Brainbees Solutions, parent of FirstCry, reports its best quarterly revenue increase in five quarters, driven by domestic growth and rapid expansion of on-demand delivery, even as margins face pressure from intense competition.
Brainbees Solutions, the parent of FirstCry, gained ground on Friday after reporting what EquityPandit described as its strongest revenue growth in five quarters and a much smaller quarterly loss. The share move followed June quarter results that investors appeared to read as a sign that the online-to-offline baby products retailer is making progress on both scale and profitability.
EquityPandit said consolidated revenue rose 13% year on year to Rs 2,106 crore, while the net loss narrowed 34% to Rs 44 crore. Moneycontrol, however, reported revenue from operations of Rs 1,863 crore and a net loss of Rs 46 crore for the same period, underscoring the importance of distinguishing between different reporting measures when comparing quarterly performance. Even with that difference, both accounts point to an improved bottom line and a company still focused on trimming costs and lifting efficiency.
India remained the main driver of growth. EquityPandit said domestic revenue increased 18% to Rs 1,456 crore, its best showing in seven quarters, helped by gains in both online and physical retail as the company expanded faster delivery. That push included RocketBees, which now reaches 72 cities, up from 62 in the previous quarter, and FirstCry Qwik, which expanded from five cities to 12. Investywise reported that Qwik is being rolled out across select pincodes in Bengaluru, Pune and Hyderabad and is designed to deliver baby and children’s products in less than 3 hours using FirstCry’s store and warehouse network.
The faster-delivery model is still pressuring margins. EquityPandit said India adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation fell to Rs 84 crore from Rs 107 crore a year earlier, with the margin slipping to 5.7% from 8.6%, largely because of heavy competition in diapers. The non-diaper business, which the report said makes up about 85% of gross merchandise value, held up better. Overseas, mainly in the Middle East, revenue rose 12% to Rs 232 crore and adjusted EBITDA losses narrowed to about Rs 17 crore from Rs 22 crore, suggesting that international operations are improving even as FirstCry continues to prioritise growth over near-term profit.
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