Vishal Retail Q4 loss widens by 12% to Rs 129 cr

The cash-strapped Vishal Retail today reported a 12.38 per cent rise its net loss for the March quarter to Rs 128.93 crore as it struggles to come out of its huge debt burden.

The company had a net loss of Rs 114.73 crore during the same quarter previous fiscal, Vishal Retail said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

Its total income, however, registered a growth of 9.34 per cent during the fourth quarter at Rs 254.64 crore as against Rs 232.89 crore in the same quarter of 2008-09.

The Delhi-based retailer is currently undergoing a corporate debt restructuring (CDR) exercise to make it eligible for fresh injection of equity following a severe credit crunch last year.

The retailer has debts worth Rs 735 crore and its dozen-odd lenders have been undertaking the CDR to make it eligible for fresh injection of equity.

The company Chairman and Managing Director Manmohan Agarwal, who is also the majority stakeholder, was not available for comment on the latest results.

For the 2010 fiscal, Vishal's consolidated net loss widened by over fourfold to Rs 415.51 crore against Rs 94.49 crore previous fiscal, while the consolidated total income fell by 16.46 per cent to Rs 1,105.46 crore from Rs 1,323.23 crore.