The company's EBITDA increased by 30.2 per cent YoY to ₹44,867 crore. Meanwhile, depreciation rose by 29.4 per cent YoY to ₹12,585 crore due to an expanded asset base across all business segments. Profit after tax saw a substantial improvement, increasing by 29.7 per cent YoY to ₹19,878 crore.

The polyester chain reported a mixed performance with declining margins. Polyester chain margin stood at $524/MT, down from $600/MT in Q2 FY23. However, domestic polyester demand increased by 12 per cent, primarily due to a 28 per cent improvement in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) demand.

Mukesh D Ambani, chairman and managing director, said: “Strong operational and financial contribution from all business segments has helped Reliance deliver another quarter of robust growth.

“Reliance Retail has continued to rapidly expand its offline as well as online presence, while adding to its already impressive range of products and offering. We are providing a fresh and friendly shopping experience across our seamless ecosystem. The strength and diversity of our Retail business model is consistently delivering robust performance.”

Reliance Retail Ventures Limited (RRVL), a key arm of RIL, posted a gross revenue of ₹77,148 crore for Q2 FY24, marking an 18.8 per cent growth YoY. The EBITDA margin from operations improved by 70 basis points to stand at 8.1 per cent. The retail giant also expanded its footprint with 471 new store openings, taking the total store count to 18,650 with an area spanning 71.5 million square feet.

The company's fashion and lifestyle business delivered a 32 per cent YoY growth. Even though the festive season is slated for the next quarter, the offline business showed strong growth. New store formats were also introduced, including ‘Yousta,’ which targets youth fashion, and a concept store for their flagship format, Trends, which offers a future-ready, immersive shopping experience. The lingerie business saw a surge in traffic during its ‘Grand Lingerie Festival’ across both online and offline channels. New product launches included thermals, athleisure, and PJ sets.

Ajio, Reliance’s online fashion platform, continued its strong performance by expanding its catalogue by 50 per cent YoY and adding approximately 2 million new customers through the ‘Ajio All Star Sale’ event. Ajio Luxe, the luxury segment of the platform, also expanded its portfolio to include over 600 brands, with the option count increasing by 61 per cent YoY. In summary, RIL's well-rounded performance in Q2 FY24 was largely fuelled by its consumer businesses, from retail and fashion to online platforms.

"I am delighted to report that we have delivered yet another quarter of stellar performance and achieved an all-time high across financial metrics. The performance is a testament to our customer-centric approach that defines Reliance Retail, and we look forward to serving our customers this festive season with renewed optimism and enthusiasm," said Isha M Ambani, executive director, Reliance Retail Ventures Limited.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DP)