Spencer's Retail Q3 loss widens to Rs 61.75 crore

RP Sanjiv Goenka Group firm Spencer's Retail Ltd on Tuesday reported widening of consolidated loss after tax at Rs 61.75 crore for December quarter 2022-23, impacted by higher expenses and a sharp drop in EBITDA margin.

The company had posted a loss after tax of Rs 26.77 crore for the same quarter last fiscal year, Spencer's Retail said in a regulatory filing.

Revenue from operations in the quarter under review stood at Rs 638.91 crore as compared to Rs 624.07 crore in the year-ago period, it added.

Total expenses were higher at Rs 703.89 crore as compared to Rs 669.49 crore in the same quarter a year ago.

The retailer's EBITDA margin was squeezed by 491 basis points during the quarter to 0.3 per cent down from 5.2 per cent in the corresponding quarter last year.

However, its e-commerce arm ORIPL's EBITDA jumped to 0.7 per cent from a negative margin in the December 2021 quarter.

Spencer's brand had 150 stores as on December 2022 down from 157 in the September quarter. Its subsidiary Natures' Basket has 35 operational stores.

Spencer's Retail Sector Head Shashwat Goenka said at a consolidated level the company's business has grown led by significant growth in the non-food business and also from the food business with sustained omni-channel presence.

"Continuous investments in making our digital shopping experience seamless for our consumers have helped us sustain the growth in the omni channel business," he added.

Spencer's Retail has also recently ventured into a new format -- 'Spencer's Value Market' -- and there are currently 10 stores operational under this format, Goenka said adding, the initial consumer response has been very encouraging.