BENGALURU (Reuters) – Arvind Fashions Ltd, which houses brands like US Polo and Calvin Klein in India, reported a 31.8% rise in fourth-quarter profit on Tuesday, boosted by growth in sales.
The Bengaluru-based company’s consolidated net profit from continuing operations rose to 294.9 million rupees ($3.57 million) for the three months ended March 31, from 223.8 million rupees a year earlier.
Most apparel and footwear companies are reporting profit this quarter as high-end customers are back to pre-pandemic level shopping, led by increased demand for formal and occasion wear.
The retail company, with a portfolio of owned and licenced international brands, including Sephora, Arrow and Tommy Hilfiger, said revenue from operations rose 24.4% to 11.40 billion rupees.
According to the company, the sales growth was led by a robust winter wear business aided by the late onset of winter and good end-of-season sale.
Revenue from the company’s power brands like US Polo and Tommy Hilfiger, which account for more than 80% of the total, rose 26.2%. Its emerging brands, including Calvin Klein and Sephora, also reported a 16.8% rise in revenue.
The footwear and kids wear segments too witnessed growth of more than 50% and nearly 25% respectively year-on-year.
Rivals Tata Group-owned Trent Ltd which operates the retail chain Westside posted a 65% jump in profit, while Shoppers Stop Ltd swung to profit this quarter. However, Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd reported its first quarterly loss in nearly two years.
The company also recommended a dividend of 1 rupee per share for the financial year ended March 31, 2023.
Shares of Arvind Fashions closed up 2.56% at 272.65 rupees after the results.
($1 = 82.7058 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Ashish Chandra in Bengaluru; Editing by Sohini Goswami)