Page Industries profits fall 24% in Q1 on poor demand, profits at Rs 158 cr

BENGALURU (Reuters) - Page Industries, which licenses innerwear and loungewear brand Jockey International's products in India, reported a nearly 24% fall in first-quarter profit on Thursday, as softer demand weighed.

The company, which also licenses the Speedo swimwear brand in India, said its profit fell to Rs 158 crore ($19.09 million) for the quarter ended June 30 from Rs 207 crore rupees a year earlier.

The Bengaluru-based company which also manufactures and distributes athleisure wear reported a 7.5% fall in its revenue from operations at 12.40 billion rupees.

However, the company's profit amplified by 102% sequentially on the back of a 31% sequential gain in its sales volume.

Its profit margins fell to 12.8% in the quarter from 15.4% last year but saw an improvement from the previous quarter's 8.1%.

"There has been a build-up of excess inventory impacting the overall ecosystem and resulting in unsustainable business practices," the company said.

"With on-line platforms becoming a preferred avenue for shopping, the e-commerce segment is poised for accelerated growth," it added.

Rival Trent on Wednesday beat its first-quarter revenue estimates, led by an increase in footfalls and store expansion.

Shares of Page Industries rose nearly 2% after the results.

($1 = 82.7840 Indian rupees)

 

(Reporting by Kashish Tandon in Bengaluru; editing by Eileen Soreng)