Reliance Retail Q2 Results: Profit Up 21% On Record Footfalls

Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd.’s second quarter profit and revenue rose aided by higher footfalls and continued store expansion.

The net profit of India’s biggest retailer, controlled by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, increased 21% over the previous year to Rs 2,790 crore in the quarter ended September, according to its parent company Reliance Industries Ltd.'s exchange filing.

Reliance Retail Q2 FY24 Highlights (YoY)

• Revenue from operations (net of GST) rose by 19.5% to Rs 68,937 crore.

• Gross revenue increased 18.8% to Rs 77,148 crore.

• Ebitda grew 32.2% to Rs 5,820 crore—an all-time high.

• Margin widened to 8.4% from 7.6%.

• Depreciation increased on account of higher asset base due to addition of new stores and supply chain infrastructure.

• Higher finance cost was on account of increase in interest rate and borrowings for business expansion.

The quarter recorded footfalls of over 260 million across formats, a growth of 40.5% over the previous year, the company said in a statement.

The total number of transactions stood at 315 million, which is 25% higher over the previous year.

"Reliance Retail has continued to rapidly expand its offline as well as online presence, while adding to its already impressive range of products and offering," said Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director, Reliance Industries Ltd. "The strength and diversity of our retail business model is consistently delivering robust performance."

"The revenue growth during the quarter was led by the grocery and fashion and lifestyle business despite festive period falling in the third quarter," said Dinesh Taluja, chief financial officer and corporate development at Reliance Retail, said in a post-earnings call.

The consumer electronics business capitalised on regional festivals, new launches and promotions to drive AC, phones, and refrigerator sales, he said.

The business saw robust Independence Day sales, with “Digital India Sale” registering 23% growth led by new launches and consumer offers.

Segmentwise Performance (YoY)

• Grocery grew 33% led by Smart and Smart Bazaar formats.

• Fashion and lifestyle rose 32%, while consumer electronics grew 11%.

• Digital commerce and new commerce businesses continued to grow and contributed 19% of revenue.

• Jewels business saw sustained growth led by improvement in operational metrics in an environment where gold rates remained high.

• JioMart continued to be on a sustained growth path, with robust increase in traffic and average bill value.

• Consumer brands' growth was led by beverages, general merchandise and staples categories.

Reliance Retail expanded its store network with 471 new store openings taking the total store count at the end of the quarter to 18,650 stores with an area of 71.5 million square feet.