Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail revenue rises 11 per cent to Rs 2,026 crore, Q1 loss widens

MUMBAI: Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail is stitching together stronger sales, but profitability remains a loose thread. The company reported an 11 per cent year-on-year rise in revenue from operations to Rs 2,026 crore in Q1 FY27, while its consolidated net loss widened to Rs 249 crore from Rs 234 crore a year earlier.

Total expenses increased 11.4 per cent to Rs 2,395 crore from Rs 2,149 crore, reflecting higher costs across inventory purchases, employee benefits, finance, depreciation and other operating expenses.

Purchases of stock-in-trade rose sharply to Rs 615 crore from Rs 450 crore, while employee benefits expense increased to Rs 346 crore from Rs 303 crore. Finance costs climbed to Rs 137 crore from Rs 113 crore and depreciation and amortisation rose to Rs 350 crore from Rs 316 crore.

Other expenses increased to Rs 621 crore from Rs 580 crore, while lease rent rose to Rs 62 crore from Rs 56 crore. Material costs, however, fell to Rs 173 crore from Rs 210 crore, while changes in inventories declined to Rs 91 crore from Rs 122 crore.

Consolidated EBITDA fell 2 per cent to Rs 167 crore from Rs 169 crore, with the EBITDA margin contracting to 8.2 per cent from 9.3 per cent. The company attributed around 70 basis points of the margin pressure to lower other income, which fell to Rs 56 crore from Rs 64 crore, along with front-loaded investments in newer formats.

Loss before tax widened to Rs 320 crore from Rs 260 crore, although a higher tax credit of Rs 72 crore, compared with Rs 26 crore a year earlier, provided some relief.

Pantaloons remained a key contributor, with revenue rising 10 per cent year-on-year to Rs 1,204 crore from Rs 1,094 crore.

The business recorded 4 per cent like-for-like growth, while overall segment growth stood at 7 per cent. Its value retail format OWND grew 55 per cent year-on-year as the network expanded to 88 stores.

E-commerce had its strongest-ever quarter, with sales rising 37 per cent and contributing around 5 per cent of segment revenue.

Pantaloons EBITDA increased to Rs 192 crore from Rs 187 crore, although the margin declined to 15.9 per cent from 17.1 per cent as the company invested in scaling OWND.

The Pantaloons network stood at 399 stores covering 5.78 million sq ft as of June 2026. Men’s wear accounted for 33 per cent of category sales, followed by women’s ethnic at 23 per cent, women’s western at 17 per cent, non-apparel at 16 per cent and kids at 11 per cent.

ABFRL’s ethnic portfolio grew 4 per cent to Rs 454 crore, compared with Rs 436 crore a year earlier, as the Adhik Maas period disrupted the traditional wedding calendar.

Excluding TCNS, however, ethnic revenue growth was stronger at 14 per cent. Segment EBITDA stood at just Rs 1 crore, compared with Rs 2 crore a year earlier.

Sabyasachi delivered another quarter with revenue above Rs 100 crore, while Shantnu & Nikhil recorded double-digit growth and expanded to 13 stores, including six OTT stores.

House of Masaba posted high single-digit growth across 22 stores, including 21 exclusive brand outlets.

Tasva grew 35 per cent year-on-year, supported by double-digit like-for-like growth, marking its eighth consecutive quarter of growth. Its network expanded to 90 stores.

Jaypore recorded more than 30 per cent growth across 44 stores, while TCNS retail sales increased 10 per cent, with like-for-like growth of 2 per cent.

ABFRL’s TMRW digital brands platform continued to improve its operating performance. Revenue rose 11 per cent to Rs 220 crore from Rs 197 crore, while secondary consumer revenue increased 16 per cent.

More importantly, EBITDA losses narrowed to Rs 42 crore from Rs 63 crore. The EBITDA margin consequently improved to negative 19.2 per cent from negative 31.8 per cent.

TMRW had 75 offline stores excluding WROGN, with offline channels contributing more than 15 per cent of quarterly sales. Across the broader digital portfolio, the company now operates more than 140 exclusive stores.

The luxury portfolio delivered one of the strongest growth rates during the quarter, with revenue rising 30 per cent to Rs 157 crore from Rs 121 crore.

Double-digit like-for-like growth at The Collective and Mono brands, alongside steady footfall at Galeries Lafayette, supported the performance.

However, EBITDA for the Others segment fell to Rs 16 crore from Rs 55 crore, with the margin dropping to 10 per cent from 45.6 per cent. The decline reflected lower treasury income and initial investments to scale Galeries Lafayette.

ABFRL added more than 45 stores during the quarter, representing around 70,000 sq ft of additional net retail area. Its overall physical footprint crossed 7.9 million sq ft.

The network included 487 masstige and value retail stores, 672 ethnic brand stores including 11 international locations, 75 TMRW brand stores excluding WROGN and 52 luxury retail stores.

The expansion comes as the company continues to invest in newer formats and build its presence across metropolitan as well as regional markets.

For ABFRL, the quarter offered a mixed but steadily evolving picture. Revenue growth remained healthy, Pantaloons and luxury delivered strong performances, and TMRW made meaningful progress in reducing losses. The challenge now is turning that expanding retail footprint and improving operating momentum into sustainable profitability as input, logistics and wage costs remain elevated.