RIL Q2 net profit falls 5% to ₹16,563 cr

Reliance Industries' consolidated net profit fell 4.78% year-on-year to ₹16,563 crore for the second quarter of the current fiscal year, dragged down by a sharp decline in operating profit from the O2C (oil-to-chemical) business.

RIL's revenue from operations stood flat, rising just 0.2% year-on-year to ₹2.35 lakh crore during the quarter.

"Our performance reflects robust growth in Digital Services and Upstream business. This helped partially offset weak contribution from O2C business which was impacted by unfavourable global demand-supply dynamics," Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and MD at RIL said in an official statement. EBITDA from the O2C segment fell 23.7% to ₹12,413 crore.

Reliance Industries' gross revenue held steady at ₹2.58 lakh crore ($30.8 billion), boosted by higher volumes in the Oil to Chemicals (O2C) business and increased domestic sales. Growth in digital services, driven by revised telecom tariffs and expanded home services, also supported revenue. However, lower gas prices caused a 6% drop in Oil and Gas segment revenue.

The company’s EBITDA declined by 2% year-on-year to ₹43,934 crore ($5.2 billion) in Q2 FY25, primarily due to a sharp drop in product margins within its O2C (oil-to-chemicals) business. O2C EBITDA fell 23.7%, driven by a 50% year-on-year decline in fuel cracks and lower downstream chemical performance amid muted global demand and oversupply. However, RIL benefited from favourable ethane cracking economics due to a significant drop in ethane prices.

Jio Platforms reported a 17.8% rise in EBITDA, driven by a better subscriber mix, digital services expansion, and revised telecom tariffs. Reliance Jio's ARPU (average revenue per user) grew 7.4% year-on-year to ₹195.1, with the full impact of the recent tariff hike expected in the next 2-3 quarters. Jio strengthened its 5G leadership, reaching 148 million subscribers, who now contribute 34% of its wireless data traffic. Jio Platforms also posted a record net profit of ₹6,539 crore, up 23%, with revenues increasing 18% to ₹37,119 crore.

The company's growth was fueled by the tariff hike and expanding home and digital services. Jio's quarterly EBITDA rose 18% to ₹15,931 crore, while Jio AirFiber added 2.8 million home connections by the end of September 2024, further accelerating its growth.

Reliance Retail Ventures (RRVL) improved its EBITDA margin by 30 basis points, driven by operational efficiency and a strategic B2B approach. The company's capital expenditure for the quarter reached ₹34,022 crore ($4.1 billion). RRVL reported a profit after tax of ₹2,935 crore for the September quarter, up nearly 20% from the previous quarter, with revenue from operations rising slightly to ₹66,502 crore from ₹66,260 crore.