Walmart India FY19 revenue up 11%, loss doubles on investments

Walmart India, a subsidiary of US-based Walmart, has reported 11% year-on-year increase in net revenue for 2018-19 to Rs 4,061 crore, led by differentiated value proposition to its core customer segment of small resellers, hotels and restaurant chains.

The company’s loss almost doubled to Rs 172 crore from Rs 90 crore a year ago on account of investments made to fund the expansion of store network to drive growth. Walmart India also opened three Best Price stores in Ludhiana, Karimnagar and Visakhapatnam during the last financial year. 

After March 31, it has opened stores in Vijayawada, Nizamabad and Indore. The company has also opened fulfilment centre in Lucknow for its business-to-business ecommerce segment.

“We have built a good pipeline of stores in priority states and will continue to expand our network in the future,” the company said in a regulatory filing.

Walmart India owns and operates 27 B2B modern wholesale stores under the brand name Best Price and operates three fulfilment centres.

Although the company does not have retail operations, it sources foodgrains and other items from farmers in India and sells it to local kirana stores. 

Last year, Walmart acquired Indian ecommerce major Flipkart for $16 billion. Flipkart is yet to declare its financial earnings for the year ended March 31.

In May, Walmart reported an almost 40% decline in international operating profit to $790 million while net sales fell 5% to $28 billion.