On a standalone basis, Trent registered net profit Rs 56.88 crore in Q4 FY21, steeply higher than Rs 2.61 crore posted in Q4 FY20. Net sales grew by 7% year on year to Rs 773.68 crore in Q4 FY21.

During the initial months of the quarter, Trent said that the pandemic related restrictions had eased considerably aiding sentiment and improving consumer traction. This coupled with various cost mitigation measures, including with respect to property related payouts and operating expenditures, led to profit from operations registering encouraging growth. However, Trent further added that the recovery has been impacted by the lockdown / trade restrictions announced by States starting mid-March.

In Q4, Trent said it continued with the initiative of crystallizing reductions in rent and related charges. As required by the applicable standards, Rs 12 crore in Q4 and Rs 89 crore in the year ended FY21 have been accounted as part of other income notwithstanding their operating nature. We continue to engage with our property partners as we navigate the recent business disruptions in several states.

Westside revenues in Q4 were broadly at last year levels (96% of the corresponding quarter on a like for like basis). However, the company saw a sharp drop in the revenues following the temporary partial lockdowns in various states along with the local restrictions of operating hours/days starting mid-March. As of 31st March, Trent said it had over 6 million members in the Westside loyalty program.

The company's customers continued to increasingly leverage the convenience of digital platforms with the online channel registering over 150% growth in Q4. For the first time, over 5% of Westside revenues were recorded through online channels in Q4 as well as in the financial year. Digital content and social media initiatives are increasingly central to our ongoing communication of the customer offer. The synchronization of these efforts with product launches each week has improved engagement across our target audience.

Speaking on the performance, Noel N Tata, chairman of Trent said: "As I look back at the last financial year, we are very encouraged by the consistent & strong recovery of demand for our concepts in many markets across the country, when the pandemic related restrictions eased. We continued to emphasize our expansion program and I am happy to report that we have over 300 fashion stores in our portfolio and a significant number of additional locations fitted-out & ready to open. While we cannot predict how quickly we will see the back of this crisis, we know that it will get behind us, especially given the substantial vaccination program. And when it does abate, customer demand should rebound strongly possibly starting in the second quarter. We are cautiously optimistic on the medium-term outlook. Near term uncertainties notwithstanding, we are continuing to focus on building out differentiated brands and strong expansion of our reach through stores and digital platforms."

Trent posted a consolidated net loss of Rs 181 crore for the year ended March 2021 (FY21) compared with net profit of Rs 105.98 crore reported in year ended March 2020 (FY20). Net sales slipped 25.6% to Rs 2592.96 crore in FY21 over FY20.

As of 31 March 2021, Trent had 174 Westside and 133 Zudio stores in its portfolio. Further, Trent said it aims to additional open 19 Westside and 15 Zudio stores.

Shares of Trent were down 1.14% at Rs 768.30 on BSE.

Trent operates Westside, one of India's leading chains of fashion retail stores, Trent Hypermarket which operates in the competitive food, grocery and daily needs segment under the Star banner, Landmark Stores, a family entertainment format store & Zudio which is a one shop destination to get fashion at great value.