Avenue Supermarts’ consolidated net profit and revenue in the December quarter both rose over 17 per cent on year driven by a revival in the sales of general merchandise products as well as apparel.

The company, which operates a chain of supermarkets under the DMart brand, reported a net profit of ₹691 crore on revenue of ₹13,572 crore. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) in Q3FY24 stood at ₹1,120 crore, as compared to ₹965 crore in the corresponding quarter of last year. EBITDA margin was unchanged at 8.3 per cent.

Rural demand

However, the weakness in rural demand is still an overhang while the higher prices of some agricultural products during the festival months had an impact on the sales. “Contribution from general merchandise and apparel has stabilised and trends are encouraging post Diwali. This time the festive season sales were lower than expected in non-FMCG. Within FMCG, agri-staples (ex-edible oil) are going through significantly high inflation,” said Neville Noronha, CEO & Managing Director.

The company opened five new stores in the quarter taking the total to 341. For the nine months ending December, Avenue Supermarts reported a net profit of ₹1,972 crore, a 2.8 per cent increase. Revenue at ₹38,062 crore was 18 per cent higher from year ago.