BalrajReliance Retail, the retail chain of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) led by Mukesh Ambani, recorded a net profit of Rs. 962 crores, up 123 percent year on year (y-o-y) from Rs. 431 crores the previous year. The company set up 123 fresh stores bringing the total number of spots to 12,803. As COVID-related restrictions are removed, the company plans to open approximately 700 new stores.
Credit: NurPhoto via Getty Images
The company, which encountered numerous challenges during the quarter due to regional constraints, generated gross revenues of Rs 38,547 crores in Q1, up 21.9 percent year on year from Rs 31,620 crore in Q1 FY21. After equalizing for the gasoline retailing operation that was transferred away, the company’s revenue increased by 32% year on year.
The EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) of Reliance Retail for the quarter were Rs 1,941 crore, an increase of 80% year on year, compared with Rs 1,079 crore in Q1 last year. The company’s EBITDA margins for the quarter reached 5.8 percent, up from 3.8 percent in the first quarter of the fiscal year 2021.
However, the company’s revenue and net profit decreased consecutively. In the fourth quarter of FY21, the company generated a net profit of Rs 2,247 crore with gross revenue of Rs 47,064 crore. The nationwide lockdown had an adverse effect on the first quarter of FY21, but by the fourth quarter, retail businesses across the nation had somewhat stabilized. The Covid second wave’s outbreak affected this expansion once more. Due to localized restrictions around the country and confined opening hours, Reliance Retail encountered major delays in stores and logistical operations in Q1.
JioMart, a joint venture among both Reliance Retail and Jio Platforms, increased its footprint to 218 cities in the quarter ending June, with order volumes increasing by 25% over the previous quarter. Similarly, Netmeds, an online pharmacy acquired by Reliance last year, witnessed a 60 percent increase in sales over the previous quarter. For same-day deliveries, its home delivery services were expanded to over 150 locations.
Furthermore, online sales at Urban Ladder, a furniture retailer acquired by the company in 2020, increased 2.5 times over the previous quarter. It started a multi-brand company in furniture and décor covering 40 sub-categories and created an assisted sales channel using video conferencing.
Jio Platforms on the other hand witnessed its operations sales increase by 9,8% year-on-year to INR 18.952 Cr while its net profit increased by 45% to INR 3.651 Cr in the same quarter. Jio Platforms is the holding company controlled by Reliance Industries Limited that incorporates its telecommunications and other digital businesses