Jubilant FoodWorks posts ₹74 crore loss in June quarter

The company had posted a net profit of ₹71.5 crore in the year-ago period. Revenue from the food services company was down 59.1% from ₹949.1 crore in the year-ago period to ₹388.4 crore in the first quarter.

“The impact of covid-19 was felt severely in Q1 FY21. The nationwide lockdown led to a complete closure of stores initially, with dine-in and takeaway (services) remaining closed for most of the quarter." Jubilant said.

June quarter sales were led by the delivery channel, which showed a recovery of 66.7%, the company said.

India’s lockdown restricted operations for several large consumer-facing businesses. This was also true for restaurants, with dine-in services being suspended for months amid the coronavirus crisis.

Restaurants were subsequently allowed deliveries, but several outlets did not have enough workers and also suffered because of the general restrictions on operating hours. Domino’s was among the fastest to resumed deliveries with 78% of its outlets operating by June.

“The company leveraged its best-in-class supply chain network, vendor partnerships and logistics set-up to ensure uninterrupted supply of raw materials to the stores," the company said in its earnings presentation. As of August, 83% of stores from its network were operational, the company said.

Business, especially dine-in, suffered in the June quarter, but Jubilant said deliveries and takeaways recovered fully by August.

The promoters of HT Media Ltd, which publishes Mint, and Jubilant FoodWorks are closely related. There are, however, no promoter cross-holdings.