Reliance Retail pre-tax profit up 66.8 pc to Rs 2,322 cr in September quarter

Reliance Retail on Friday reported a 66.81 per cent increase in pre-tax profit to Rs 2,322 crore for the second quarter ended September, helped by improvement in store productivity, better operating efficiencies and expansion in rural markets.

The retail arm of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) had posted PBDIT (profit before depreciation, interest, and taxes) of Rs 1,392 crore in the July-September quarter a year ago.

Revenue during the quarter was up 27.02 per cent to Rs 41,202 crore as against Rs 32,436 crore in the corresponding period of the last fiscal.

"The revenue for the quarter surpassed the milestone of Rs 40,000 crore. To put the scale in perspective, this is higher than the annual revenue registered by the next largest retailer in the country," RIL said in a statement.

Reliance Retail delivered "resilient performance and sustained its strong track record" in the "backdrop of a slowing growth environment during the quarter", the company said.

According to RIL Joint CFO V Srikant, retail capex for July-September quarter was Rs 2,000 crore.

"Consumption slump is not witnessed by Reliance Retail," said Srikant, adding, "It is non-discretionary in nature and cannot be compared with auto industry."
Commenting on the result, RIL Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani said: "Continuing growth trends in our retail business is heartening. Guided by our obsession to provide the best value for our customers, Reliance Retail delivered robust performance with record quarterly revenues and EBITDA."