Footwear maker Bata India's Q3 profit slumps on sluggish demand

BENGALURU (Reuters) - Footwear maker Bata India reported a third consecutive drop in its quarterly profit on Thursday, dragged by sluggish demand and higher expenses.

The lower than estimated bottomline of the company, which houses brands like Hush Puppies and Scholl, mirrors peer Metro Brands' fourth straight drop in quarterly profit.

Bata India's consolidated profit fell about 30% to 579.8 million rupees (nearly $7 million) in the three months to Dec. 31. Analysts had expected a profit of 1.06 billion rupees, according to LSEG data.

The shoemaker, which is in talks with Adidas for a strategic partnership, reported a marginal rise in revenue to 9.03 billion rupees from 9 billion rupees a year earlier, its slowest revenue growth since at least 2019, as per LSEG data.

Expenses rose 4.8% as the footwear retailer's inventory-related costs grew more than half on a year-on-year basis.

The company, which had established itself as a household name among Indians for its tennis shoes, said it opened 54 new franchise stores across the country in the quarter.

Shares of Bata India settled 2% lower ahead of the earnings.

($1 = 82.9669 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Yagnoseni Das in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)