D-Mart Shares Fall After December Quarter Earnings

Avenue Supermarts, which owns and operates retail chain D-Mart, on Saturday reported a 23.62 per cent rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 552.53 crore for the third quarter ended December 31.

The company had posted a net profit of Rs 446.95 crore in the same quarter a year ago, Avenue Supermarts said in a BSE filing.

Its revenue from operations was up 22.22 per cent at Rs 9,217.76 crore during the quarter under review against Rs 7,542 crore in the corresponding quarter last fiscal.

The total expenses also increased 21.72 per cent to Rs 8,493.55 crore in Q3 FY 2021-22, compared to Rs 6,977.88 crore in the year-ago quarter.

Avenue Supermarts CEO and Managing Director Neville Noronha said: “Revenue in the D-Mart stores grew by 22 per cent in this quarter over the corresponding quarter of last year. Overall gross margins are marginally lower due to mix deterioration”.

General merchandise and apparel business is consistently seeing relatively lesser sales contribution, while essentials and FMCG are doing better, he added.

“Inflation and lesser opportunities to go out are negatively impacting certain categories more than others. We are seeing higher inflation as an opportunity to make our buying more efficient, our assortment sharper and continue to keep our costs low,” Noronha said.

According to the company, for the last nine months of FY22, its total revenue stood at Rs 22,190 crore, compared to Rs 16,731 crore in the year-ago period.

“Net Profit stood at Rs 1,066 crore for 9M FY22, as compared to Rs 686 crore for 9M FY21. PAT margin stood at 4.8 per cent in 9M FY22 as compared to 4.1 per cent in 9M FY21,” said Avenue Supermarts in a post earning statement.

Over the outlook, Noronha said that considering the current COVID wave, D-Mart’s sales and footfalls will be dependent on local regulations.