Dubai: Marka has stemmed the heavy losses that have defined the majority of last year for the firm, posting its first profitable quarter since going public in 2014.
The retailer reported a gross profit of Dh10.8 million in its first quarter of 2018, according to a financial statement filed to the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) website on Tuesday.
It cut operating losses from Dh30.6 million in the first quarter of 2017, to Dh2.5 million in the first three months of this year.
Despite recording a drop in total revenue from Dh33 million in 2017 to Dh20 million in 2018, the company has managed to cut its operating costs in virtually every field, including cost of sales and selling and distribution expenses, by over half.
This is largely in part due to an aggressive cost-cutting programme that the company embarked on last year.
The results represent Marka’s first ever profitable quarter, coming after a dismal 2017 for the company.
The listed retailer saw its revenues for 2017 plummet by nearly 68 per cent, and net losses increasing by 44 per cent.
According to its annual results, released in February, Marka had Dh200 million in revenue wiped from its books, as its income dropped from Dh294 million in 2016 to Dh94 million last year.
Marka blamed this loss of revenue on the closure of “various non-profitable stores”.
