Aditya Birla Fashion shares decline after posting Q3 loss

Shares of Aditya Birla Fashion, which is one of India’s leading fashion retailers, closed 2.3% lower today.

This comes a day after the company reported a net loss of ₹108 crore in Q3FY24 compared to a net profit of ₹11 crore in Q3FY23. The management attributed this to the increase in interest costs from higher borrowing. It also pointed out that the overall market remained subdued leading to modest growth for the traditional portfolio.

However, the company has managed to expand its EBITDA margin or profitability in the December quarter to 14.5% from 13% in the same period last year. This was led by a festive shift and strong focus on profitability measures.

The company posted 16% year-on-year growth in revenue at 4,167 crore for the quarter, driven by new businesses. Its new business such ethnic portfolio, Reebok and TMRW witnessed strong growth.

The company also continued to expand in key markets and at the same time is shutting down non-performing stores. Overall, the store network grew to 4,753 stores including TCNS stores. Lifestyle Brands added 36 stores on a net basis in Q3. Pantaloons and ethnic brands added 7 and 14 stores respectively.