Kishore Biyani's remuneration fell 44% to Rs 2.17 cr last fiscal

The remuneration of Kishore Biyani, chairman of debt-ridden Future Retail Ltd, declined nearly 44 per cent to Rs 2.17 crore in the last financial year.

In 2020-21, business activities were hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

Biyani's annual remuneration stood at Rs 3.86 crore in 2019-20, according to Future Retail Ltd's (FRL) annual report for 2020-21.

FRL's managing director Rakesh Biyani also saw his remuneration decline by 4.82 per cent to Rs 3.75 crore in the financial year ended  March 31, 2021.

His remuneration was Rs 3.94 crore in the year-ago period.

The company's non-executive independent directors voluntarily agreed and decided not to take any amount towards the commission in the last financial year.

"For the year under review, there was no change in the sitting fees for attending meetings of the board and/or committee thereof to the non-executive / independent director of the company," the annual report said.

In FY 2020-21, the number of permanent employees of the company fell 30.1 per cent.

As on March 31, 2021, FRL had 21,839 permanent employees on the rolls as against 31,221 permanent staff a year ago.

The ratio of remuneration of each director to the Median Remuneration of the Employees (MRE) was Rs 1,89,986 in FY21 while it was Rs 1,71,612 in the year-ago period.

"The increase in MRE in the financial year 2020-21, as compared to the financial year 2019-20 was 10.71 per cent," the company said.

In the last financial year, FRL's revenue from operations declined 69 per cent to Rs 6,303.94 crore.

On the business outlook, FRL said the current fiscal year seems to be challenging due to the second wave of the pandemic, which has impacted almost every aspect of human lives.

After the pandemic, incomes have been affected, leading to deferral of discretionary consumption, the annual report said.

"This pandemic has led to huge uncertainties, including in the consumption space," it added.

Future Retail operates retail chains such as Big Bazaar, HyperCity, EasyDay Club and Heritage Fresh.

Photograph: Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters