Phoenix Mills Q1 net profit falls 1%, at Rs. 42.6 crore

The Phoenix Mills has reported 1% on-year drop in consolidated net profit at Rs 42.6 crore for the quarter ended June. Total income for the quarter also declined 8.5% to Rs 411.5 crore. According to the company, consolidated financials of the first quarter are not comparable with a year ago period as Classic Mall Development Company (CMDCPL), which owns and operates the retail mall known as Phoenix Market City, Chennai, has ceased to be the Company’s subsidiary effective 31st March, 2017 and has since been re-classified as an associate of the company. Following the said re-classification, the income from operations of Rs 59.2 crore and the expenses, including Taxes, of Rs 37.6 crore for the current quarter of CMDCPL have not been consolidated on line-by-line basis and are thus not comparable with the corresponding figures of the previous periods. Adjusting for the above, the first quarter revenue would have been up 3% with Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) up 5%, Phoenix Mills said in its earnings release. Retail segment contributed 69% to the quarter’s consolidated revenue with aggregate consumption across the company’s malls at growing 19% on-year to Rs 1,600 crore. Rental income from the retail portfolio rose 17% to Rs 210 crore. Shishir Shrivastava, Joint Managing Director, The Phoenix Mills said, “I am excited to see 19% growth in aggregate consumption across our 8 malls in 6 cities. Our rental and hospitality assets continue to perform well. Rental Income across our retail portfolio is up by 17% while our hospitality portfolio posted a robust top-line of Rs 74.9 crore, up 20% on year. As our rental income is linked to overall consumption at our malls, PML is a key beneficiary of urban lifestyle retail growth in India.” “At PML, we have steadily brought down our borrowing costs. From 11.0% in March 2016, the average interest rate on our borrowings is now down to 9.5%. We further expect the blended rate to come down as we refinance our loans at lower interest rates of 8.5%-8.7%,” said Pradumna Kanodia, Director- Finance, The Phoenix Mills.