide margin, which had pegged the bottom line at Rs 47 crore.
Revenue from operations was up nearly 9% year-on-year to Rs 1,238 crore, which compares favourably with Bloomberg estimates of Rs 1,216 crore for the period. Total expenses in the December quarter were up nearly 11% to Rs 1,189.96 crore.
Earnings before interest tax depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) rose by 2.3% y-o-y to Rs 218 crore, below street estimates of Rs 228 crore for the period. Ebitda margins were down 113 basis points to 17.58% in Q3.
During the quarter, the retailer added 13 stores which included four department stores, four beauty stores, four Intune outlets and one airport store. Shoppers Stop executive director and CEO Kavindra Mishra said customers had upped their spending on premium brands and experiences across categories despite muted consumer demand seen largely in smaller towns and cities.
Shoppers Stop operates 105 department stores, seven premium home concept stores, 88 specialty beauty stores of M.A.C, Estee Lauder, Bobbi Brown, Clinique, Jo Malone, Too Faced, SS Beauty, 10 Intune stores and 23 airport stores. Shoppers Stop shares on Wednesday settled at Rs 701.50 on the BSE, up 1.62% from the previous day’s close.