Reliance Q4 results: Profit rises 22% to ₹16,203 cr, falls short of estimates

Reliance Industries Ltd. posted 22% growth in consolidated net profit at ₹16,203 crore for the three months ended 31 March. The growth, even though fell short of market estimates, was led by bumper oil refining margins, steady growth in telecom and digital services and strong momentum in retail business.

Net income was ₹13,227 crore in the corresponding period of last year.

The oil-to-telecom conglomerate's revenue from operations rose 37% to ₹2.11 lakh crore. Reliance, India's most valuable firm, has crossed $100 billion (7.92 lakh crore) annual revenue in FY22, the only domestic company to achieve the feat.

A consensus Bloomberg estimate has pegged net profit at ₹16,800 crore and revenue was seen at ₹2.15 lakh crore.

On Friday, Reliance scrip closed 0.77% lower at ₹2,620 apiece on NSE. The stock has recently hit an all-time high of ₹2,856.

The company's board has also recommended a dividend of ₹8 per equity share for the financial year ended 31 March.

“Despite the ongoing challenges of the pandemic and heightened geo-political uncertainties, Reliance has delivered a robust performance in FY2021-22. I am pleased to report strong growth in our digital services and Retail segments. Our O2C business has proven its resilience and has demonstrated strong recovery despite volatility in the energy markets," Reliance Chairman Mukesh Ambani said.

"I am pleased to report that our Retail business has crossed the 15,000 store benchmark. JioFiber is now the largest broadband provider in India within two years of launch. Oil and gas business is now contributing 20% of domestic gas production," he said.

Segment wise, the dominant Oil-to-Chemicals (O2C) business clocked a revenue of ₹1.45 lakh crore, up 44% year-on-year, primarily on account of higher realisations on the back of sharp increase in crude oil prices.

The O2C business — comprising the world's biggest refining complex at Jamnagar, and petrochemicals plants — EBITDA for the fourth quarter improved 25% year-on-year to ₹14,241 crore ($ 1.9 billion), led by multi-quarter high transportation fuel cracks, partially offset by lower polymer and intermediates margins and higher energy cost.

The retail arm of the behemoth Reliance Retail delivered its best-ever quarterly revenues even surpassing the festive quarter performance despite the challenges posed by the spread of Omicron wave and coming out from the festive quarter.

The business recorded gross revenue of ₹58,017 crore for the quarter under review, a growth of 23% over last year, with broad based double-digit growth across all consumption baskets.

EBITDA for the quarter stood at ₹3,705 crore, up 2.4% year-on-year, led by robust performance in fashion and lifestyle and grocery consumption baskets.

Meanwhile, quarterly operating revenue was ₹10,918 crore ($ 2.9 billion), driven by strong revenue growth and margin improvement. ARPU (Average revenue per user) during the quarter stood at ₹167.6 per subscriber per month, showing a healthy 21.3% growth.

"I am particularly happy with the progress our Company is making in the New Energy and New Materials business. We are forging ahead with the development of our new energy giga factories complex across 5,000 acres in Jamnagar. And with the strong global partnerships we have, I am confident that Reliance will create sustainable and affordable new energy solutions for India to help her meet growing energy needs, while ensuring that we achieve our ambitious target of net carbon zero by 2035,” Mukesh Ambani said.