On a consolidated basis, Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail (ABFRL) reported net loss of Rs 195.86 crore in Q4 FY21, higher than net loss of Rs 146.59 crore in Q4 FY20.
Net sales fell 0.6% to Rs 1,821.58 crore in Q4 FY21 compared with Rs 1,831.88 crore in Q4 FY20. Pre-tax loss stood at Rs 121.57 crore in Q4 FY21 as against pre-tax loss of Rs 185.82 crore in Q4 FY20.
The fourth quarter continued with the strong recovery trend through the quarter until the disruption due to the second wave of COVID-19 led to localized shutdowns. However, the company registered good sales in smaller towns and cities (best ever e-commerce growth across brands and resilient product strategy were drivers of the recovery) and strong traction gained on e-commerce with the share of business growing more than two folds.
The company delivered a consolidated EBITDA of Rs 253 crore in the quarter, growing 51% over last year level with EBITDA margin expansion of 480 bps to reach a margin of 13.9% for Q4 FY21. This was on account of a strong recovery in sales, far exceeding the restoration of costs
The firm continued strong growth investments. It launched more than 400 new stores across businesses and formats during the year FY21 as well as rationalized the network, scaling up across town classes through asset light model and focussing on new product categories in line with changing consumer preferences for more casual and activewear.
ABFRL rationalized over Rs 1,200 crore of cost during the year to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on profitability. The debt reduced to Rs 654 crore from Rs 2,511 crore (exit FY20); through a mix of operating cash flows and equity infusion.
Despite a slew of cost control measures, despite lower sales, the firm posted a robust improvement in comparable PAT. While the recovery was strong through most of the quarter on the back of pent-up demand, the resurgence of the second wave of COVID-19 by the end of March 2021 impacted customer footfalls and decelerated growth. Given these factors, the business performance for the quarter was almost at the same level as last year.
In its outlook, ABFRL, said: "the company is strengthening itself to capture the large growth opportunity post the pandemic. With widespread vaccination over next few months, the company expects consumers to ride through the current challenging times, giving way for an optimistic consumption outlook during the later part of the year. On the operational front, optimized cost control and tighter cash flow management will continue to be at the core of the business model. The company is now much better placed to manage business disruptions. With a gradual recovery in consumer footfalls and spends going forward, the company will emerge stronger on the other side of this crisis."
ABFRL is part of a leading Indian conglomerate, The Aditya Birla Group. It is India's first billion-dollar pure-play fashion powerhouse with an elegant bouquet of leading fashion brands and retail formats. The company has a network of 3,212 stores across approximately 31,000 multi-brand outlets with 6,800+ point of sales in department stores across India (as on 31 March 2020).
Shares of Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail rose 0.24% to Rs 191.50 on BSE. The scrip traded in the range of Rs 181.70 to Rs 194.15 so far.
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