Indian Beauty Retailer Nykaa Posts Near Three-Fold Jump in Q4 Profit

India’s FSN E-Commerce Ventures, parent of online beauty products seller Nykaa, reported a nearly three-fold jump in quarterly net profit attributable to shareholders on Wednesday as consumers were drawn to the heavy discounts it offered.

The company also announced an investment of up to 200 million rupees ($2.4 million) in unit FSN International, which is an international exporter and retailer of beauty and personal care products.

Consolidated net profit attributable to shareholders rose to 69.3 million rupees in the quarter ended March 31 from 24.1 million rupees a year ago.

Nykaa’s end-of-season sales and the ‘Pink Love Sale’ offered ahead of Valentine’s Day fuelled volumes, the company said in its quarterly update.

Affluent consumers also showed a preference for luxury makeup and fragrances from brands such as Estée Lauder, Bobbi Brown and Dior, which helped drive the 28 percent increase in revenue at 16.68 billion rupees.

Nykaa’s BPC segment, the biggest in terms of revenue contribution, saw a 30 percent rise in gross merchandise value - the monetary value of all its orders.

Its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation margin expanded to 5.6 percent from 5.4 percent a year ago, while overall GMV rose 28 percent to 124.46 billion rupees.

Its fashion segment, which sells accessories and apparel, saw a 27 percent increase in GMV, as Nykaa continued to push out premium clothing.

Additionally, FSN E-Commerce’s board approved the acquisition of the western wear and accessories business of Nykaa Fashion for 1.34 billion rupees. It also gave the go-ahead to the merger of Iluminar Media, a lifestyle, food and shopping website, into Nykaa Fashion.

Nykaa’s shares closed 1 percent higher ahead of results.

By Ashna Teresa Britto; Editing by Eileen Soreng

Learn more:

Inside the Indian Beauty Retail Wars

The battle for exclusive international beauty launches is intensifying as Nykaa, Tira and more set their eyes on expansion.