Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Limited — Q4 FY25
ABFRL's demerged entity reported a strong Q4 FY2025 with revenue of INR 1,719 crore (+9% YoY) and comparable EBITDA more than doubling to INR 199 crore (+103% YoY), driven by ma...
bullish
high
✓ 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.
67%Questions answered2Evaded / deflected12Questions auditedConsistentNumbers vs filing
Partial answer
High priority
What will drive margin doubling from 9% to 18% in 5 years?
Asked by Ashish Kanodia, Citi
Management gave directional drivers but no quantified bridge or timeline for each component.
no quantified bridgedeferred to prior presentation
Read the exchange
Question
full year FY2025, post-India margin is 9% excluding the other income. And if you have to take it to, say, 18% in the next five years, what will drive this?
Ashish Dikshit, Managing Director
the largest uptake in margins will come from turning the businesses which are currently negative EBITDA ... notably parts of ethnic businesses, TCNS being the largest, Tattva being the second, and TMRW being the other businesses.
Answered
High priority
What is sustainable Pantaloons margin after store closures?
Asked by Ashish Kanodia, Citi
Management gave current margin (17%) and a specific target (300 bps improvement) with a timeframe.
Read the exchange
Question
what is the sustainable margins for Pantaloons?
Ashish Dikshit, Managing Director
margin for the Pantaloons segment ... has moved significantly ... closer to 17% ... we think at least 300 basis points improvements from here is pretty much something that we will look to target in the next couple of years.
Answered
Medium priority
Is the INR 97 crore adjustment predominantly in Pantaloons?
Asked by Ashish Kanodia, Citi
CFO clearly explained the nature and location of the adjustment.
Read the exchange
Question
on this 97-crore adjustment, is it fair to say that this inter-segment ... is predominantly sitting only in Pantaloons?
Jagdish Bajaj, CFO
INR 97 crore is the elimination or writing up of the inventory in line with the purchase price of Pantaloons. This is a one-time adjustment, which was earlier knocked off as an inter-unit division.
Answered
High priority
Is current cash sufficient for planned expansion?
Asked by Garima Mishra, Kotak Securities
Management gave a specific cash figure and confirmed sufficiency with a timeframe.
Read the exchange
Question
demerged ABFRL has started off with a net cash balance, right? Would this current cash balance be sufficient to fund the planned expansion and investment across the different business segments in this company?
Ashish Dikshit, Managing Director
there is sufficient capital close to INR 2,000 crore plus, which is lying as gross cash in the ABFRL subsidy ... we are looking to raise capital separately in TMRW ... We feel adequately capitalized to drive this over the next three-four years.
Answered
Medium priority
Timeline for finding external investor for TMRW?
Asked by Garima Mishra, Kotak Securities
Management gave a clear timeline (this financial year).
Read the exchange
Question
You did mention that the process of finding an external investor for TMRW is on. Is there any timeline you have in mind as to by when you think this process might see some result?
Ashish Dikshit, Managing Director
Sometime this financial year.
Partial answer
Medium priority
Store additions for Pantaloons in FY26 and FY27?
Asked by Garima Mishra, Kotak Securities
Management gave FY26 number but did not address FY27.
only gave FY26, not FY27
Read the exchange
Question
FY25, clearly, you did see some store rationalization. What should we expect really for store additions in FY26 and FY27?
Sangeeta Tanwani, Director and CEO
We expect to open around 15-20 stores in the coming year.
Declined
Medium priority
Pre-index EBITDA margin for Pantaloons in FY25?
Asked by Garima Mishra, Kotak Securities
Management refused to provide the number, deferring to a future date.
deferred to laterno number given
Read the exchange
Question
Can I also get the pre-index EBITDA margin for Pantaloons?
Ashish Dikshit, Managing Director
we'll declare segment-wise pre-index margins at a periodic frequency ... I will come back to you on that.
Partial answer
Medium priority
What is the sustainable net working capital level for demerged ABFRL?
Asked by Devanshu Bansal, Emkay Global
Management gave a range but not a specific sustainable level for the overall entity.
no single number givenrange provided
Read the exchange
Question
The net working capital for the demerged ABFRL is at negative INR 36 crore ... I wanted to take all these sustainable levels and what is the long-term assumption that we should work with?
Ashish Dikshit, Managing Director
For a regular branded business with small format stores, we operate with early double-digit net working capital to sales to high single digit.
Answered
High priority
CapEx expectation for demerged ABFRL for next few years?
Asked by Devanshu Bansal, Emkay Global
Management gave specific numbers for this year and ongoing basis.
Read the exchange
Question
what is the CapEx expectation for this demerged ABFRL for the next few years?
Ashish Dikshit, Managing Director
About, on an ongoing basis, close to INR 400 crore. ... This year it should be INR 500 crore and then INR 400 crore is the...
Evasive
Medium priority
Will the 13-14% pre/post-index difference sustain?
Asked by Devanshu Bansal, Emkay Global
Management did not answer whether the difference would sustain, deferring to a later discussion.
deferred to offlineno commitment
Read the exchange
Question
between pre-index and post-index numbers for ABFRL, we are seeing that the difference is 13-14%. Is this expected to sustain going ahead?
Jagdish Bajaj, CFO
This is a function of how many stores are signed and agreed upon. ... Let me work on it, Devanshu. We can talk offline going forward.
Partial answer
Medium priority
Store expansion plan for Style Up over next five years?
Asked by Devanshu Bansal, Emkay Global
Management gave a 2-3 year target but not a full five-year plan.
only gave 2-3 year plan, not 5 years
Read the exchange
Question
I wanted to understand what is the kind of store expansion that we are pursuing for this format for the next five years?
Sangeeta Tanwani, Director and CEO
This year in FY 2026, we plan to open about another 50 stores. Over the next two to three years, we plan to open about close to 250 or so.
Answered
High priority
Is net cash of INR 9.3 billion sufficient for expansions and losses?
Asked by Gaurav Jogani, JM Financial
Management gave a specific cash figure and confirmed sufficiency for two years.
Read the exchange
Question
the net cash actually comes to around INR 9.3 billion ... do you still think that it would suffice for the expansions and the plans going ahead?
Jagdish Bajaj, CFO
the gross cash available with ABFRL demerged is INR 2,300 crore ... we have adequate cash and we have well-capitalized our company for taking care of the CapEx, working capital, and the loss funding for next two years.
Quantitative claims vs filed numbers
| Claim | Management said | Filing | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pantaloons segment margin closer to 17% on full year basis | 17% | 17.2% | Matches filing |
Filed figures sourced from Screener.in. Claims within a small tolerance of the filing are marked “matches filing”.