Reliance Retail Q3 Results: Profit Rises 32%, Revenue Up 23% Led By Grocery Vertical

Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd.’s third quarter profit and revenue increased led by grocery, fashion and lifestyle, and consumer electronics segments.

The net profit of India’s biggest retailer, controlled by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, increased 31.9% over the previous year to Rs 3,165 crore in the quarter ended December, according to its parent company Reliance Industries Ltd.'s exchange filing.

Reliance Retail Q3 FY24 Highlights (YoY)

• Revenue from operations (net of GST) rose by 23.8% to Rs 74,373 crore.

• Gross revenue increased 22.8% to Rs 83,063 crore.

• Ebitda grew 31.1% to Rs 6,258 crore—an all-time high.

• Margin widened to 8.4% from 7.9%.

• Depreciation increased 31% to Rs 1,384 crore, 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.

"We had a strong festival season where we saw a lot of traffic in our stores, helping drive a healthy growth," said Dinesh Taluja, chief financial officer and corporate development at Reliance Retail, in a post-earnings call.

The quarter recorded footfalls of over 282 million across formats, a growth of 40.3% over the previous year, according to a company statement. The total number of transactions rose 19.9% year-on-year to 320 million in Q3.

The revenue growth was driven by grocery, followed by fashion and lifestyle, and consumer electronics.

"We have done exceedingly well in fashion and lifestyle, given the context that the other apparel industry players are seeing weak demand," Taluja said.

Segmentwise Performance (YoY)

• Grocery grew 41%, led by festive demand uptick.

• Fashion and lifestyle business rose 28%, led by higher footfalls and conversions as consumers shopped for the festivities.

• Jewels delivered steady performance led by wedding season. The segment also recorded highest-ever Dhanteras sales.

• Consumer electronics grew 19%, on the back of higher basket value and improved conversions. New launches, flagship models and wider assortment led to growth in phones, large appliances and televisions.

• JioMart digital expanded its merchant partner base by 34%.

• Consumer brands delivered 3 times growth in revenue and distribution reach, with categories like beverages, general merchandise and staples driving the growth momentum.

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

• Ajio, the e-commerce portal, added 1.6 million customers.

Taluja said that the company is focusing on growing the share of non-food categories on JioMart to help improve margin in the supermarket and hypermarket formats. "The contribution of categories like fashion and lifestyle and consumer electronics are still relatively small."

On the Metro Cash and Carry business, Taluja said integration is on track. In the December quarter, Metro reported the highest-ever quarterly sales.

"From the same stores, we were able to drive good growth, much better throughput performance than it was prior to the acquisition," he said.

“Reliance Retail has delivered strong performance during the festive quarter," Isha Ambani, executive director, Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd., said in a statement. "Our business success is intricately woven into the larger fabric of India's economic growth, and together, we are shaping a compelling story of innovation and world-class possibilities for the future."

During the October-December quarter, Reliance Retail expanded its store network with 252 new openings, taking the total store count to 18,774, with an area of 72.9 million square feet.