Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd ( RIL ) on Friday reported a 41% year-on-year (YoY) growth in consolidated net profit to Rs 25,548 crore for the September quarter of FY27, compared with Rs 18,165 crore in the corresponding period last year, supported by a strong performance from its oil-to-chemicals and digital-services businesses.
Revenue from operations rose 29% to Rs 3.32 lakh crore from Rs 2.58 lakh crore a year ago.
The company's board has also passed an enabling resolution authorising the issuance of non-convertible debentures of up to Rs 15,000 crore in one or more tranches, on a private placement basis.
"During the second quarter, our businesses delivered a strong performance despite a complex operating environment. Commodity markets remained volatile while geopolitical tensions continued to weigh on global supply chains. Against this backdrop, the domestic orientation of our portfolio, combined with operational discipline and versatility of our integrated businesses, helped Reliance navigate external volatility effectively," said Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and MD, RIL.
On a sequential basis, profit increased 27% from Rs 23,196 crore in the June quarter, while revenue rose 6% from Rs 3.11 lakh crore.
EBITDA during the quarter climbed 15% from Rs 54,067 crore. However, the consolidated EBITDA margin contracted by 60 basis points to 17.2% from 17.8% a year ago, even as it improved from 15.9% in the preceding quarter.
Reliance's O2C business emerged as the biggest driver of quarterly earnings growth, reporting a 68% YoY increase in EBITDA to a record Rs 25,203 crore from Rs 15,008 crore.
Segment revenue jumped 44% to Rs 2.31 lakh crore from Rs 1.6 lakh crore, supported by higher crude oil prices, stronger transportation fuel realisations and improved petrochemical margins.
On a sequential basis, O2C EBITDA surged 48.2% from Rs 17,010 crore, while revenue increased 14.8%. The segment's EBITDA margin expanded to 10.9% from 9.3% a year earlier.
Reliance said global refining margins strengthened sharply amid supply disruptions in the Middle East and Russia.
Diesel refining cracks rose 252% YoY to $65.8 per barrel, while jet fuel cracks increased 268% to $59.3 per barrel. Gasoline cracks nearly tripled to $24.9 per barrel.
Petrochemical profitability also improved, with polyester chain margins rising 33% to their highest levels in three years.
Refinery throughput recovered to 20.6 million tonnes from 18.1 million tonnes in the June quarter, following planned maintenance in the preceding period.
Higher freight costs, crude premiums and under-recoveries in domestic fuel retailing partially offset the improvement.
Jio Platforms reported a 14% YoY increase in profit after tax to Rs 8,387 crore from Rs 7,379 crore, supported by subscriber additions and higher average revenue per user (ARPU). Revenue from operations grew 11.4% to Rs 40,475 crore from Rs 36,332 crore.
EBITDA increased 16.6% to Rs 21,879 crore, while EBITDA margin expanded by 250 basis points to 54.1%. Jio added 91 lakh subscribers during the quarter, taking its total customer base to 54.24 crore from 53.33 crore at the end of June.
ARPU improved to Rs 218.8 per month from Rs 215.6 in the preceding quarter and Rs 211.4 a year earlier. The company's 5G subscriber base crossed 30 crore, while fixed broadband connections reached 3 crore.
Monthly data consumption per customer increased to 44.2 GB, compared with 38.7 GB a year earlier. The results marked Jio's first quarterly earnings announcement after its blockbuster stock market listing on October 28.
More to come...