Relaxo Footwears reports surge by 46% in Q1 profit on higher demand

BENGALURU (Reuters) - Indian footwear maker and seller Relaxo Footwears reported a nearly 46% rise in first-quarter profit on higher demand for its shoes and slippers.

The company's consolidated net profit rose to 563.2 million rupees ($6.9 million) in the quarter ended June 30 from 386.7 million rupees a year earlier.

Revenue from operations for the Sparx sports shoes maker rose nearly 11% to 7.39 billion rupees, while its expenses rose 8.5%.

The growth in topline came after past price hikes, undertaken by the company to battle higher costs, failed to dent customer appetite for its branded products.

Separately, the company announced it re-appointed Ramesh Kumar Dua as managing director.

Relaxo had reported a profit of 633 million rupees in the quarter ended March 31 - a modest 0.6% rise year-on-year - as inflated costs ate into margins despite a jump in revenue.

The company's peer Bata India will report its results next month.

Shares of Relaxo Footwear closed more than 2% higher after reporting results, taking the stock to its highest level since December last year.

($1 = 81.8457 Indian rupees)

 

(Reporting by Varun Vyas in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)