Bata India Falls After Profit Drops Nearly 80% In December Quarter

Bata India shares fell as much as 6.84% to Rs 1,462 on the BSE

Shares of shoe maker and retailer Bata India fell as much as 6.84 per cent to Rs 1,462.20 on the BSE a day after it reported December quarter earnings. Bata India’s net profit in October-December period declined 78 per cent to Rs 26 crore compared with Rs 118 crore during the same period last year. Its revenue from operations fell 26 per cent to Rs 616 crore as against Rs 831 crore in the corresponding period a year ago.

On a sequential basis, Bata India swung to profit as it had reported net loss of Rs 44 crore in the quarter ended September 2020.

“Owing to the various customer-centric measures adopted in the wake of Covid-19, Bata India has been successful in getting back on its recovery path, with improvement in sales through its retail outlets and e-commerce platforms, and hyperlocal digital channels- Bata ChatShop and Bata Store on Wheels,” Bata India said in a press release.

“Sales through digitally enabled platforms now make up 15 per cent of the total sales, growing by 3 times in the last one year. In terms of portfolio-mix, the formals (incl. school business) and fashion categories continued to be subdued as expected due to prevailing market conditions. The casual, fitness and essentials categories bounced back, leading to company’s overall volume reaching 88 per cent of pre-Covid levels,” Bata India added.

“Owing to decline in Covid cases and vaccine rollout, the overall market sentiment is improving significantly. Backed by good festive sales and our targeted consumer outreach, our sales have recovered to 74 per cent of pre-Covid levels. As a result of our focus on omni-channel retailing and scaling up our digital presence via online marketplaces and our online store, 60 per cent of our marketplaces’ orders today are fulfilled by Bata stores and 100 per cent for bata.in,” Sandeep Kataria, CEO, Bata Brands said in a statement.

As of 12:26 pm, Bata India shares traded 4 per cent lower at Rs 1,506, under-performing the Sensex which was trading on a flat note.