Reliance Retail net profit rises 114.2% to Rs 2,061 cr in June quarter

Reliance Retail registered a 114.2 per cent rise in net profit at Rs 2,061 crore for the April-June quarter compared to last year, while its EBIDTA increased 97.7 per cent to Rs 3,837 crore.

The country’s largest retailer’s cash profit for the quarter rose 105.2 per cent to Rs 2,873 crore.

Reliance Retail said it delivered its best-ever quarterly (gross) revenue at Rs 58,554 crore, up 51.9 per cent year-on-year, as the company said its business witnessed no operating disruptions since the onset of Covid. Revenue from operations was up 53.7 per cent YoY to Rs 51,582 crore in the April-June quarter.

“In retail business, we continue to focus on enhancing our consumer touch-points and building a stronger value proposition for our customers. Our strong supply chain infrastructure and sourcing efficiency is helping us maintain competitive pricing for daily essentials, thereby insulating consumers from inflationary pressures,” Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director, Reliance Industries, said in a statement.

The company said in its release , “Consumer spending got a boost as families indulged in leisure activities, socialising, festivities and shopping as Covid situation improved, though sentiments remained cautious due to inflationary concerns.”

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It added that 175 million footfalls were recorded for the quarter, 19 per cent above pre-Covid levels, which, along with digital visits, translated to 220 million transactions, a growth of more than 60 per cent during the same period.

During the quarter, the retailer had 15,866 physical stores operational and 792 stores were opened during the quarter. Also, the area of operation stood at 45.5 million square feet, compared to 34.5 million square feet in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

Reliance Retail added 79 warehousing and fulfilment locations in Q1, measuring 3.3 million sq ft of space during the quarter. Also, its Reliance Retail Digital Commerce daily orders was up 66 per cent year-on-year and New Commerce merchant base was up 3 times over the last year.

The Mukesh Ambani-led retail major said even as stores return to normal operations, digital commerce platforms continued to grow with daily orders up 64 per cent year-on-year.

In consumer electronics, Reliance Retail said it continued to maintain its leadership position in the segment as it doubled its business over last year, led by broad-based growth across categories of air conditioners, mobiles, laptops, and high-end TVs.

JioMart Digital continued to scale up its merchant partner network and operations with revenues up over three times, the company said.

In fashion & lifestyle, the company said it consolidated its leadership position in the segment delivering a strong revenue growth of 3 times over last year, driven by regional festivities and promotions, resulting in all-time high average bill values and healthy conversions.

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Men’s formal wear, women’s western wear and footwear witnessed strong growth as offices, schools re-opened and consumers resorted to refreshing their wardrobes.

Its ecommerce platform, AJIO, continues to attract customers even as footfalls to stores returned to normative levels.

In the luxury/premium brands, the business grew five times over the last year, driven by fully operational mall stores and in-store events. The business through AJIO Luxe scaled up six times over the last year with presence of nearly 400 brands and over 38,000 options on the platform.

Reliance Jewels also saw a strong quarter with revenues up nearly 3 times over last year driven by strong festive sales, wedding season and network expansion.

In grocery, the retailer has been focusing on increasing the share of non-food categories to improve the margin profile of its stores, the company said.

It also said the growth in JioMart Kirana orders was driven by increased merchant penetration and addition of region-specific assortment in commodities. Its merchant base increased four times over the last year as the business focused on onboarding HoReCa (hotels, restaurants and catering) and institutions in addition to kirana merchants.

Its pharma business nearly doubled over last year on the back of stronger store performance as well as digital commerce platform.