Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Limited — Q2 FY26
ABFRL reported Q2 FY26 revenue of INR 1,900.82 crore, up 13% YoY, driven by double-digit growth in Ethnic, Luxury, and TMRW segments.
neutral
medium
✓ Verified against BSE filing
Claim Ledger
Did management answer the analysts?
Every material analyst question, graded on whether management actually answered it — with the verbatim exchange and quantitative claims checked against filed numbers.
58%Questions answered3Evaded / deflected12Questions auditedMixedNumbers vs filing
Answered
High priority
Cash consumption in H1 and need for additional capital
Asked by Devanshu Bansal, Emkay Global
Management gave specific cash figures and explained the cash consumption.
Read the exchange
Question
Have we consumed about INR 900 crore of cash in first half from the balance sheet and this ballpark correct?
Ashish Dikshit, Managing Director
No Devanshu, we started my March cash was roughly INR 2,072 crore in ABFRL standalone which is today INR 1,600 crore. So roughly INR 500 odd crore.
Partial answer
High priority
Need for additional capital in ABFRL
Asked by Devanshu Bansal, Emkay Global
Management explained seasonality but did not directly answer whether capital raise is needed.
no explicit yes/no on capital raise
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Question
At this run rate, do you think that we would need to raise additional capital going ahead in ABFRL?
Jagdish Bajaj, CFO
First half is when most of the inventory buildup happens. Second half cash collection is dramatically higher. At this point of time there's no cause of concern on that account.
Evasive
High priority
Like-for-like growth for Pantaloons adjusting for festival preponement
Asked by Devanshu Bansal, Emkay Global
Management did not provide a clean like-for-like growth figure, citing offsets.
no specific L2L number givenblamed external factors
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Question
Can you help us better understand the underlying like-to-like L2L for Pantaloons because there must be some benefit of festive preponement to this quarter?
Sangeeta Tanwani, Director and CEO of Pantaloons Segment
Yes, there was a benefit with Pujo being advanced. Unfortunately, the last seven or eight days saw a terrific amount of rain and disruption in Assam, a lot of that growth got wiped out. It is hard to kind of separate the two.
Partial answer
High priority
Pantaloons margin drop despite good L2L and store closures
Asked by Devanshu Bansal, Emkay Global
Management explained the margin drop but did not provide the requested like-for-like margin comparison.
no like-for-like margin comparison given
Read the exchange
Question
There is still a margin drop in Pantaloons. On a like-for-like for Pantaloons, can you help us understand what has been the margin performance this quarter versus last quarter?
Sangeeta Tanwani, Director and CEO of Pantaloons Segment
The margin impact has been because of significantly higher marketing investments versus last year. In terms of percentage, we have doubled our marketing investments.
Answered
High priority
TCNS overall growth vs L2L and outlook
Asked by Devanshu Bansal, Emkay Global
Management explained the accounting change and provided comparable growth figures.
Read the exchange
Question
While the L2L you reported very encouraging 19% but basic calculation shows a 15% decline in H1. Can you help us better understand if the calculation is right and what is the outlook ahead?
Jagdish Bajaj, CFO
We integrated TCNS from last September. Reported revenue last year was INR 254 crore. Comparable would have been lower by INR 40 crore. Against that, there is double-digit growth, around INR 240 crore this quarter.
Answered
Medium priority
CapEx for H2 and store expansion plans
Asked by Gaurav Jogani, JM Financial
Management gave a specific CapEx range for H2.
Read the exchange
Question
What should be the CapEx for the H2 part of the business?
Ashish Dikshit, Managing Director
CapEx primarily will be in on around 30 stores. I don't think more than INR 100-220-25 crore will be spent on capex in these two businesses.
Partial answer
Medium priority
Profitability split in Ethnic business excluding TCNS losses
Asked by Gaurav Jogani, JM Financial
Management described trends but did not quantify profitability for the other parts.
no specific profitability numbers given
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Question
What kind of profitability are we making in the other parts of the Ethnic piece of business?
Jagdish Bajaj, CFO
We have very marginal losses in TCNS now. Most of the losses are TASVA and some other smaller designer businesses. On an annual level, TCNS losses are significantly coming down. TASVA still has losses and rest of the business is profitable.
Evasive
High priority
Sustainability of Pantaloons L2L growth and store renovation impact
Asked by Archana Menon, Morgan Stanley
Management gave qualitative confidence but no specific numbers or divergence data.
no numbers shareddeferred to future
Read the exchange
Question
How do you think of this in terms of how it can sustain? Do you see a performance divergence between renovated stores versus earlier ones? Any numbers you can share?
Sangeeta Tanwani, Director and CEO of Pantaloons Segment
We feel pretty confident given the performance of the second half that we will continue to sustain our growth. On store performance, it's still early days, just two, three months. We'd wait for another six months to conclude.
Answered
High priority
Pantaloons full-year margin outlook with marketing spend
Asked by Archana Menon, Morgan Stanley
Management reiterated the 15-17% margin guidance and explained the impact of marketing spend.
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Question
How should we be thinking of Pantaloons segment EBITDA margin for the full year versus last year?
Ashish Dikshit, Managing Director
We indicated in April that this segment margin should be in a range of around 15-17%. In the intermittent period for next three, four quarters you may see more advertisement and marketing spend.
Evasive
Medium priority
Brand perception gap leading to Pantaloons revamp
Asked by Tejash Shah, Avendus Spark Institutional Equities
Management avoided stating any specific gap or feedback that prompted the revamp.
denied a gapreframed as journey
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Question
What was the gap or feedback that we found in the study that led us to do this massive revamp?
Sangeeta Tanwani, Director and CEO of Pantaloons Segment
It was not a question of lacking. It was a question of where we have been on the journey. The consumer today sees us as more fashionable, more premium. The key insight was that the consumer wants to curate fashion in her own manner.
Partial answer
Medium priority
Store economics with new Pantaloons identity
Asked by Tejash Shah, Avendus Spark Institutional Equities
Management gave margin targets but did not address revenue per sq ft or inventory turns.
no specific revenue per sq ft or inventory turns given
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Question
How should I think about store economics with this new identity? Revenue per sq ft, inventory turns, gross margin?
Jagdish Bajaj, CFO
Pantaloons margins are closer to 50%. We would like it to be north of 50% gross margin. The business operates in negative working capital. Store profitability needs to be closer to 25% to leverage overheads.
Answered
High priority
TMRW losses increase and use of raised capital
Asked by Kunal Shah, Jefferies
Management acknowledged the higher losses and explained the reason.
Read the exchange
Question
The losses in that business have gone up in the last two quarters. Anything to read or some bit of seasonality?
Jagdish Bajaj, CFO
The losses are a little higher than we would have liked. We have been trying to push higher growth rate, inject more marketing. The revenue to advertising spend has been slightly adverse.
Quantitative claims vs filed numbers
| Claim | Management said | Filing | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| TCNS revenue last year INR 254 crore, comparable lower by INR 40 crore | ₹254 cr | ₹1,982 cr | Understated vs filing |
| TCNS revenue this quarter around INR 240 crore | ₹240 cr | ₹1,982 cr | Understated vs filing |
| TCNS like-to-like revenue grew 13% | 13% | 13% | Matches filing |
| Pantaloons segment margin guidance 15-17% | 15% | 3% | Overstated vs filing |
| Pantaloons gross margin aspiration north of 50%, 200 bps improvement needed | 200 bps | -30 bps | Overstated vs filing |
| Luxury retail segment grew 13% this quarter | 13% | 13% | Matches filing |
Filed figures sourced from Screener.in. Claims within a small tolerance of the filing are marked “matches filing”.