FirstCry’s Company Secretary Resigns To Pursue New Avenues

Omnichannel kidswear brand FirstCry will soon part ways with its company secretary and compliance officer Neelam Jethani. In an exchange filing, the company said that Jethani tendered her resignation to pursue “new avenues for professional growth” on February 19. 

She will continue to serve as FirstCry parent BrainBees’ company secretary and compliance officer till March 25.  

The Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) accredited professional joined FirstCry in December 2022 after a near three-year stint with manufacturing company Schaeffler as a deputy manager. 

Her resignation comes at a time when FirstCry’s shares are on a downward spiral. On February 19, the company’s shares touched an all-time low of INR 374.40. 

The downturn for the shares came after it disclosed its financial performance for the third quarter of the fiscal year 2024-25 (Q3 FY25). The company managed to narrow its consolidated net loss by 69.5% to INR 14.78 Cr in the quarter from INR 48.41 Cr in the year-ago quarter.

Meanwhile, its top line saw an increase of 14.3% to INR 2,172.30 Cr in Q3 FY25 from INR 1,900.19 Cr in Q3 FY24. 

During the quarter, the company shut 38 of its stores due to undesirable performance levels of these stores. “This is the first time we have undertaken such a cleanup, as we had never closed even a single store before,” said Supam Maheshwari, cofounder and CEO of FirstCry.

On the other hand, its board approved an INR 300 Cr infusion in its wholly owned subsidiary, Digital Age Retail Private Limited (DARP), which is engaged in retail trade of baby, kids and maternity products.

While the company’s shares have been on a decline since the announcement of their quarterly performance, its shares surged significantly today. Shares of FirstCry ended today’s trading session 6.47% higher at INR 417.90.

The increased investor interest came after brokerage JM Financial gave the stock a ‘Buy’ rating and a price target of INR 605. 

“Indian equities have seen a tough start to 2025, suggesting the need for portfolio allocation towards low-beta stocks with strong valuation comfort. FirstCry, coincidentally, also saw its pre-IPO lock-in expire during this period resulting in potential buyers holding off while potential sellers liquidated their positions before the event. With over a week since lock-in expired on Feb 10th, 2025, we note that neither have the volumes spiked nor have we seen any block deals, denoting pre-IPO investors’ willingness to hold on to their positions until better value is on offer,” the brokerage said in the report.