Nykaa posts surge of 4.5% in Q2 profit on strong festive season demand

India’s FSN E-Commerce Ventures Ltd, parent of cosmetics-to-fashion retailer Nykaa, reported a more-than-three-fold surge in quarterly net profit on Tuesday, helped by strong demand heading into the festive season.

The company’s shares rose about 4.5% to 1,204 rupees in afternoon trading, climbing back above its initial public offering (IPO) price of 1,125.

FSN’s net profit surged to 41.08 million Indian rupees ($497,210) in the July-September quarter, from 11.7 million rupees a year ago. Revenue rose 39% to 12.31 billion rupees.

Online shopping among Indians has been on the rise, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, with the country’s affluent youth splurging on beauty products, apparel and footwear, helping platforms like Nykaa book solid sales gains.