Reliance Retail on Friday reported net revenues of Rs 33,018 crore on a consolidated basis in the three months ended December, a decline of nearly 19% compared to the year-ago period. The numbers are not comparable due to the transfer out of the fuel retailing business to the RIL-BP JV.
Net revenues stood at Rs 40,660 crore in Q3FY20, the company said in a presentation.
Overall revenue was also impacted by the decision to convert Reliance Market stores to fulfilment centers to enable city expansion of new commerce.
In Q3FY21, the company’s EBITDA increased to Rs 3,087 crore from Rs 2,747 crore in Q3FY20, registering a growth of 12%. EBITDA in the October-December period rose by a sharp 53.9% on a quarterly basis. This was led by the near doubling of fashion and lifestyle earnings, continued benefits from cost management initiatives and a boost from higher investment income of Rs 775 crore. EBITDA margin rose to 9.3% in Q3FY21 from 6.8% in Q3FY20.
Profit after tax grew by a marginal 4% year-on-year to Rs 1,830 crore during the quarter.
The company said that the Consumer Electronics stores (excluding Jio devices) maintained the pace of revenue growth on the back of a “market beating festive season” and strong performance in tier two and three cities. Grocery business also sustained double-digit growth, the firm claimed.
Fashion and Lifestyle business surpassed pre-Covid levels during the quarter. Stores witnessed stepped up conversions and increased average bill values over last year driven by new collections across occasion wear and winter-wear, the company said. AJIO saw a near five times growth in orders over the previous year.
Reliance Retail that operates multi-format stores ranging from neighbourhood to supermarket and manages a clutch of brands opened 327 new stores during the quarter.
The total store count of the company stands at 12,201 stores spread over 31.2 million sq.ft of retail space.
“Digital commerce momentum continued with orders up 12 times year-on-year alongside growth in portfolio, traffic and customer base across platforms,” the firm said.
The company said that it added over 50,000 new jobs since the beginning of the pandemic.
