V-Mart Q4 net declines marginally to Rs 1.09 crore

Multi-brand retail chain V-Mart today reported a marginal decline of 4.3% in net profit to Rs 1.09 crore for the quarter ended March 31.

The company had reported a net profit of Rs 1.14 crore during the same period of previous financial year, V-Mart said in a filing to the BSE.

However, net sales of the company rose to Rs 138.67 crore for the quarter under review as against Rs 94.95 crore during the same period of last year.

For the financial year 2013-14, the company's net profit increased to Rs 25.15 crore. It was Rs 18 crore in 2012-13 fiscal.

"Despite low footfall due to unseasonal rains and election fever, the response from the customers has been fairly good, representing a coordinated effort from all domains of the company," said V-Mart Retail Chairman & Managing Director Lalit Agarwal.

On the company's outlook, he said the firm intends to open 25 new stores in 2014-15 fiscal in tier II and III cities. It would offer products with better aspiration and fashion catering for summer, wedding and holiday season requirements.

"Company's focus would largely be to further optimise the inventory, reduction in the shrinkage levels and service the stores better, resulting in improvement of the bottomline," Agarwal said.

Meanwhile, in a separate filing, V-Mart informed BSE that its board, in a meeting held today, has recommended a dividend of 10%, i.E. Rs one per equity share of the face value of Rs 10 each, for the 2013-14 fiscal.

Shares of V-Mart Retail were trading at Rs 324 per scrip during afternoon trade on the BSE today, up 1.90% from its previous close.