Shoppers Stop rallies 20% as loss narrows

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Shares of Shoppers Stop advanced 20% to Rs 336.70 after the company reported a net loss of Rs 3.58 crore in Q2 September 2021, lower than the net loss of Rs 97.70 crore in Q2 September 2020. Net sales surged 116.20% to Rs 642.07 crore in Q2 September 2021 over Q2 September 2020. Pre-tax loss stood at Rs 4.62 crore in Q2 September 2021, lower than the pre-tax loss of Rs 131.89 crore in Q2 September 2020. Total expense jumped 45.07% YoY to Rs 714.25 crore during the quarter.

The company said it witnessed a strong recovery in demand after the second wave across the formats, with sales moving swiftly close to pre-pandemic levels in August and September. All the stores are now fully operational, with overall store operation days at 87% for the quarter. This led to sales growth of 117% and EBITDA growth by 387%. There has been progressive improvement in August and September with sales growth of 140% and 66% respectively. The company said its festive sales are at pre-covid levels, with impressive growth from the East.

Venu Nair, MD and CEO commented: The demand postponement triggered by the second wave of the pandemic witnessed a strong comeback in Q2. While July was muted with multiple lockdowns and Maharashtra completely closed, August and September witnessed a sharp recovery. Our sales more than doubled and EBITDA quadrupled against last year. As we go to press, our festive sales have been extremely reassuring. Our sales recovered more than 100% in East, followed by North.

Companies performance has been very good across all segments, with Omni, Private and Beauty outperforming. We have witnessed a strong volume growth of 59% (overall value growth of 90%), primarily led by Apparels. The Company continues to conserve cash and maintain sufficient liquidity. We had saved costs of Rs 62 Crs vs FY20. Inventory was reduced by Rs 82 Crs against last year. Net debt of the company stood at Rs 62 crore as of September 30 2021 as against Rs 196 crore as at September 30 2020.

Shoppers Stop is a leading premier retailer of fashion and beauty brands. Spread across 80 department stores in 44 cities, the company also operates 11 premium home concept stores, 127 specialty beauty stores of M.A.C, Estee Lauder, Bobbi Brown, Clinlque, Smash box, Jo Malone and Arcelia and 23 Airport doors, occupying an area of 4.2M sq. ft. Shoppers Stop hit a 52-week high of Rs 335.85 in morning trade today.