Raymond continues investing in brand building

The standalone Textile segment net sales of Raymond Ltd. for the quarter ended December 31, 2012, witnessed an increase of eight per cent at Rs. 554 crores. However, margins have been impacted due to higher input costs and under-utilization of capacities.

Raymond-GautamHariSinghania

The Branded Apparel business net sales stood at Rs. 184 crores, down by seven per cent on y-o-y basis and reported EBITDA of Rs. 4 crores as against Rs. 29 crores in the corresponding previous quarter. Margins have been impacted due to higher discounted sales and change in channel mix.

Raymond’s exclusive retail network across all formats and geographies had 914 stores as on December 31, 2012, covering over 1.74 million square feet of retail space. The company added 21 stores during the quarter and closed nine stores.

The cotton shirting fabric business witnessed improved performance during the quarter. Sales were 24 per cent higher at Rs. 80 crores, while EBITDA was up by 32 per cent at Rs. 12 crores. EBITDA margins improved by 100 bps backed by better capacity utilization.

The Indian operations of denim business witnessed 14 per cent sales growth during the quarter at Rs. 196 crores, while EBITDA stood at Rs. 24 crores, up by 33 per cent compared to the previous year. Margins witnessed improvement mainly due to export growth and better realizations.

Announcing the results, Mr. Gautam Hari Singhania, Chairman & Managing Director, Raymond Ltd., said: The third quarter of the current financial year has been far more challenging. On the one hand margins of our worsted suitings business have been under pressure due to higher input costs and inflation. Our apparel business suffered from high inventory overhang impacting margins. We have put in place various processes and cost improvement initiatives to tackle the same. We are confident that our initiatives will bear fruitful results in the time to come. Despite a tough quarter gone by, we remain confident about the long-term consumption demand and the strategic direction of our business, and continue to invest in brand building, retail and in improving operational efficiencies.”