FirstCry parent's Q4 net loss widens 2.5X to Rs 111.5 crore despite revenue growth
Brainbees Solutions
, the parent company of mother and baby care products retailer
FirstCry
, reported a subdued performance for the quarter ended March 31, with its consolidated net loss widening 2.5 times year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 111.5 crore, compared to Rs 43 crore in the same period last year.
The Pune-based company's consolidated operating revenue, however, rose 16% YoY to Rs 1,930.3 crore during the quarter.
FirstCry's India multi-channel business generated revenue of Rs 1,337.3 crore, an 11.5% increase from Rs 1,198.9 crore in the year-ago period. Its house-of-brands subsidiary, GlobalBees, recorded a 33.4% rise in operating revenue to Rs 398.4 crore, despite a broader consumption slowdown. The company's international business also grew 11.2% YoY, with revenue reaching Rs 205.3 crore.
'We feel we should have delivered more both in India multi-channel and even in the international (business). The other two segments have done well. We want to expand our Ebitda margins faster in GlobalBees, as the business is still small… Also, in the India multi-channel, especially offline, we would like to see better performance,' CEO
Supam Maheshwari
said during the company's earnings call.
Despite revenue growth across business segments, consolidated expenses increased to Rs 1,914.4 crore, up from Rs 1,633.7 crore in the previous quarter. The cost of materials consumed surged 59.8% to Rs 222.8 crore, while employee benefit expenses rose 6.5% to Rs 147 crore.
During the quarter, Nitin Agarwal stepped down as CEO of GlobalBees, with Anuj Jain taking over the role.
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The company's board, in line with a decision made on March 25, approved additional investments in GlobalBees. FirstCry had earlier cleared an investment of up to Rs 146 crore in GlobalBees through the subscription of compulsorily convertible preference shares (CCPS). As per a valuation report, the final amount stood at Rs 1,46,00,94,000, including an incremental investment of Rs 94,000 as part of this total, the company said.
The board also approved a fresh investment to support the company's international expansion. FirstCry will invest up to AED 32 million (approximately Rs 74.1 crore) in its wholly owned subsidiary FirstCry Management DWC LLC. Of this, around SAR 28 million (Rs 63.5 crore) will be infused by this entity into FirstCry Trading Company for business expansion, with the remainder going to FirstCry Retail DWC LLC, UAE.
FirstCry, which listed on the bourses on August 13, debuted at a 40% premium over its issue price of Rs 549. The SoftBank and Premji Invest-backed company claims to have an annual transacting consumer base of 10.6 million. It offers 1.8 million stock-keeping units (SKUs) from 8,019 brands on its platform. The company offers a wide portfolio of products, including apparel, footwear, baby gear, nursery items, diapers, toys, and personal care, sourced from Indian third-party brands, global brands, and its own private labels. Its in-house brands include Pine Kids, Cute Walk, and Babyoye.
Shares of FirstCry closed nearly flat at Rs 375.2 on the BSE on Monday.
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