Reliance Retail today reported a 68.2 per cent jump in its pre-tax profit at Rs 444 crore for the second quarter ended on September 30, 2017.
The Reliance Industries’ retail arm had reported a PBDIT (profit before depreciation and income tax) of Rs 264 crore in the same period of 2016-17 fiscal.
Reliance Retail’s turnover in the quarter under review went up by 81.3 per cent at Rs 14,646 crore, as against Rs 8,079 crore in the year-ago period.
“Our retail business has delivered broad based, sustainable and profitable growth through improved operational excellence,” Reliance Industries Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh D. Ambani said.
The company said the increase in retail business’ turnover was led by growth in digital, fashion & lifestyle and petroleum products.
“During the quarter, Reliance Retail added 45 stores across various store concepts and strengthened its distribution network for consumer electronics,” it added.
Reliance Retail now operates 3,679 stores across 750 cities in India.
In the second quarter of this fiscal, Reliance Retail acquired 40 per cent stake in Genesis Luxury Fashion Pvt Ltd, which operates a rich portfolio of brands such as Armani, Burberry, Coach, Michael Kors and many others.
RIL also acquired equity stake in Balaji Telefilms’s over-the-top subscriber video- on-demand platform ALTBalaji.
“This investment in content production (including digital content) is in line with RIL’s commitment to invest and grow in digital and media businesses,” the company said.