Trent associates and joint ventures post Rs 30.80 crore loss

TRENT LIMITED reported a Rs 30.80 crore loss from associates and joint ventures in the six months ended 30 September 2026, reversing a Rs 8.11 crore profit a year earlier. Trent’s consolidated profit before tax nevertheless rose to Rs 1,310.90 crore from Rs 1,041.67 crore, supported by higher operating profit before the equity-method result.

Why did Trent’s associates and joint ventures report a loss?

Trent recorded a Rs 30.80 crore share of loss from associates and joint ventures in the first half ended 30 September 2026, compared with a Rs 8.11 crore share of profit in the first half ended 30 September 2025. The year-on-year movement was Rs 38.91 crore, and the consolidated income statement presents this line after profit before exceptional items and tax.

The first-half loss reflected losses in both reported quarters. Trent’s share of loss was Rs 9.74 crore in the quarter ended 30 June 2026 and increased to Rs 21.06 crore in the quarter ended 30 September 2026. The comparable quarter ended 30 September 2025 had a Rs 1.10 crore loss, making the September 2026 quarterly loss Rs 19.96 crore higher year on year.

The filing does not provide a separate profit-and-loss breakdown for each investee for the six months ended 30 September 2026. It identifies Trent Hypermarket Private Limited and Trent MAS Fashion Private Limited as joint ventures, and Inditex Trent India Private Limited and Massimo Dutti India Private Limited as associates, while reporting their combined contribution under the equity method.

How did the associate loss affect Trent’s consolidated profit?

The Rs 30.80 crore associates-and-joint-ventures loss reduced Trent’s first-half profit before tax to Rs 1,310.90 crore from Rs 1,341.70 crore before that line item. In the first half ended 30 September 2025, the Rs 8.11 crore share of profit lifted profit before tax from Rs 1,033.56 crore to Rs 1,041.67 crore, reversing the direction of the contribution.

Consolidated net profit still rose to Rs 986.16 crore in the six months ended 30 September 2026 from Rs 798.12 crore a year earlier. Total tax expense increased to Rs 324.74 crore from Rs 243.55 crore, while the Rs 269.23 crore increase in pre-tax profit exceeded the Rs 38.91 crore adverse movement in associates and joint ventures.

In the quarter ended 30 September 2026, profit before tax was Rs 619.06 crore after the Rs 21.06 crore associates-and-joint-ventures loss, compared with Rs 476.98 crore after a Rs 1.10 crore loss in the corresponding 2025 quarter. Quarterly net profit was Rs 468.09 crore versus Rs 373.42 crore, while total tax expense rose to Rs 150.97 crore from Rs 103.56 crore.

What changed in Trent’s underlying consolidated operations?

Trent’s profit before exceptional items and tax increased to Rs 1,341.70 crore in the first half ended 30 September 2026 from Rs 1,033.56 crore in the prior-year period. Revenue from operations rose by Rs 1,925.89 crore to Rs 11,627.05 crore from Rs 9,701.16 crore before the associates-and-joint-ventures result was included.

Costs also increased during the six-month period. Purchases of stock-in-trade rose to Rs 6,846.75 crore from Rs 5,640.65 crore, occupancy cost including rent increased to Rs 997.83 crore from Rs 883.43 crore, and employee benefits expense rose to Rs 701.65 crore from Rs 638.54 crore. Depreciation and amortisation increased to Rs 829.96 crore from Rs 617.06 crore.

The quarter ended 30 September 2026 showed sequentially lower profit before exceptional items and tax of Rs 640.12 crore, against Rs 701.58 crore in the quarter ended 30 June 2026. Revenue nevertheless increased to Rs 5,873.14 crore from Rs 5,754.71 crore, while purchases of stock-in-trade rose to Rs 3,776.06 crore from Rs 3,070.69 crore and occupancy cost fell to Rs 471.20 crore from Rs 526.63 crore.

Trent reported no separate operating segments because retailing and trading of merchandise is the main business of its group entities and other activities are incidental. As a result, the 30 September 2026 filing does not allocate the Rs 30.80 crore equity-method loss to a retail format, geographic market or any of the four named investee entities.

What do the auditors’ disclosures say about the investee results?

Deloitte Haskins & Sells LLP issued an unmodified limited-review conclusion on Trent’s consolidated results for the quarter and six months ended 30 September 2026. The auditor stated that nothing had come to its attention to indicate that the consolidated statement did not meet applicable disclosure requirements or contained a material misstatement.

A joint venture whose interim results were reviewed by other auditors accounted for a Rs 21.88 crore loss in the quarter ended 30 September 2026 and a Rs 38.85 crore loss in the first half. Those figures were larger than Trent’s reported combined associates-and-joint-ventures losses of Rs 21.06 crore and Rs 30.80 crore respectively, indicating that other equity-accounted results offset part of that joint-venture loss.

The auditor also cited a combined Rs 0.82 crore share of profit in the September 2026 quarter and Rs 8.06 crore in the first half from two associates and a joint venture whose interim results had not been reviewed by their auditors. Management represented that these interim results were not material to Trent, and Deloitte said its conclusion was not modified because of reliance on management-certified results.

Conclusion

Trent’s equity-accounted associates and joint ventures moved from contributing Rs 8.11 crore of first-half profit in 2025 to a Rs 30.80 crore loss in 2026, an adverse change of Rs 38.91 crore. The result reduced pre-tax profit, but consolidated net profit still increased by Rs 188.04 crore to Rs 986.16 crore as revenue and profit before exceptional items and tax rose.

The next reported indication will be whether the Rs 21.06 crore loss in the quarter ended 30 September 2026 persists after the Rs 9.74 crore loss in the quarter ended 30 June 2026. Trent’s filing approved on 29 October 2026 does not disclose recovery targets, plans or entity-level profit figures for the two associates and two joint ventures, leaving the future contribution of these investments unresolved.