Reliance Retail's Q3 pre-tax profit rises 40% to Rs 333 crore

Reliance Retail, the retail subsidiary of Reliance Industries, reported a 40.5 per cent jump in its profit before interest, depreciation and tax (PBDIT) at Rs 333 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2016.

Reliance Retail had reported a PBDIT of Rs 237 crore in the same period of the previous financial year. Reliance Retail’s turnover rose 47.22 per cent to Rs 8,688 crore in the quarter as against Rs 5,901 crore in the previous year, Reliance Industries said in a regulatory filing.

“The increase in turnover was led by growth across all consumption baskets,” the company said, adding that demonetisation led to cautious buying by customers for a short period. “Strong value proposition, wide product offering and a positive shopping experience helped Reliance gain share in modern trade,” the company said.

“The overall impact from demonetisation has been positive for core retail business with favourable long-term implications for modern trade. Reliance Fresh and Smart stores grew faster than modern trade during the demonetisation period and its share of trade went up from 26.2 per cent pre-demonetisation to 27.8 per cent post demonetisation,” the company said, citing Nielsen as the source. During the quarter, Reliance Retail added 111 stores across various formats.

There has been a V-shaped recovery in the retail business after the initial impact, said V Srikanth, joint chief financial officer, Reliance Industries, at a press conference.

“It has had no effect on our overall earning standpoint. It has been positive for our organised retail business,” Srikanth said.

In cash and carry, Reliance Market launched its Kurnool store during the quarter, and now operates 40 stores with over 2.5 million registered member partners.  

Reliance Retail operates the largest consumer electronics store chain in India through a network of 1,986 Reliance Digital and Digital Express Mini stores. Reliance Digital saw robust growth across all categories aided by strategic planning, differentiated assortment and an engaging store experience, the company said.

The firm runs formats like Reliance Fresh, Reliance Super and Reliance Hyper and operates 3,553 stores in 686 cities in India. The share of trade of Reliance Fresh and Smart stores went up from 26.2 per cent before demonetisation to 27.8 per cent after the note ban, the company said, citing a Nielsen survey.