(Reuters) – Page Industries, which licenses the Jockey and Speedo brands in India, reported a 30% rise in second-quarter profit on Thursday as increased spending on premium athleisure products drove growth.
The company reported a profit of 1.95 billion rupees ($23.1 million) for the quarter ended Sept. 30, compared with 1.50 billion rupees a year ago.
Its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) margin expanded to 22.6% from 20.5% a year ago.
Indian retailers have been facing subdued demand, driven by increasing competition and a slowdown in discretionary spending as inflation surged in September.
However, sales of premium products targeted at higher-income consumers, particularly the urban population, helped boost revenue for companies such as Page Industries.
Analysts noted that Indian consumers are increasingly prioritizing fitness and health-conscious lifestyles, dedicating more spending to gym-related activities and in turn fueling growth in the athleisure segment.
Stable input costs and improved operating efficiency contributed to growth in operating profit, the company said.
Page Industries’ revenue from operations rose 11% to 12.46 billion rupees.
“With the festive season on the horizon, we anticipate a surge in consumer demand,” said V S Ganesh, Managing Director of Page Industries. India’s month-long festive season kicked off in early October this year.
Rival Shoppers Stop posted a loss for second straight quarter, while Trent posted its slowest revenue growth in 14 quarters.
Page Industries also declared an interim dividend of 250 rupees per share for the financial year 2025.
The company’s shares rose as much as 2% to 45,063 rupees after posting results.
($1 = 84.3525 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Ashna Teresa Britto in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)
