Stocks To Watch – Pantaloon Retail
Pantaloon Retail (Code : 523574) : Kishore Biyani-promoted Future Group retail ubsidiary Pantaloon Retail recorded positive Same Store Sales (SSS) for the two consecutive months of January and February 2009. Amidst the ongoing economic slowdown, Pantaloon’s Lifestyle Retailing Segment sprung a surprise registering higher SSS growth than Value Retailing in January. It will open 25-30 additional stores of the company’s hypermarket chain Big Bazaar and supermarket chain Food Bazaar by December 2009. It will add to another 10- 12 lakh sq ft of retail space and we would be investing around Rs 1,000 per sq ft of setting up the new stores. The company is focusing on the eight major cities in India, including the four metros, besides Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad for expanding the two chains. There are currently 149 Big Bazaar and 109 Food Bazaar stores across the country. Pantaloon Retail is targeting a growth of 30-35 per cent in the value retail segment by end of its current fiscal year in June 2009. In this time of recession, the company is recruiting more people. At Rs138, the stock is trading at 11.1x FY2010E Earnings and 1.6x FY2010E P/BV. We have valued PRIL standalone at Rs173. Angel Broking has recommended the stock with target of Rs. 239. Buy at decline

