Bata India Ltd on Friday reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 100.88 crore for the first quarter ended June 2020 as sales were struck down by lockdown.
The company had posted a net profit of Rs 100.97 crore in the April-June quarter a year ago, Bata India said in a BSE filing.
Its revenue was down 84.69% to Rs 135.07 crore during the quarter as against Rs 882.75 crore in the corresponding Q1 FY20.
“Results in the first quarter of FY 2020-21 were severely impacted because of disruptions caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic,” said Bata.
Its revenue from operations for Q1 FY21 was “lower by 85 per cent compared to the corresponding period last year due to the lockdown in April and May followed by a graded unlocking across the country and, consequently, the company incurred a loss after tax of Rs 101 crore as against profit after tax of Rs 100 crore in the corresponding period last year.”
Bata India’s total expenses were recorded at Rs 321.85 crore, down 56.72%.
Commenting on the results, Bata India CEO Sandeep Kataria said: “It was an unprecedented quarter in Bata India’s history. During the quarter, we had low sales and no production due to lockdown mandated by the government due to the pandemic.”
“We re-started our operations keeping the safety of our customers and employees in mind and in line with government and our global standards. The results have to be viewed in this context,” he said.
“In addition, we have increased our focus on franchise store rollout and extending our reach to multi-brand outlets to get even closer to our customers. We are hopeful that the improvement in the sale will continue and get a further boost with the festivities in the coming quarter,” he said.
“The company is focusing on controlling its costs-related to retail stores, factories, rentals and operations and driving efficiencies in its value chain. The impact of cost-saving exercise is visible in these results. Multiple work streams have been put into place to look at all cost-lines and come out of the pandemic fighting fit,” it said.
Bata has ramped up its digital presence and introduced two local channels Bata Chat Shop for shopping over WhatsApp and ‘Bata Stores on Wheels’ mobile kiosks that allow customers to shop at their doorstep.
On August 7, shares of Bata India Ltd closed at Rs 1,258.40 apiece on the BSE.
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