Trent reports Q1 net loss of Rs 83 cr

Trent posted a standalone net loss of Rs 83.76 crore in Q1 FY22 compared with net loss of Rs 139.46 crore in Q1 FY21.

The Tata Group company's net sales jumped 240% to Rs 327.29 crore in Q1 FY22 as against Rs 96.33 crore in Q1 FY21. The company posted a pre tax loss of Rs 110 crore in Q1 FY22 as against Rs 182 crore in Q1 FY21.

Trent said the second wave related disruptions significantly impacted operations during first quarter of 2022. The fashion business (Westside and Zudio) operated for 46% of the trading days, up from 26% in the corresponding previous period. However, by the close of the quarter, the company was operational for over 80% of the trading days. The latter part of first quarter saw the pandemic related restrictions ease considerably aiding sentiment and improving consumer traction.

The company continued with the initiative of crystallizing reductions in rent and related charges. As required by the applicable standards, Rs 35 crore have been accounted as part of other income notwithstanding their operating nature. The company said it continues to engage with property partners as it navigates the business disruptions across select stores/ locations.

In recent weeks, the company saw that over 90% of stores are operational on most days of a week with local restrictions being increasingly eased. The company said it is witnessing a sharp recovery in fashion business with July registering revenue recovery of over 80% vis-vis FY20 levels.

Trent's online channel registered close to 200% growth in Q1 over corresponding quarter. The company registered over 5% of Westside revenues through online channels. Digital content and social media initiatives are increasingly central to ongoing communication of the customer offer.

Speaking on the performance, Noel N Tata, chairman of Trent said, "The second wave and the aftermath disrupted our operations across our concepts in the recent months. Nevertheless, we have been pleasantly encouraged by the rapid recovery in customer offtake starting from the middle of June as the business reopened in many markets. Our fashion business has, in particular, recovered sharply and is now back to operating profitability. We continue to focus on our expansion program and I am happy to report that we are seeing good progress on building a strong pipeline, even as the constraints for actual opening to customers remains a challenge in the near term in the case of mall locations/ select markets."

He further added, "While we cannot predict how quickly we will see the back of this crisis, we know that it will get behind us, especially given the substantial vaccination program. And when it does abate, customer demand should further grow robustly. We are confident that the business has the expertise and importantly the resilience to weather this crisis. Near term uncertainties notwithstanding, we are continuing to focus on building out differentiated brands and strong expansion of our reach through stores and digital platforms."

Shares of Trent were down 7.95% at Rs 871.80 on BSE.

Trent operates Westside, one of India's leading chains of fashion retail stores, Trent Hypermarket which operates in the competitive food, grocery and daily needs segment under the Star banner and Landmark Stores.

As of date, 184 Westside and 137 Zudio stores are operational. Further, an additional 13 Westside and 12 Zudio stores were fitted out and ready to open.

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