FirstCry Q4: Loss Zooms 158% YoY To INR 111.5 Cr

Kids-focussed omnichannel retailer FirstCry’s parent Brainbees Solutions’ consolidated net loss surged 157.8% to INR 111.5 Cr in Q4 FY25 from INR 43.3 Cr in the year-ago quarter. Loss jumped 656.7% from INR 14.7 Cr in the previous quarter.

The company incurred a one-time exceptional loss of INR 36.7 Cr during the quarter under review, which was one of the reasons for the rise in its net loss.

Meanwhile, operating revenue grew 15.8% to INR 1,930.3 Cr in Q4 FY25 from INR 1,666.8 Cr in the year-ago quarter. However, revenue declined 11.1% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) from INR 2,172.09 Cr.

FirstCry said its annual unique transacting customers grew 17% YoY to 1.06 Cr in Q4 FY25, while gross merchandise value rose 14% to INR 2,615 Cr. Its consolidated adjusted EBITDA increased 20% to INR 101 Cr in the March quarter, while India multi-channel’s adjusted EBITDA increased 17% to INR 125 Cr. 

The company’s total expenses grew 16.9% to INR 1,914.3 Cr in Q4 FY25 from INR 1,637.4 Cr in the year-ago quarter. However, expenses declined 6.5% from INR 2,046.4 Cr in Q3 FY25.

FY25 Loss Declines, Adjusted EBITDA Profit Zooms

For the full fiscal year FY25, Brainbees Solutions’ loss declined 17.6% to INR 264.8 Cr from INR 321.5 Cr in FY24. Revenue from operations rose 18.2% to INR 7,659.6 Cr from INR 6,480.9 Cr in FY24. 

However, the company’s adjusted EBITDA profit grew about 43% YoY to INR 393.5 Cr. It also said that its India multi-channel business turned net profitable. Its revenue from operations rose 15% to INR 5,279 Cr, while adjusted EBITDA profit zoomed 24% to INR 500 Cr.

Meanwhile, the company’s international business recorded a revenue of INR 859 Cr, while its adjusted EBITDA loss was almost flat YoY at INR 140 Cr. 

Globalbees, its house of brands subsidiary, reported a 30% increase in revenue to INR 1,578 Cr in FY25, while its adjusted EBITDA profit skyrocketed 856% to INR 22 Cr. 

FirstCry To Pump In Capital In Subsidiaries

FirstCry’s board also approved an investment of up to INR 146 Cr in Globalbees, via CCPS, to support its capital needs. 

Additionally, FirstCry’s wholly owned UAE subsidiary, Firstcry Management DWC LLC, will invest about INR 74 Cr in Firstcry Trading Company, KSA and Firstcry Retail DWC LLC, UAE for business expansion. 

The company said that the gross margin of its international business now stands at 23.3% in the fourth year of its operation. It took the company seven years to reach the same level in the Indian market. 

In its post earnings call, FirstCry CEO Supam Maheshwari said he is confident about continued strong performance by the international business over the coming years. 

According to him, the core brands in the global business are growing at a rate of over 30%. 

 

Focus On Faster Deliveries 

Responding to a question, Maheshwari said that customers now expect faster deliveries amid the ongoing quick commerce boom in the country. However, he said that the recent months saw some challenges on this front due to manpower shortages among last-mile delivery partners, especially in India. 

“I think companies like ours, as well as online and ecommerce businesses, have experienced a bit of a decline in customer experience recently. It hasn’t been up to the standards we would have liked as operators,” Maheshwari said. 

“Specifically in the Indian multi-channel and online space, we’ve seen this trend more acutely over the past three months compared to earlier periods. I believe some of our colleagues in the broader ecosystem have also referenced similar issues,” he added. 

Notably, earlier this month, Eternal cited a temporary shortage of delivery partners due to a greater demand of delivery partners in quick commerce as one of the reasons for the stagnation in Zomato’s business in Q4.

However, Maheshwari said that FirstCry is working on tech infrastructure improvements and partnering with local logistics providers to reduce delivery times in certain cities from 6 hours to 3-4 hours. 

“Let’s say in a particular city, we were previously delivering standard orders within 6 hours. Our current effort is to reduce that to 4 hours, or even 3 (hours) in some cases. This is the core of an experiment we’ve rolled out in a few cities over the past couple of months,” Maheshwari said. 

The company is now looking to expand this initiative to other Indian cities, without increasing costs.

Shares of FirstCry ended today’s trading session 0.5% higher at INR 375.25 on the BSE.