Indian beauty firm Nykaa’s profit jumps on strong fashion demand

BENGALURU (Reuters) -Indian cosmetics-to-fashion retailer Nykaa’s parent company reported a 33.2% rise in first-quarter net profit on Friday, boosted by strong demand for its fashion products.

The TGP-backed company, which dominates the domestic online beauty and personal care space with nearly 30% market share, has been on an acquisition spree and recently ventured into men’s innerwear and athleisure category with a new brand.

Nykaa in November 2021 made a strong market debut, fetching the country’s first women-led unicorn a valuation of nearly $14 billion.

The company said its gross merchandise value (GMV) jumped 47% to 21.56 billion rupees in the quarter. GMV from its fashion business jumped 59%, while that from the beauty and personal care business rose 39%.

“The consumer demand for beauty, personal care and wellness is also showing early signs of recovery and we are gearing up for a promising festive season this year,” said Nykaa CEO and Managing Director Falguni Nayar.

Consolidated net profit for Nykaa-parent FSN E-Commerce Ventures Ltd stood at 45.5 million rupees ($574,582.01) for the quarter ended June 30, compared with 34.2 million rupees a year earlier.

Revenue rose 40.6% to 11.48 billion rupees.

($1 = 79.1880 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Anuran Sadhu in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)