Indian fashion giant Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Limited (ABFRL) has reported a net loss of 162 crore rupees (about US$19.6 million) despite sales growth of 11 per cent to 3196 crore rupees for the quarter ended June 30. 

Consolidated EBITDA for the quarter stood at 353 crore rupees, down 29 per cent year on year. Online revenue surged 12 per cent compared to the same period last year. 

The company said the net profits for the quarter were affected by “negative operating leverage, resulting from subdued sales for the Pantaloons business, as well as continued investments in TMRW and ethnic businesses”. 

The fashion retailer acquired a 51 per cent stake in TCNS Clothing, which owns ethnic brands W, Aurelia, Wishful, Folksong, and Elleven, in May for US$202 million. 

ABFRL has been recently reported to be in talks with Universal Sportsbiz to acquire casual fashion brand Wrogn. Universal Sportsbiz, which manages brands including Wrogn and Single, has about 350 points of sale in India. 

As of June 30, ABFRL has a network of 4008 stores across approximately 33,874 multi-brand outlets with 6837 points of sales in department stores across India.