Trent Q2 net loss at Rs 78.56 cr

Tata group retail firm Trent Ltd on Thursday reported a consolidated net loss at Rs 78.56 crore for the second quarter ended September 30. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 17.27 crore in the July-September quarter a year ago, Trent said in a BSE filing.

Its revenue from operations stood at Rs 585.37 crore during the quarter under review. It was Rs865.87crore in the corresponding quarter last fiscal.

Trent's total expenses were at Rs708.20crore in Q2/FY 2020-21. The company, however, said that the financial performance for the current quarter was not comparable.

"Given the unprecedented circumstances, the results for the current quarter and half-year are not comparable with that of the corresponding quarter and half-year of the previous year," it said.

Commenting on the performance, Trent Chairman Noel N Tata said: "We are witnessing encouraging recovery playing out across our concepts even as COVID related concerns continue. The improving consumer traction coupled with growing acceptance/ adoption of safety protocols by key stakeholders is welcome".

Trent expects the current festive season to be "relatively positive". "As the recovery rate of COVID cases continues to improve, we are cautiously optimistic on the outlook for accelerating recovery and return to profitability in the second half. Near term uncertainties notwithstanding, we are continuing focus on building out differentiated brands and strong expansion of our reach through stores and digital platforms," he said.

Trent operates Westside (chain of fashion retail stores), Trent Hypermarket (food, grocery and daily needs segment under the Star banner), Landmark Stores (family entertainment format store) and Zudio in value format fashion segment.

Westside has 166 stores measuring 8,000-34,000 sq ft across 88 cities, while Zudio has 88.