Bata India Shares Hit Record High After Loss Narrows In June Quarter

Shares of footwear maker and retailer, Bata India, rose as much as 5.32 per cent to hit record high of Rs 1,754.80 after the company's loss narrowed in June quarter. Bata India's loss narrowed to Rs 69.47 crore from loss of Rs 101 crore during the same quarter last year. Bata India's revenue from operations nearly doubled to Rs 267 crore versus Rs 135 crore during the same quarter last year.

Bata India's sales at retail outlets remained subdued, owing to the second wave of coronavirus infections and ensuing lockdowns. However, sales through e-commerce platforms continued to remain robust and witnessed an uptick despite the restrictions, Bata India said.

"The first quarter had some challenges for businesses across the country, including ours. However, this time around, we were better prepared as we had a more agile contingency plan in place which helped us navigate adroitly through the changing business landscape amidst infection surge," Gunjan Shah, CEO at Bata India said in a statement.

During the quarter, Bata India continued with its retail expansion drive in tier 3-5 cities through franchise route. The company opened seven new franchise stores during the first quarter, taking the overall tally to 234. Its sales through digitally enabled services continued to witness an uptick and now contribute 15 per cent of total sales, Bata India added.

As of 12:06 pm, Bata India shares traded 0.7 per cent higher at Rs 1,677, outperforming the Sensex which was up 0.4 per cent.