Jockey India licensee's quarterly profit falls on higher expenses

Page Industries, the Indian licensee of apparel maker Jockey International, reported a first-quarter profit fall on Thursday, as expenses rose due to higher raw materials prices.

The company posted a profit of 1.93 billion rupees ($20.22 million) for the three months ended June 30, compared with 2.01 billion rupees a year earlier.

Page said sales volumes grew 5.7%, faster than the 1.9% increase in the comparable quarter last year.

Revenue from operations rose 7.9% to 14.2 billion rupees.

However, margins came under pressure from higher input costs, particularly for cotton and other synthetic fibres.

Expenses rose 10.5%, outpacing revenue.

Operating profit margins declined to 20.3% from 22.4% a year ago.

Short-term logistics disruptions limited the company’s ability to meet demand, preventing underlying volume growth from fully translating into reported quarterly revenue growth, though conditions have begun to stabilise and the impact is expected to be temporary, the company said.

According to PhillipCapital, retail consumption improved in April and May before slowing in June, while price hikes helped cushion rising raw-material costs, though apparel and footwear retailers were expected to lag other retail segments.

Page Industries’ stock was down 4.7% after results.