Nykaa Profit Falls 96%, Stock Price Down

New Delhi: FSN E-Commerce Ventures Ltd., the entity that operates the Indian beauty startup Nykaa, saw its profit fall 96% as marketing costs surged in the quarter before its initial public offering. Shares dropped on Monday.

Net income dipped to Rs 1.2 crore ($161,000) in the quarter ended September from Rs 27 crore the previous year, according to a statement late Sunday, as a 92% increase in expenses swamped a 47% gain in revenue. Shares are down 5.2% at Rs 2,236.5 as on 10:07 am in Mumbai after declining as much as 7.3% in early trade.

This is the first results filing since shares of the Mumbai-based firm were listed on the exchanges last week and doubled in value. The IPO made Falguni Nayar, who owns about half the company, worth almost $7 billion and India's wealthiest self-made female billionaire.

Nykaa is part of a new generation of Indian startups that offers more than 2,500 brands of everything from mascara and makeup remover to velvety kohl Indian eyeliner and the body tattoo art called mehendi.

Its revenue increased 47% to Rs 890 crore in the quarter ended September 30 from the year before.