The company's interest outgo went up 98 per cent in Q3 of FY09.
Pantaloon Retail, the country’s largest retailer, posted 7.07 per cent growth in net profit for the third quarter of FY09, much lower than analyst expectations, owing to a higher interest payout. Analysts had estimated the growth to be 30 per cent.
The company posted a net profit of Rs 34.37 crore in the March quarter of FY09 compared with Rs 32.10 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year. The company's financial year ends on June 30. The company’s interest outgo went up 98 per cent to Rs 84.73 crore in Q3 of FY09 as compared with Rs 42.87 crore in the corresponding quarter of FY08.
However, the company improved its net sales and operating profit numbers in the March quarter. Its net sales went up by 21.24 per cent to Rs 1642.09 crore in Q3 of FY09 as compared with Rs 1354.34 crore in the March quarter of FY08. The company’s operating profit margin went up by 208 basis points to 10.63 per cent in the March quarter of FY09 as compared with 8.55 per cent in the Q3 of FY08.
Though the company’s inventory and employee costs came down 47.40 per cent and 4.1 per cent, respectively, provisioning for depreciation went up 16 per cent in the March quarter. The company had a debt equity ratio of 1.19:1 by the end of the previous financial year. The ratio is likely to come down in the wake of new fund-raising plans. The company is planning to raise Rs 368 crore via preferential allotment and a Rs 1,200 crore fund infusion.
The company’s board today approved the transfer of fashion division of the company to Future Merchandising Ltd and retail division to Future Consumer Enterprises, wholly-owned subsidiaries of the company.