Textiles and apparel major Arvind Ltd today reported an over two-fold jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 110.33 crore for the March quarter.
The company had posted a net profit of Rs 48.23 crore for the same period of the previous fiscal, Arvind Ltd said in a regulatory filing.
In the year-ago quarter, the company had an outgo of Rs 48.44 crore as exceptional item towards heads, including settlement of deferred electricity duty and retrenchment compensation paid to workers who retired under the VRS scheme.
Net sales during the period under review stood at Rs 2,314 crore as against Rs 2,032.35 crore in the year-ago quarter, up 13.85 per cent.
In a separate filing, the company announced that its board of directors has recommended a dividend of Rs 2.4 per equity share of Rs 10 each.
The board also approved issue of Non-Convertible Debentures (NCDs) up to Rs 500 crore on private placement basis to meet with general corporate purposes including capital expenditure, augmenting long term working capital and refinance of existing loans.
During the fourth quarter, textiles vertical recorded net sales of Rs 1,360.17 crore as compared with Rs 1,307.29 crore, while that of brand retail stood at Rs 762.77 crore as against Rs 584.29 crore in the year-ago period.
Commenting on the performance, Arvind Ltd Director and Chief Financial Officer Jayesh Shah said: "Our textiles business continues to deliver a strong performance as we continue to pursue a calibrated growth strategy. The brands business continues to demonstrate strong growth with 30 per cent CAGR for the fourth quarter."
He further said the company is attempting to move away from discount-driven e-commerce market to a brand-led shopping through its new omni channel NNNow.Com. It links online and offline retail shopping experience.
For the 2015-16 fiscal, the company's net profit stood at Rs 362.7 crore as against Rs 341.1 crore a year ago, up 6.33 per cent.
Net sales for the year were at Rs 8,431.45 crore as against Rs 7,814.64 crore in the previous fiscal.
Shares of Arvind Ltd today closed at Rs 301.35 apiece, up 2.19 per cent on the BSE.
