The pandemic has indeed taken a toll on Bata India, what with the lockdown and then most people continuing to work from home.

The company ended Q2FY21 with a net loss of Rs.44 crore, which has come down from its loss of Rs.101 crore in Q1. As against this, it had ended Q2FY20 with a profit of Rs.71 crore.

Revenue from operations itself was impacted – it came in at Rs.368 crore, down 49% (YoY) though sequentially, it was up 172%.

Rent outgo for the quarter is at a mere Rs.8 lakh v/s Rs.10 crore and this is because the company hads opted to not assess the rent concessions as a lease modification, which are granted by the Govt due to COVID-19 pandemic. According to the notification, total rent concessions confirmed in the quarter of Rs.27 crore has been netted of from rent expenses. But for this, the loss would have been higher. Overall, the total operating expenses were down 31% (YoY).

The quarter saw growth coming from the smaller towns and cities and it was more about volume and less about margin. Going ahead, the recovery will be slow though some pickup, on account of the festival season could shore up Q3 but this fiscal, the growth pattern looks rough.  Value-based product line, new digital channels, expansion n Tier-3 to 5 towns and costs saving will remain its saviour.

The market has taken this number on the shin. The stock has fallen today after 5 days of consecutive gain, opening over 2% lower at Rs.1335 and went down further by 3% to Rs.1325.45.