Reliance Industries reports 10.9% rise in third-quarter profit; EBITDA increased by 16.7%

Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) beat analysts’ estimates and reported a 10.9 per cent rise in net profit at Rs 19,641 crore in the third quarter of the fiscal compared to a year ago.

With growth across all major operating businesses, consolidated earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose 16.7% to Rs 44,678 crore from a year ago.

India’s most valuable company’s gross revenue from operations rose 3.2% to Rs 2.48 lakh crore in the December quarter from Rs 2.41 lakh crore in the year-ago period.

According to a Moneycontrol survey of eight brokerage firms, analysts expect net profit to be Rs 16,625 crore in the December quarter. EBITDA was estimated to increase to Rs 40,232.70 crore.

“Reliance has delivered another quarter of strong operational and financial performance thanks to the extraordinary efforts made by teams across its businesses,” Chairman Mukesh Ambani said in a statement on January 19.

The company’s retail business EBITDA grew 31% to Rs 6,271 crore from a year ago, with strong growth in grocery, fashion and consumer electronics products.

The company’s oil-to-chemicals (02C) business grew to Rs 14,064 crore in the December quarter from Rs 13,926 crore a year ago. This performance came despite planned closure of key units and a challenging margin environment. RIL runs the world’s largest refining complex in Jamnagar, with a total capacity of about 1.4 million barrels per day.

Had all key O2C units been available during the quarter, O2C segment EBITDA would have been 17% higher than a year ago. This would have resulted in a 22.5% increase in consolidated EBITDA and a 19.5% increase in net profit compared to a year ago.

The oil and gas business recorded record quarterly EBIDTA of Rs 5,804 crore, up 46 per cent from a year ago.

The company’s capital expenditure of Rs 30,102 crore was easily covered by cash profit of Rs 35,810 crore.

“The oil and gas segment recorded its highest ever quarterly EBITDA. I am happy to note that KG D6 now contributes 30% of India’s gas production, fueling its transition towards a greener and cleaner tomorrow,” Ambani said.

(This is a developing story. Please check back for more details.)

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