Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), led by Mukesh Ambani, reported a marginal dip in its consolidated net profit for the March quarter of the financial year 2023-24. The company’s net profit stood at Rs 18,951 crore, reflecting a 1.80% decline compared to Rs 19,299 crore reported in the same quarter of the previous year. However, RIL’s consolidated revenue from operations witnessed a significant rise of 11.3% year-on-year, reaching Rs 2,40,715 crore, as against Rs 2,16,265 crore reported in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Analysts had anticipated a 5-10% decrease in RIL’s profit, but the company outperformed expectations with a revenue growth that surpassed double digits.
RIL’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) for the quarter under review increased by 14.3% year-on-year to Rs 47,150 crore, compared to Rs 44,678 crore reported in the same quarter of the previous year. The EBITDA margin for the quarter stood at 17.8%, indicating an improvement of 50 basis points over the 17.3% reported in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.
The company’s net debt for the March quarter decreased to Rs 1,16,281 crore, compared to Rs 1,19,372 crore in the December quarter and Rs 1,25,766 crore in the March quarter of the previous year.
In a significant announcement, the RIL board of directors declared a dividend of Rs 10 per share for the financial year 2023-24. RIL attributed its strong performance to the robust contribution of its key businesses. Jio, the company’s digital services segment, witnessed a 12.5% year-on-year growth in its EBITDA, primarily driven by higher revenue due to sustained momentum in subscriber additions. Reliance Retail, the company’s retail arm, continued to perform well, with its omni-channel presence and focus on product differentiation and superior offline experience. The oil and gas segment also contributed significantly to RIL’s overall performance, with a sharp increase in its EBITDA by 47.5% year-on-year, primarily driven by higher gas and condensate production from the KG D6 block.
Commenting on the company’s performance, Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of RIL, highlighted the remarkable contribution of initiatives across various businesses towards fostering growth in different sectors of the Indian economy. He stated that all RIL segments achieved robust financial and operating performance, enabling the company to reach significant milestones, including becoming the first Indian company to cross the Rs 100,000-crore threshold in pre-tax profits. Ambani emphasized the accelerated expansion of Jio’s subscriber base, driven by both mobility and fixed wireless services, and the company’s leading position in India’s 5G transformation. He also highlighted Reliance Retail’s continued focus on providing customers with endless choices through its omnichannel presence and its efforts towards strengthening millions of merchants through its initiatives in the new commerce space.
Ambani further discussed the strong demand for fuels globally and the limited flexibility in the refining system worldwide, which supported the margins and profitability of the O2C segment. He also touched upon the challenging market conditions faced by the downstream chemical industry, but emphasized the company’s resilience in maintaining its product positions and feedstock flexibility. The KG-D6 block’s achievement of 30 MMSCMD of production was highlighted, accounting for 30% of India’s domestic gas production. Ambani concluded by reiterating the company’s commitment to its projects and initiatives, including those in the New Energy segment, which he believes will bolster RIL’s growth and help it deliver sustainable growth for the future.
