Shares of V-Mart Retail fell 4.9% to Rs 2,001.60 in morning trade on May 17 after the value fashion retailer reported a wider loss of Rs 36.96 crore for the quarter ended March 2023.

The company posted a net loss of Rs 2.61 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year.

Hence, V-Mart Retail’s net profit for the three months ending December 2022 was Rs 19.97 crore.

However, net sales in Q4FY23 jumped 29.46% to Rs 593.91 crore from Rs 458.78 crore in the March 2022 quarter.

For the full financial year 2022-23, the company posted a loss of Rs 7.84 crore against a profit of Rs 11.64 crore in FY22.

Volumes continue to be below pre-Covid levels as the inflationary demand scenario continues to have a greater impact on Tier II-IV cities (V-Mart has around 60% of its stores in Tier III-IV regions).

Last month, the company said it had opened 17 stores in Q4FY22-23 while closing eight existing stores in the same three-month period.

Of the 17 new stores, Uttar Pradesh has five, followed by two each in Assam, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, Gujarat, Kerala, Odisha and Central Bong’s family.

Of the eight stores closed in the fourth quarter, two were in Uttar Pradesh and one each in Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Manipur.

“Therefore, the total number of stores as of March 31, 2023, is currently 423,” the fashion retailer told the stock exchange.

Shares of V-Mart Retail are down 29.30% so far this year and more than 33% over the past year.