FirstCry Parent Sees Q1 Operating Revenue Surge 17% to ₹1,652 Crore

Brainbees Solutions Ltd, the parent firm of FirstCry, a leading baby and mother-care product retailer, reported a 17% increase in operating revenue to ₹1,652 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2024. The net loss for the first quarter of fiscal year 2025 narrowed to ₹75 crore from ₹110 crore a year earlier, reflecting improved performance. Gross merchandise value (GMV), a measure of the total value of goods sold, also grew by 17% year-on-year to ₹2,318 crore.

Focus on Profitable Segments

Supam Maheshwari, co-founder and CEO, highlighted that the company's international business remains the only loss-making segment, while the rest are profitable. "Year on year, the losses for the international business are going down as a percentage of net revenue," Maheshwari noted during a post-earnings call.

In India, FirstCry reported 9.5 million unique transacting customers as of June 2024, marking a 15% increase from the previous year. The company added 20 offline stores in the first quarter of FY25 and plans to expand further. "We will be adding 350 stores over the next two to two-and-a-half years in both FirstCry and BabyHug formats," said Gautam Sharma, the Chief Financial Officer. Currently, FirstCry operates over 1,000 stores across 500+ cities in India.

International Market Performance and Challenges

In international markets, FirstCry had 400,000 unique transacting customers at the end of Q1 FY25, up 39% from June 2023. However, order volumes were temporarily affected by floods in the UAE and the advancement of festive purchases due to Eid celebrations in early April. Maheshwari reassured that "order volumes are now back on track as of July and August in the UAE and Saudi Arabia."

Sharma mentioned, "There are no major seasonalities, but since there are many business levers that work in a step function, we would not be able to say that we will show more growth in one season and less in another. But we can say that the business will continue to improve on a year-on-year basis."

Expansion in Key Markets

In the international arena, the average order value rose by 13% from the final quarter of FY24 to ₹8,669 in Q1 FY25, while GMV increased by 12% to ₹379 crore. Saudi Arabia remains a crucial market for FirstCry, and Maheshwari indicated plans to launch offline stores there using funds from the firm's recent IPO. "We will provide updates on this in our next quarterly call," he added.

GlobalBees and Preschool Businesses Show Strong Growth

FirstCry’s GlobalBees unit posted ₹324 crore in revenue for Q1 FY25, a 26% increase from the previous year. The unit's EBITDA margin improved to 1.4%, compared to a negative 0.9% a year ago.

Meanwhile, FirstCry’s preschool business reported revenue of ₹12 crore, up from ₹9 crore a year earlier, with its adjusted EBITDA margin expanding to 25% from 12%.

Outlook and Future Plans

The company remains optimistic about its growth trajectory both domestically and internationally. With plans to expand its footprint further, especially in key international markets like Saudi Arabia, and continued improvements in profitability, FirstCry is poised to strengthen its position in the baby and mother-care market globally.