Avenue Supermarts Q4fy22: Consolidated Pat Jumps To ₹427 Cr

Consolidated total revenue stood at ₹8,786 crore in Q4FY22 compared to ₹7,412 crore in the same period last year. During the quarter, EBITDA was at ₹739 crore, as compared to ₹613 crore in the corresponding quarter of last year. EBITDA margin stood at 8.4 % in Q4FY22 as compared to 8.3% in Q4FY21.

Neville Noronha, CEO & Managing Director, Avenue Supermarts Limited, said,” January 2022 started extremely well but then the Omicron wave of Covid‐19 reduced the momentum over the middle of the month. These waves typically hurt the high margin and discretionary items more. As is the trend of the past, recovery does take 40‐50 days after restrictions are removed or anxiety of a Covid wave recedes. Omicron was a milder wave and hence had a significantly lower negative impact.”

“March 2022 month again had robust recovery and very satisfactory like for like growth vis a vis March 2021. In general, the quarter performance and past two waves of stop‐start‐stop give us extreme confidence in the resilience of the business to recover in the short term,” Noronha added.

For the full year FY22, net profit stood at ₹1,492 crore for FY22, as compared to ₹1,099 crore in FY21. PAT margin stood at 4.8% in FY22 as compared to 4.5% in FY21. Total Revenue for FY22 stood at ₹30,976 crore, as compared to ₹24,143 crore in the same period last year. Meanwhile, EBITDA came in at ₹2,499 crore, as compared to ₹1,743 crore during FY21. EBITDA margin stood at 8.1% in FY22 as compared to 7.2% in FY21.

On DMart’s brick and mortar business, Avenue Supermarts highlighted that two years and older DMart stores grew by 16.7% during FY 2022 as compared to FY 2021. They have 214 stores that are 2 years or older. Its sales from General Merchandise and Apparel moved slightly up at 23.40% as compared to 22.90% in the previous year. However, this may not be representative of post‐Covid steady-state contribution from these Non‐FMCG categories. Avenue Supermarts remain more optimistic about the business in the future.

DMart’s (Brick and Mortar) business footprint has been expanded. The company opened d 50 additional stores during the year taking its total to 284 stores.

Going forward, Noronha said, “Our FMCG business is recovering well. The value proposition is being distinctly seen by our customers in this segment. In the discretionary non‐FMCG segment, as of now it is hard to estimate if the relative lower growth is due to a secular change over time due to Ecommerce shift or due to inflation or due to significantly higher Covid related negative economic impact for certain shoppers.”

“We would be able to give that qualitative interpretation only if there are no more Covid shutdowns/restrictions over at least 2 more quarters. High inflation environment is helping us manage our costs better and also deliver relatively better value to shoppers,” the CEO and MD added.

On Friday, Avenue Supermarts shares closed at ₹3234.95 apiece down by ₹27.35 or 0.84% on BSE. The shares will be in focus next week’s trading session after their Q4 earnings.