Reliance posts highest-ever quarterly profit of Rs 19,299 crore

New Delhi, April 21

Reliance Industries Ltd on Friday reported its highest-ever quarterly net profit of Rs 19,299 crore in January-March on the back of stronger earnings from the oil and petrochemicals business and steady growth in retail and telecom operations.

The oil-to-retail-to-telecom conglomerate’s consolidated net profit of Rs 19,299 crore, or Rs 28.52 per share, in January-March compared to Rs 16,203 crore, or Rs 23.95 a share, earnings in the same period a year back, according to the company’s stock exchange filing and press statement.

A stronger margin from refining crude oil into products like petrol and diesel, resilient fuel exports earnings on lower windfall tax and chemical business witnessing a buoyancy from the use of ethane as feedstock drove oil-to-chemical (O2C) business.

While higher subscriber additions and stable ARPU (average revenue per user) helped boost the telecom segment’s earnings, the retail segment was driven by an increased store footprint.

Analysts had forecast a decline in net profit as they saw continued weakness in petrochemicals margins. But using ethane imported from the US helped the company as its prices softened during the quarter. The total income rose to Rs 2.19 lakh crore from Rs 2.14 lakh crore a year back. Sequentially, the net profit was up 22 per cent from Rs 15,792 crore in October-December 2022.

For the full fiscal (April 2022 to March 2023), Reliance reported its highest-ever net profit of Rs 66,702 crore on a revenue touching close to Rs 10 lakh crore. The firm had a net profit of Rs 60,705 crore on a revenue of Rs 7.36 lakh crore in the preceding fiscal. The mainstay oil refining and petrochemicals business, called O2C, posted a 14.4 per cent rise in EBITDA to Rs 16,293 crore. While digital services, which includes telecom, EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) at Rs 12,767 crore was 17 per cent higher, retail EBITDA was up 33 per cent at 4,769 crore. — PTI

Jio Q4 net profit rises 13% to Rs 4,716 crore

The country’s biggest telecom operator Reliance Jio on Friday reported a 13 per cent increase in net profit to Rs 4,716 crore for the fourth quarter ending March 2023, the company said in a regulatory filing. Reliance Jio posted a net profit of Rs 4,173 crore in the year-ago period. Its revenue from operations in the reported quarter increased by about 12 per cent to Rs 23,394 crore from Rs 20,945 crore in the March 2022 quarter.