Bata India Q4 net falls 23%, announces dividend of Rs 4 per share

Shoemaker Bata India Ltd on Wednesday reported 23.3 per cent fall in consolidated net profit at Rs 29.47 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2021.

The company had posted a net profit of Rs 38.40 crore in the year-ago period, Bata India said in a BSE filing.

Revenue from operations was down to Rs 589.90 crore during the quarter under review from Rs 620.57 crore in the corresponding quarter of 2019-20.

Commenting on the results, Bata CEO Sandeep Kataria said: The Q4 results are satisfactory for us, considering Q3 sales have historically been always better because of the festive season.

We continued our march towards recovery via our channel expansion efforts via Franchising, distribution and marketplaces routes, he said.

Total expenses were at Rs 563.90 crore, down 2.69 per cent from Rs 579.46 crore in January-March 2019-20.

For the fiscal year ended March 31, 2021, Bata India reported a net loss of Rs 89.31 crore. It had a net profit of Rs 32.89 crore in the previous year.

Its revenue from operation in the fiscal year was down 44.1 per cent to Rs 1,708.48 crore. It was Rs 3,056.11 crore in 2019-20.

Meanwhile, in a separate filing, Bata India said its board has recommended a dividend of 80 per cent, which is Rs 4 per equity share of Rs 5 each for 2020-21.

Bata India also announced appointment of Vidhya Srinivasan as Director Finance and CFO (Key Managerial Personnel) Whole-time Director of the company for five years, as incumbent R K Gupta retires on June 30, 2021.

Besides, Radha Rajappa has been appointed as an independent director for a term of 5 consecutive years with immediate effect, it added.

Shares of Bata India on Wednesday settled at Rs 1,557.70 apiece on BSE, down 1.06 per cent from the previous close.