Shoppers Stop net profit falls 53% in Q4

MUMBAI: Shoppers Stop reported 53 per cent decline in its fourth quarter net profit compared to the year-earlier period at Rs 8.1 crore, despite an 18 per cent rise in gross sales at Rs 829.8 crore.

The country’s largest lifestyle retail chain’s same-store sales, or sales excluding newly opened stores, increased 8.4 per cent year-on-year.

For the full year ended March, its turnover grew 19 per cent at Rs 3,017 crore while net profit declined 5 per cent at Rs 37 crore. The retailer added 13 stores in the year.

“Our focus remains on expansion in the department store category and achieving profitability in Hypercity. In the coming year, we aim to maintain a healthy like-to-like growth in the department store format,” Govind Shrikhande, customer care associate and managing director at Shoppers Stop, said.

The dip in net profit were mainly due to agressive store openings that increased finance and depreciation cost by 31% and 22% respectively.