Reliance Q2 results: Consolidated net profit surges 43% to ₹13,680 cr

Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) today reported strong set of quarterly numbers, driven by better realisation and a sharp rise in crude oil prices that benefited the dominant old-economy business, while retail saw footfalls at stores reach pre-Covid levels and per user earning from telecom business rose.

The oil-to-telecom conglomerate's consolidated net profit jumped 43% to ₹13,680 crore for the quarter ended September 30 (Q2FY22). It was ₹9,567 crore in the corresponding quarter of last year (Q2FY21).

On a sequential basis, the profit after tax (PAT) surged by 11% as against ₹12,273 crore in the previous June quarter.

Reliance Industries revenue from operations grew 49% to ₹1.74 lakh crore in the second quarter. The company had posted revenue of ₹1.16 lakh crore in the year-ago period.

“I am pleased that Reliance has posted a strong performance in the second quarter. This demonstrates the inherent strengths of our businesses and the robust recovery of the Indian and global economies. All our businesses reflect growth over pre-Covid levels. Our operational and financial performance reflects sharp recovery in the retail segment and sustained growth in Oil-to-Chemicals (O2C) and digital services business," said Mukesh Ambani, Chairman of Reliance.

Reliance reported record quarterly consolidated earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) or operating profit at ₹30,283 crore, up 30% year-on-year.

Segment wise, revenues from the dominant oil-to-chemicals (O2C) business increased by a massive 58% to ₹1.2 lakh crore in the reporting period. It was ₹76,184 crore in the same quarter last year.

Refinery throughput for the quarter was at 17.1 MMT, an increase of 12% over last year.

"Our O2C business benefited from sharp recovery in demand across products and higher transportation fuel margins," Ambani said.

Reliance Industries' telecom and digital arm Jio Platforms reported a net profit of ₹3,728 crore for the second quarter, up 23% from ₹3,019 crore reported in the year-ago quarter.

Meanwhile, revenue from operations of Jio rose to ₹19,777 crore in Q2 from ₹18,496 crore in the last year quarter.

Average revenue per user (ARPU) of the telecom major during the quarter came in at ₹143.6 per subscriber per month, which is a 3.7% growth over previous quarter.

“Jio business continues to transform the broadband market in India and set new benchmarks for the industry,” Ambani added.

Jio reported a meaningful acceleration in gross subscriber addition with total gross adds of 35.6 million in the second quarter, highest in last seven quarters.

Reliance said it is working with Google to launch the low-priced smartphone JioPhone Next, to be available around Diwali.

Covid-led spike in churn of low-end subscribers drives net subscriber decline of 11.1 million in the reporting quarter.

The retail arm of the conglomerate Reliance Retail's revenue has increased by 9% to ₹39,926 crore as against ₹36,566 crore in the last year period.

The retail business posted an EBIDTA of ₹2,913 crore, up 45% year-on-year driven by favorable revenue mix, continued focus on cost management and investment income. Net profit for the business stood at ₹1,695 crore, higher by almost 74%.

“Reliance Retail continues to grow on the back of rapid expansion of both physical stores and digital offerings resulting in healthy growth in revenues and margin expansion,” Ambani said.

Ambani said the company continues to make steady progress in accelerating its foray into new energy and new materials business.

"Our partnership approach and the desire to bring India to the forefront of global transition to clean and green transition is underscored by our recent investments in some of the best companies in the world in the solar and green energy space," he added.

Reliance has an outstanding debt of ₹2.55 lakh crore ($34.5 billion) at the end of September quarter, while cash and cash equivalents as on September 30 were at ₹2.59 lakh crore ($35 billion).

On Friday ahead of the results, Reliance Industries scrip closed flat at ₹2,627.40 on NSE. The shares of India's largest company by market capitalisation have risen by 32.11% since the start of the year as against 29% rise in Nifty Index.

Earlier this month, RIL scrip has hit a record high of ₹2,751 and is eyeing ₹3,000 in the medium-term. Currently, the index heavyweight is trading higher than 20 day, 50 day, 100 day and 200 day moving averages.