Nykaa profit jumps 207% as premiumisation lifts beauty sales

Sophie Lindqvist

Nykaa’s second-quarter net profit reached 1.01 billion rupees (US$10.75 million), up 207% year on year, as revenue grew 28% to 30.06 billion rupees in the three months to the end of September. The Indian retailer and brand owner reported broad gains across beauty, supported by accelerated customer acquisition and premiumisation among existing customers.

What does the profit surge show?

Nykaa’s beauty division generated 44.54 billion rupees in gross merchandise value during the quarter. That measure covered e-commerce, retail stores, eB2B distribution and the House of Nykaa beauty portfolio, giving a wide view of the channels supporting the result.

Within the beauty division, net sales value rose 28% year on year, while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation increased 51%. The 23-percentage-point gap between sales growth and EBITDA growth signals improved operating leverage, consistent with Nayar’s reference to productivity gains and better efficiency in marketing and overheads.

Nykaa attributed the momentum to accelerated customer acquisition and premiumisation among existing customers. The disclosure does not separate customer numbers, order values or unit volumes, so the 28% NSV increase should not be read as a volume measure; premiumisation is the disclosed mix driver.

House of Nykaa continued to outperform, which Nykaa attributed to strong innovation. The portfolio sits within the 44.54 billion rupee beauty GMV, although the company did not publish separate sales or profit figures for it.

Falguni Nayar, Executive Chairperson, Founder and CEO of Nykaa, said: “Our performance this quarter reflects the strength of the Nykaa ecosystem, with each of our businesses contributing to growth and productivity gains. We continued to improve operational efficiency, particularly across marketing and overheads.”

She added: “Beauty and fashion are seeing accelerated growth, while House of Nykaa and wellness offer significant runway for long-term growth. We remain focused on building differentiated businesses that serve our consumers and deliver sustainable growth over the long term.”

How is the brand portfolio changing?

Nykaa’s acquisition of SimplyNam adds a premium colour cosmetics brand founded by celebrity makeup artist Namrata Son to its portfolio. The addition extends the retailer’s owned-brand activity and creates another branded competitor for suppliers seeking space on its shelves. For professional buyers, it adds a new proposition to assess within Nykaa’s beauty assortment.

Nykaa opened 14 new stores in six cities during the quarter, lifting its footprint to 338 stores. For brand teams, that network expands the number of physical merchandising environments available for listings and launches; for buyers, it creates more routes to assess premium beauty propositions within the retailer’s House of Nykaa and partner-brand assortments.

Recent retail launches included French skin care brand Yves Rocher, hair care brands Oribe and &honey, and K-beauty brands Mamonde, Mediheal and Purito Seoul. Nykaa counted 330 new brand launches year to date.

The range gives suppliers and buyers a wider category set spanning skin care, hair care and Korean beauty, while the launch count confirms a rapid expansion of the retailer’s assortment.

What does Nykaa Now add?

Nykaa Now, the retailer’s on-demand delivery service, launched in August in 15 cities and is scheduled to expand to 25 by the end of the 2027 financial year. For brand owners, the service adds a rapid-commerce route to consumers; for distributors tracking Nykaa’s reach, the city count provides the clearest near-term expansion metric.

The model increases the operational importance of local availability and inventory alignment as the network scales. Nykaa did not disclose separate sales, order or profitability figures for the service, so the next city additions and any later disclosure of service economics will determine whether delivery becomes a material contributor to the 30.06 billion rupee quarterly revenue base.

What should the next results show?

The next dated checkpoint is Nykaa Now’s move from 15 cities to 25 by the end of the 2027 financial year. In the meantime, the next results should show whether 28% NSV growth and 51% EBITDA growth persist as the store base moves beyond 338, and whether House of Nykaa keeps outperforming.

The 330 year-to-date launches will provide the other test: whether assortment breadth converts into sustained sales rather than simply more listings. Those figures will show how much of management’s stated long-term runway becomes measurable growth in revenue, productivity and premium mix.