RIL net rises 42%; retail, shale sale buoy

Third-quarter profit climbs to ₹18,549 crore as overall revenue surges 52% to ₹2,09,823 crore

Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) on Friday reported consolidated net profit for the quarter ended December 31 grew 41.6% from a year earlier to ₹18,549 crore, aided by a strong showing at its retail and refining businesses and a one-time gain from the sale of U.S. shale gas assets.

Gross revenue surged 52% in the quarter to ₹2,09,823 crore. India’s largest private sector company also had an exceptional gain of ₹2,836 crore from the divestment of the shale gas assets.

“Both our consumer businesses, retail and digital services have recorded highest ever revenues and EBITDA,” Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani said in a statement. “We continued to focus on strategic investments and partnerships across our businesses to drive future growth.”

Mr. Ambani added that activity had normalised at the retail business with strong growth in key consumption baskets on the back of the festive season and as lockdowns had eased across the country in the last quarter. The retail unit posted a 23.4% jump in profit at ₹2,259 crore as revenue rose 52.5% to ₹57,714 crore. The Jio Platform Ltd. business reported net profit of ₹3,795 crore, up 8.9% on gross revenue of ₹24,176 crore, which was higher by 13.8%.

“Our digital services business has delivered broad based, sustainable, and profitable growth through improved customer engagement and subscriber mix,” Mr. Ambani said.

Oil & gas volume growth

He said the recovery in global oil and energy markets supported strong fuel margins and helped the company’s oil-to-chemicals (O2C) business deliver robust earnings. “Our oil and gas segment delivered strong growth in EBITDA with volume growth and improved realisation,” he added.

The O2C segment reported revenues of ₹1,31,427 crore, up 56.8% year-on-year primarily on account of an increase in crude oil prices and higher volumes. The EBITDA of this segment improved by 38.7% year-on-year to ₹13,530 crore, primarily on account of better transportation fuel cracks and higher polyester chain delta, the company said. However, the EBITDA margin for the quarter declined by 130 bps year-on-year to 10.3%. This was primarily due to base effect driven by higher feedstock and product prices, it said.

Mr Ambani said RIL was making steady progress towards achieving its vision of net carbon zero by 2035. “Our recent partnerships and investments in technology leaders in the solar and green energy space is illustrative of our commitment to partner India and the world in the transition to clean and green energy. We continue to pursue growth initiatives and collaborate with global leaders who share our vision of a sustainable future for our planet,” he asserted.

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