RIL Q3 results: Profit drops 15% YoY to ₹15,792 cr, revenue up 13%

Billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries (RIL) on Friday posted a consolidated profit after tax (PAT) of ₹15,792 crore, down 14.9% year-on-year (YoY) as compared to ₹18,549 crore in the same period last year. On the sequential basis, the profit of the oil-to-retail conglomerate rose 15.6% from ₹13,656 crore in the September quarter of the current fiscal.

The consolidated revenue from operations rose 13.3% to ₹220,592 crore versus ₹191,271 crore in the corresponding period last year. The growth in revenue was driven by continuing growth momentum in consumer businesses, higher realisation in O2C business with increase in energy prices along with nearly 2x growth in oil & gas business. However, on the quarter-on-quarter basis, revenue slipped 5.2% from ₹232,863 crore in Q2 FY23.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the quarter stood at ₹38,460 crore, up 13.5% YoY, led by consumer and upstream businesses.

As of December 31, 2022, outstanding debt was ₹303,530 crore, while cash and cash equivalents stood at ₹193,282 crore.

Commenting on the results, Mukesh D. Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director, Reliance Industries Limited 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.”

Reliance Jio, the telecom arm of the conglomerate, reported a 28.3% jump in its net profit at ₹4,638 crore as compared to ₹3,615 crore profit in the year-ago period. The country’s biggest telecom service provider saw its revenue from operations rising 19% to ₹22,998 crore as compared to ₹19,502 crore revenue in the year-ago period. EBITDA stood at ₹12,009 crore, up 4.5% as compared to ₹11,489 crore during Q2 FY23, while operating profit margin improved to 26.6%, from 26.3% in Q2 FY23 and 26.1% in the year-ago period.

Meanwhile, Reliance Retail reported 18.6% YoY growth in revenue from operations at ₹60,096 crore, led by well-rounded growth across all baskets and channels. EBITDA from operations increased by 32.2% to₹4,657 crore, aided by favourable mix, operating leverage, and efficiencies.

Oil to Chemicals (O2C) posted quarterly revenue at ₹144,630 crore, up 10% YoY on account of higher price realisation as crude oil prices went up by 11%. However, revenue was impacted by lower throughput with planned maintenance and inspection activity turnaround during the quarter. EBITDA rose 2.9% YoY to ₹13,926 crore on the back of higher price realisations despite lower downstream product volumes.

Oil and gas business was the top performer with a revenue growth of 74.8% at ₹4,474 crore, led by improved gas price realisation and higher production. Average gas price realised for KGD6 was at $11.3/MMBTU in 3Q FY23 versus $6.1/MMBTU in 3Q FY22, with raising of gas price ceiling to around $12.46/MMBtu by the government of India. EBITDA also increased sharply to ₹3,880 crore, up almost 2x on YoY basis, whereas EBITDA margin was at 86.7%.

Ahead of Q3 earnings announcement, RIL shares closed 1.15% lower at ₹2,442.70 apiece on the BSE.