Reliance to raise ₹20,000 cr via non-convertible debentures

Billionaire Mukesh Ambani-backed Reliance Industries (RIL) on Friday announced its financial results for the quarter ending December 31, 2022 (Q3FY23). Additionally, RIL's board of directors has approved fundraising to the tune of ₹20,000 crore through non-convertible debentures. 

These NCDs will be issued in one or more tranches and on a private placement basis.

In its regulatory filing, RIL said, the board of directors in a meeting held on January 20, has "approved raising of funds through issuance of Non-Convertible Debentures (NCDs) up to ₹20,000 crore, in one or more tranches/series, on a private placement basis."

In Q3FY23, RIL garnered a consolidated net profit of ₹15,792 crore declining by 14.8% from ₹18,549 crore a year ago same period. However, revenue from operations climbed by 15% to ₹2.20 lakh crore in Q3 of the current fiscal versus ₹1.91 lakh crore in the same period last year. EBITDA came in at ₹38,460 crore, up 13.5% on-year. RIL missed estimates in terms of profitability but its revenue outperformed expectations.

Mukesh D. Ambani, Chairman, and Managing Director said, "Our teams across businesses have done an excellent job in delivering strong operating performance through a challenging environment. All segments contributed to the robust growth in consolidated EBITDA on Y-o-Y basis."

Ambani further highlighted that they are making rapid progress toward the implementation of new energy Giga factories at Jamnagar as part of their commitment to revolutionizing the green energy sector.

"Our strong balance sheet and robust cash flows remains the cornerstone of our commitment in growing existing businesses as well as investing in new opportunities," Ambani added.

For the quarter that ended December 31, 2022, RIL's capital expenditure was around ₹37,599 crore ($ 4.5 billion).

As of December 31, 2022, the company's outstanding debt stood at ₹303,530 crore ($ 36.7 billion), while cash and cash equivalents were at ₹193,282 crore ($ 23.4 billion). RIL's net debt is lower than annualized EBITDA.

On BSE, RIL shares closed at ₹2,442.70 apiece down by 1.15%. RIL is the largest company in terms of market share and its valuation was over ₹16.52 lakh crore as of January 20.

In simple terms, non-convertible debentures (NCDs) are those debentures that cannot be converted into shares or equities. These debentures are offered to investors at fixed interest, however, the rate depends upon the company issuing it. Some of the benefits of NCDs are that they offer diversification, no tax is deducted at source, healthy liquidity, and better returns among others.