Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail (ABFRL) on Friday reported a fivefold jump in its consolidated net profit at Rs 29.44 crore for Q2FY23 on the back of strong revenue growth. The company’s revenue from operations went up by nearly 50% year-on-year to Rs 3,074.61 crore, led by good festive sales.
“The operating profit margins came in ahead of the pre-Covid levels, mainly led by sharp markdown reductions and better value realisations,” the company said.
Revenues from the Madura Fashion & Lifestyle segment were up 45.51% to Rs 2,108.56 crore, while Pantaloons’ revenue was also up 64.41% at Rs 1,093.74 crore.
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“E-commerce grew 20% y-o-y on the back of robust festive sales on the app and the website.
“Robust like-to-like and consistent e-commerce performance have been key drivers of growth in the quarter. The period also saw an increase in marketing investments post a hiatus of more than two years since Covid, as the company reinvigorated its focus towards brand building and strengthening consumer connect,” the company said.
ABFRL pursued an “aggressive network expansion” in Q2FY23 across brands, adding 21 stores under the Pantaloons format and 85 stores for its branded business, it added.
The company closed the quarter with a net debt of Rs 243 crore at a consolidated level against Rs 504 crore at the end of March FY22.
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The ABFRL stock closed at Rs 328.95 on the BSE on Friday, down 6.67% over Thursday’s close.