KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 4): Fashion retailer Padini Holdings Bhd’s share price continued to drop for the third consecutive trading day. The stock fell 15 sen or 3.4% to RM4.28 as at 4.30pm today, as the latest quarterly financial earnings, which suffered from margin squeeze, painted a gloomy outlook. 

Eight out of 13 analysts who tracked the retail group have a “Sell” or “Underperform” call on the company's shares, in view of the latest quarterly results. 

Padini has tumbled 22.5% since Friday (Nov 30), from RM5.21. 

The retail group posted a 45% drop in its net profit for the first financial quarter ended Sept 30, 2018 (1QFY18) to RM 17.96 million, from RM31.2 million in the previous corresponding period (1QFY17).

However, revenue was slightly up by 4.6% to RM 329.9 million, from RM 315.18 million.

This decline in net profit indicated Padini failed to leverage on the three-month tax holiday from June to August 2018. 

The group attributed this significant drop in profit to rise in labour costs, rentals, as well as expenses associated with it’s with store operations.

Despite the sharply lower earnings, Padini has declared a second interim dividend worth 2.5 sen per share. Nonetheless, the dividend payment did not lend support to the share price.