DMart Q4 Results: Profit Up 22%, Begins E-commerce Operations in Gurugram

Avenue Supermarts Ltd.—the operator of retail chain DMart— reported lower-than-expected profit for the January-March quarter.

Net profit for the Radhakishan Damani-founded company increased 22.39% over the previous year to Rs 563.14 crore in the fourth quarter, according to its exchange filing. That compares with a consensus estimate of Rs 598.64 crore, according to analysts tracked by Bloomberg.

• Revenue rose 20.12% to Rs 12,726.55 crore. (Bloomberg estimate: Rs 12,553.08 crore).

• Ebitda rose 22.31% at Rs 943.64 crore. (Bloomberg estimate: Rs 958.22 crore).

• Margin stood at 7.4% versus 7.3% (Bloomberg estimate: 7.6%).

For the full fiscal, DMart's net profit rose 6.7% to Rs 2,536 crore and revenue rose 18.5% to Rs 50,789 crore. Operating margins, however, contracted to 8.1% as compared with 8.5% a year ago.

General merchandise & apparel contributed 22.4% to revenue in the year ended March 2024, while the non-food share stood at 20.7%. The food business accounted for 57% of revenue, according to DMart's presentation.

The March quarter experienced mix improvement, with the contribution from general merchandise and apparel showing an uptick, the retailer said.

In Q4, DMart opened 24 stores, bringing its total store count to 365.

Two-year-old and older DMart stores grew by 9.9% during FY24 as compared to a year ago, according to chief executive and managing director Neville Noronha. "We have 284 stores that are two years or older." This compares with 24.2% and 16.7% growth in revenue from sales of same-stores that have been operational for at least 24 months at the end of FY23 and FY22, respectively, the investors' presentation by DMart showed.

Its e-commerce vertical — DMart Ready — commenced operations in Gurugram during the year while continuing to deepen its presence in existing cities. DMart Ready is now available in 23 cities across the country.

Shares of Avenue Supermarts closed 0.29% higher at Rs 4,618.45 apiece on Friday, as compared with a 0.76% decline in the benchmark Nifty 50.

Over the past 12 months, the company's shares have risen 28.85%, outperforming the benchmark Nifty 50, which gained 23.12% during the same period. The stock, however, is down approximately 25% from its record high of Rs 5,900, reached on October 18, 2021.