Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd (RRVL), the retail arm of diversified Reliance Industries, on Friday posted its second quarter profit for FY24 at Rs 2,790 crore, up 21 per cent as against Rs 2,305 crore during the corresponding quarter of FY23. It posted revenue from operations grew by 19.5 per cent to Rs 68,937 crore during Q2FY24 from Rs 57,694 crore during the same period last year. Reliance Retail posted an increase of 18.8 per cent on-year in its Q2 gross revenue to Rs 77,148 crore, led by growth across consumption baskets. “Grocery and Fashion & Lifestyle businesses maintained strong growth momentum while Consumer Electronics had a steady performance despite festive period falling in Q3FY24,” the company said.
The company EBITDA stood at Rs 5,820 crore, up 32.2 per cent on-year. EBITDA before investment income was recorded at Rs 5,607 crore. EBITDA margin from operations on net sales was at 8.1 per cent, up 70 bps YoY driven by operating leverage and continued focus on cost management.
“I am delighted to report that we have delivered yet another quarter of stellar performance and achieved an all-time high across financial metrics. The performance is a testament to our customer-centric approach that defines Reliance Retail and we look forward to serving our customers this festive season with renewed optimism and enthusiasm,” said Isha Ambani, Executive Director, Reliance Retail Ventures Limited.
Reliance Retail said that depreciation increased during the quarter in review on account of higher asset base due to addition of new stores and supply chain infrastructure, and higher finance cost was on account of increase in interest rate and borrowings for business expansion.
The company’s Digital Commerce and New Commerce businesses, meanwhile, continued to grow and contributed to 19 per cent of the revenue. The business also acquired Ed-a-Mamma, a kids and maternity-wear brand and majority ownership of Superdry IP for India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, during the quarter.
Reliance Retail completed a capital raise of Rs 15,314 crore in the current round from global marquee investors including KKR & Co, Qatar Investment Authority and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. It also completed transfer of assets to warehouse InvIT entity for a total consideration of Rs 5,150 crore on 25th October 2023.
Reliance Retail’s network
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 sqft. The quarter, it added, recorded footfalls of over 260 million across formats, registering a growth of 40.5 per cent YoY. It posted the total number of transactions at 315 million.
Reliance Retail’s Q2 performance across segments
The Consumer Electronics business maintained growth momentum with 11 per cent growth over last year and executed its August 15th ‘Digital India Sale’ with 23 per cent YoY growth. “The business capitalised on regional festivals, new launches and promotions to drive AC, phones, refrigerators category growth. Own brands/ PBG business further expanded its assortment by launching new products across QLED television, refrigerator and ACs. The merchant count grew by 2.6x YoY,” it said.
The Fashion & Lifestyle business delivered 32 per cent growth on-year, with offline business delivering growth despite festive season falling entirely in the next quarter. AJIO, it added, reported a strong quarter of growth. The catalogue expansion continued with range expanding by 50 per cent YoY. “The platform also successfully executed ‘AJIO All Star Sale’ event and added ~2 million new customers,” the company said. Ajio Luxe, meanwhile, delivered strong performance with option count going up by 61 per cent YoY and a portfolio expanding to over 600 brands.
The Grocery segment delivered record performance with 33 per cent growth YoY led by Smart and Smart Bazaar formats. “The business is integrating Metro Cash & Carry’s operations with grocery New Commerce business to provide omni-channel experience and wider assortment to our B2B customers and merchant partners,” it said.
Consumer brands maintained its growth led by beverages, general merchandise and staples categories and the company is focusing on expanding its distribution reach and engagement in the General Trade channel, delivering 4x YoY revenue growth. Beverages, it said, posted a 7x revenue growth on-year.
JioMart, Reliance Retail said, continued to be on a sustained growth path with robust increase in traffic and average bill value. To capitalise on the coming festive season, business has launched ‘JioUtsav – Celebrations of India’ event featuring great discounts and offers across categories. The platform has also strengthened its catalogue with option count growing 3x over last year and seller base expanding by 2x over last year.
