Shoppers Stop Q4 net loss narrows to Rs 24 cr; total income declines 3.7%

Department store chain Shoppers Stop narrowed its consolidated net loss to Rs 24 crore in the January to March quarter (Q4 FY21) as compared to a net loss of Rs 127 crore in Q4 FY20.

Total income declined by 3.7 per cent to Rs 705 crore as compared to Rs 732 crore in the corresponding quarter of previous fiscal.

Expenses fell by nearly 17 per cent to Rs 729 crore in Q4 FY21 as against Rs 874 crore in the same period of previous year.

The recovery in footfalls and sales began in Q3 versus preceding quarters and continued in Q4 with omni channel growing by 188 per cent, private brands volume by 38 per cent and beauty outperforming with the start of make-up from mid-January.

Managing Director and CEO Venu Nair said Shoppers Stop rebound in Q3 and Q4 exhibits the inherent strength of brand and business.

For FY21, the company's net loss widened to Rs 267 crore from Rs 142 crore in FY20 as revenue from operations declined 44 per cent to Rs 1,973 crore from Rs 3,498 crore.

"Business recovery till Mid-March had been very encouraging. However, with the surge in Covid cases, we witnessed a drop in footfall resulting in a drop in revenue," said Nair.

"We expect the business to remain resilient amid uncertainty in the near term and see through the current health crisis."

Over the medium term, the company will continue to prioritise maintaining volume-driven growth momentum, expanding inorganically and continue to sustain costs to grow the overall profitability, said Nair.