Cheap crude helps RIL beat estimates

Net profit increased for the March quarter 21,327 crore to 18,021 crore a year ago to Rs. It beat quarterly profit estimates 16,442 crores, according to a Bloomberg Survey of analysts. Revenue up 3.8% 2.2 trillion.

Reliance Industries’ earnings were mainly boosted by its oil-to-chemicals (O2C) business, which posted a sharp increase in profitability as India bought cheaper Russian crude. The company’s retail and telecom businesses continued to post steady performance.

O2C business reported earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) 16,293 crore in the fiscal fourth quarter, an increase of 14.4% over a year earlier. The company attributed the increase in EBITDA margin of 12.7%, up 290 basis points from a year ago, to strength in transportation fuel cracks, optimized feedstock costs and profitable ethane cracking economics.

Analysts had expected an improvement in the performance of Reliance Industries’ refining segment due to crude sourcing gains as India bought cheaper Russian crude. Reliance said that strong growth in demand for jet fuel/kerosene and gasoline balanced the decrease in demand for diesel. Besides, a fall in windfall tax helped boost profits. Though the company paid Special Additional Excise Duty (SAED) This was much less as compared to Rs 711 crore spent on transportation fuel during the March quarter. 1,898 crore was paid in the last three months.

Refining segment revenue fell 11.8% 128,633 crore from a year ago, mainly due to lower crude oil prices. Brent averaged $81.3 per barrel in the March quarter, up $20.1 per barrel year-on-year and $7.4 per barrel sequentially.

O2C segment posted highest ever operating profit despite global uncertainties and disruptions in commodity trade flows. Our oil and gas segment has also delivered very strong growth and is now poised to contribute around 30% of India’s domestic gas production,” said Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries.

The oil and gas exploration and production (E&P) segment also supported the overall performance. Quarterly revenue more than doubled 4,556 crore from a year ago, mainly on account of higher value realization and 13% increase in KGD6 gas production. Ebitda also more than doubled 3,801 crore from a year ago.

Among consumer-facing businesses, the retail business posted healthy growth, buoyed by new store additions and brand expansion. Revenue up 19% 69,267 crore from the same quarter a year ago, driven by growth in grocery, consumer electronics, fashion and lifestyle. Ebitda climbed 33% 4,914 crores. The company added 966 new stores during the quarter covering a total area of ​​6 million sq ft. Viewership across its various formats reached a new high of 219 million. The business expanded its warehouse space to more than 1.7 million square feet, while enhancing its supply chain capabilities. The company said that digital commerce and new commerce businesses continue to grow and account for 17% of revenue.

Telecom unit Reliance Jio reports net profit 4,716 crore for the quarter ended March, up 13% 4,173 crore in the same quarter of the previous financial year.

Average Revenue Per User (Arpu), a key metric of profitability for a telecom service provider 178.8, up 6.7% 167.6 years ago and 178.2 in the quarter ended December on account of impact of tariff hike, better subscriber mix and data add-ons within select subscriber base.

“In the cities where we have deployed 5G, we are already seeing a significant increase in consumption, even three-four times the very high consumption base that we had with 4G. with and even without any change in tariff. This means we can only estimate consumption-driven ARPU growth,” Jio Platforms director Kiran Thomas on Friday said during a presentation showcasing the carrier’s results for the quarter ended March.

India’s biggest telecom service provider is planning to launch Air Fibre, or its fixed wireless access service, which could offer broadband-like speeds through wireless connectivity, sometime this year and already has its Jio Customers using fiber plans will be offered which will expand across markets. across the country in the coming months.

“You can really offer that service in a matter of hours. We want to launch that as soon as we hit critical mass with our 5G rollout,” Thomas said. Jio is targeting 100 million homes through fiber and air fiber services in three years.