Reliance Industries Profit Declines Marginally To Rs 13,656 Crore In September Quarter

Billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) on Friday reported net profit of Rs 13,656 crore for quarter ended September 2022, marking a decline of 0.17 per cent from Rs 13,680 crore during the same period last year. On a sequential basis, its profit dropped 24 per cent from Rs 17,955 crore in June quarter. The sharp decline in profit came after government imposed windfall tax on exports of refined petroleum products.

"The government of India imposed Special Additional Excise duty (SAED) on export of transportation fuels with effect from 1st July 2022 resulting in an adverse impact on the profit for the quarter determined at Rs 4,039 crore," the country's most valuable company said in an exchange filing.

Its revenue from operations, however, advanced 34 per cent annually to Rs 2.32 lakh crore.

Its telecom arm, Reliance Jio reported net profit of Rs 4,518 crore for quarter ended September 2022, marking an increase of 28 per cent from Rs 3,528 crore in the same quarter last year. This is the first earnings report after Akash Ambani took control of the company as chairman in June this year.

Jio's revenue from operations came in at Rs 22,521 crore, up 20 per cent from Rs 18,735 crore in the same period last year.

Jio's average revenue per user (ARPU), a key metric of profitability, came in at Rs 177.2 per user per month compared with Rs 143.6 in the same quarter last year.

Jio's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) also known as operating profit came in at Rs 12,011 crore, up 29 per cent annually.

Its retail arm, Reliance Retail's operating profit came in at Rs 4,404 crore, up 51 per cent on the back of strong growth of 43 per cent in gross revenue which came in at Rs 64,920 crore.

The company added 795 stores during the quarter taking the total store count to 16,617 stores with an area of 54.5 million square feet.

The total employee base for its retail unit now stands at a record 4 lakh plus making Reliance Retail one of the largest employers in the country, the Mumbai-based organisation said.

Reliance's oil-to-chemicals business revenue advanced 32.5 per cent to Rs 1,59,671 crore on account of higher crude oil prices.

RIL’s production meant for sale was lower by 3.6 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) with planned turnaround of primary and secondary units of SEZ refinery for M&I. RIL’s cracker operating rate was at 95 per cent in 2Q FY23 as compared to 87 per cent in 1Q FY23.

Segment EBITDA for September quarter declined by 5.9 per cent Y-o-Y to Rs 11,968 crore primarily on account of introduction of SAED on transportation fuels and lower Polymer deltas.

“We saw consistent net subscriber additions and higher engagement in Digital Services segment. Jio has announced beta trial for its industry-leading Standalone 5G services and is making rapid progress for an ambitious and the fastest ever roll out of True 5G on pan-India basis. Our Retail business delivered record performance with strong revival in footfalls, store additions and digital integration. Reliance Retail continues to provide a compelling proposition of great shopping experience and superior value across consumption baskets and price points,” said Ambani, chairman and managing director of the company.

“Performance of our O2C business reflect subdued demand and weak margin environment across downstream chemical products. Transportation fuel margins were better than last year but significantly lower sequentially. Segment performance was also impacted by the introduction of special additional excise duties during the quarter to ensure stable supply and lower volatility in the domestic market,” he added.

Reliance Industries stock ended 1.16 per cent lower at Rs 2,471.75, ahead of its earnings announcement.