Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd. (ABFRL) emerged after the consolidation of the branded apparel businesses of Aditya Birla Group comprising ABNL's Madura Fashion division and ABNL's subsidiaries Pantaloons Fashion and Retail (PFRL) and Madura Fashion & Lifestyle (MFL) in 2015. ABFRL is a part of the Aditya Birla Group, a US$ 48.3 billion Indian multinational, in the league of Fortune 500. Anchored by an extraordinary force of over 120,000 employees, belonging to 42 nationalities, the Aditya Birla Group operates in 34 countries across the globe.
Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Limited is an India-based fashion and lifestyle company. The Company is engaged in manufacturing and retailing of branded apparels and runs a chain of apparels and accessories retail stores in India. Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Limited designs, manufactures, distributes, and retails fashion apparel and accessories in India and internationally.
It operates through three segments: Madura Fashion & Lifestyle, Pantaloons, and Ethnic & Others. Its Madura Fashion & Lifestyle segment is engaged in manufacturing, distribution, and retailing of branded fashion apparel and accessories. Madura Fashion & Lifestyle segment includes Lifestyle Brands, Youth Western Fashion, Active Athleisure Innerwear, and Super Premium Brands. Its Pantaloons segment is engaged in retailing of apparel and accessories.
The company operates an extensive retail network with "a network of over 3,468 stores across 28,585 multi-brand outlets spanning over 900 cities in India." The brand portfolio includes both domestic and international brands, with its brands including Louis Philippe, Van Heusen, Allen Solly, and Peter England. Its international brands portfolio includes The Collective, Simon Carter, Forever 21, American Eagle, Ralph Lauren, Hackett London, Ted Baker, and Fred Perry.
On April 19, 2024, the board of Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Limited (ABFRL) approved the demerger of Madura Fashion and Lifestyle (MFL) into a separate listed company, Aditya Birla Lifestyle Brands Ltd (ABLBL), to accelerate growth and value creation by forming two distinct listed entities. ABFRL completes demerger, raises $490M, reports strong Q4/FY25 results, plans aggressive store expansion, and margin improvement.
MFL contributes approximately 60% of ABFRL's consolidated revenue and 75% of its segment EBITDA, maintaining a margin of 15.6% in the first nine months of FY24. The remaining businesses of ABFRL, excluding MFL, generated around 40% of revenue with a 7.6% EBITDA margin. As part of the demerger process, existing shareholders of ABFRL will be allotted one share of Aditya Birla Lifestyle Brands Ltd. (ABLBL) for every share they hold in ABFRL. This means that investors will continue to hold their existing shares in ABFRL while also receiving an equivalent number of shares in the newly formed ABLBL, ensuring their proportional ownership remains intact.
The company's market capitalization stood at ₹9,558 Crore as of the most recent data available. The market capitalization has declined significantly, with "Mkt Cap: 9,558 Crore (down -32.5% in 1 year)" reflecting the challenging market conditions and corporate restructuring activities.
Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd reported its consolidated net loss narrowed to ₹23.55 Crore in the fourth quarter ended March 2025. The company's revenue from operations rose to ₹1,719.48 Crore in Q4 FY25, up from ₹1,575.12 Crore in the corresponding period of the previous year. Its revenue from Pantaloons was at ₹884.60 Crore and ₹846.99 Crore from Ethnic and others.
In the financial year ended March 2025, ABFRL's net loss was at ₹455.82 Crore. In FY25, the revenue from operation was at ₹7,354.73 Crore. ABFRL clarified that the financial results for the quarter are not directly comparable to the previous year due to the demerger of its Madura Fashion & Lifestyle (MFL) business. "Pursuant to the demerger, the balances of assets and liabilities relating to MFL business have been transferred to the resulting company. Accordingly, the balance sheet as at March 31, 2025 is not comparable with the balance sheet as at March 31, 2024," the company said.
Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail (ABFRL) reported a 9.2% revenue growth and improved EBITDA margins. With a strong cash position post-demerger, ABFRL aims to triple revenue and double margins in five years, planning significant store expansions. The capital infusion reflects investor confidence in ABFRL's growth potential within India's fashion industry and underscores the company's strategic positioning in the evolving retail landscape. After a slow start to FY25, with weak demand and negative same-store sales growth, the fashion industry is gearing up for a strong recovery in FY26, according to India Ratings and Research. The optimism comes from higher disposable incomes, an increase in wedding days, and a good monsoon season, all of which are expected to boost demand, especially in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities.
Promoter holding has decreased over last quarter: -2.66% with Promoter Holding at 46.6%. Key changes to the Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail Ltd shareholding are as follows: Promoter holding in Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail Ltd has gone down to 46.58% as of March 2025 from 49.24% as of December 2024.
Jefferies maintains a 'Buy' rating on Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail, setting a target price of ₹100. The brokerage is optimistic about growth, profitability improvements, and the upcoming listing of Lifestyle Brands, viewing it as a positive cash flow opportunity. Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Limited is covered by 33 analysts. 14 of those analysts submitted the estimates of revenue or earnings used as inputs to our report.
The company continues to navigate through a transformative phase with the completed demerger creating two focused entities positioned to capitalize on different market segments within India's growing fashion and retail industry.
