Retail chain Shoppers Stop today posted 10.40 per cent increase in standalone net profit for the quarter ended March 31 at Rs 15.17 crore, mainly on the back of improved sales.

The company had posted a standalone net profit of Rs 13.74 crore in the corresponding quarter last fiscal.

Its gross retail turnover of grew 20 per cent at Rs 709.35 crores for the quarter against Rs 616.23 crore year-ago.

“We have been witnessing a stable environment in the second half of FY13. We have seen a positive growth in like-to-like sales, which is likely to contribute largely to our sales even in 2013-14,” Shoppers Stop Managing Director Govind Shrikhande said.

For the year, the company’s standalone net profit declined 39 per cent at Rs 39.16 crore against Rs 64.25 crore in FY12.

The total income for FY13 stood at Rs 2,559.69 crore, up 16.74 per cent against Rs 2,192.46 crore last year.

On consolidated basis, the company’s revenues for the financial year 2012-13 grew 14 per cent at Rs 3,530 crore against Rs 3,096.54 crore in FY12. The company reported a net loss of Rs 11.29 crore against Rs 19.01 crore profit in FY12.

“We will continue to remain cautious even in this fiscal mainly due to the inflation which is affecting consumer spends. We are not expecting any dramatic change in this fiscal, but at the same time we are confident of growing at higher than the industry rate,” he said.

The company expects to grow at 15-18 per cent in FY14, which will be largely driven by like-to-like sales, he said.

Currently, the firm operates 55 Shoppers Stop stores, 13 HomeStop stores, 82 Crossword book stores, 12 HyperCity stores, 27 MAC cosmetic stores, 15 Clinique outlets, 40 Mothercare stores and 6 Estee Lauder stores.

“We plan to add another 8 Shoppers Stop stores, 2 HyperCity, 2 HomeStop and 10 Clinique stores in this fiscal. Once these stores are operational, they will also significantly contribute to our revenues,” Shrikhande added.

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