Metro Brands beats quarterly profit estimates on strong demand for premium footwear
Footwear retailer Metro Brands reported fourth quarter profit above expectations on Thursday, benefiting from strong demand for its premium products in a quarter that generally sees a high number of weddings.
The company's consolidated profit after tax of 947.5 million Indian rupees ($11.02 million) for the quarter ended March 31 came in above analysts' estimate of 881 million rupees, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Its quarterly profit was about 39% lower than a year ago, due to a tax benefit in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024.
Metro, which also sells brands such as Crocs and Fila besides its own, reported a revenue growth of 10.3% to 6.43 billion rupees in the fourth quarter.
Expenses rose about 7%, outpaced by the rise in revenue.
KEY CONTEXT
Demand remains strong for products that cater to upper middle class and richer Indians, despite the dampening effect of the high cost of living on overall urban consumption.
Metro Brands has, in recent quarters, benefited from premiumization. The portion of its sales derived from footwear retailing for more than 3,000 rupees grew to 54% in fiscal 2025, from 50% in fiscal 2024.
The company also flagged the boost to sales from India's winter wedding season, that can run from November to February.
Metro Brands' peers Bata India and Campus Activewear have not yet reported results. Relaxo Footwears earlier this month reported a decline in fourth quarter revenue, profit after tax and number of footwear sold.
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