Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd.'s fourth-quarter revenue and profit rose aided by a low base, aggressive store expansion and highest ever footfalls.
Net profit of India's biggest retailer, controlled by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, rose 12.9% over the previous year to Rs 2,415 crore in the quarter ended March, according to its parent company Reliance Industries Ltd.'s exchange filing.
Sequentially, its net profit was flat. In the third quarter of the fiscal ended March, the company posted a net profit of Rs 2,400 crore.
Typically, the March quarter sees a slump in business for retailers after the festive October-December quarter.
For the full fiscal, the company posted revenues of Rs 2.6 lakh crore, up 30.3%. Net profit increased 30% to Rs 9,181 crore.
Reliance Retail Q4 FY23 Highlights (YoY)
Gross revenue rose 19.4% to Rs 69,267 crore. However, the pace of growth slowed sequentially. On a month-on-month basis, it rose 2.4%.
Revenue from operations (net of GST) increased 21.1% to Rs 61,559 crore.
Ebitda rose 32.6% to Rs 4,914 crore—an all-time high.
Margin expanded to 7.7% from 7.1%. Sequentially, margins were flat.
"Retail business registered excellent growth numbers backed by expansion of physical and digital footprint and a significant increase in footfalls," said Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director at Reliance Industries.
The quarter recorded highest ever footfalls at 21.9 crore across formats.
"The quarterly growth was driven by the grocery, consumer electronics and fashion and lifestyle segments," said Dinesh Taluja, chief financial officer and corporate development at Reliance Retail, in a post-earnings call.
"The grocery business recorded an all-time high revenue with small towns growing faster," said Taluja. The company is now focused on expanding the non-food categories betting on the niche, regional brands, he said.
Trends, Hamleys and Urban Ladder are now live on JioMart and the platform is seeing a sustained uptick in non-grocery contribution, said Taluja.
Other Highlights:
Grocery business grew 66% year-on-year.
Consumer electronics, excluding devices, was up 37%. Jio Mart Digital grew 5.5 times over last year, led by phones and large appliances.
Fashion and lifestyle segment rose 19% YoY, led by wedding season and festivals resulting in higher bill values and improved conversions.
The premium brands business saw 35% growth year-on-year.
The jewellery business saw revenue growth of 28% over last year, with tier-2 towns and beyond driving growth momentum.
New commerce now contributes 17% of total sales.
The lingerie business grew 88% YoY.
JioMart delivered its best quarter. The platform expanded its catalogue by 34% sequentially.
Milkbasket continues its steady growth and is up 25% year-on-year. The platform is now operational in 24 cities.
As for digital commerce, dairy orders are up 17%. The merchant partners' base grew 45% year-on-year, crossing a milestone of three million.
In January-March, the company added 966 stores to take the total count to 18,040—the highest in India, spanning across an area of 65.6 million sq. ft.
During the year ended March 2023, the company added new growth initiatives to its portfolio by foraying into FMCG and beauty businesses.
The FMCG business launched several products during the year, including the ‘Independence' brand and iconic beverage brand, ‘Campa'.
It also launched digital commerce beauty platform ‘Tira' and opened its flagship store in Mumbai. "These businesses would be ramped up progressively in the coming period," the company said in a statement.
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