Reliance Industries sees a landmark quarter: Watch CFO Alok Agarwal's earning analysis

Reliance Industries on Monday reported a rise of 10 percent in its standalone net profit for the quarter ended 31 December 2016, thanks to a robust refinery performance. The company’s third quarter standalone net profit increased to Rs 8,022 crore ($1.2 billion). The company’s gross refining margin – the difference between the crude oil price and the value of petroleum products coming out of a refinery – of $10.8 per barrel was well above market expectations. [caption id=“attachment_3206762” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Reliance Industries CFO Alok Agarwal[/caption] “Our robust integrated platform, sound operational processes and business portfolio aligned to the needs of emerging India enabled us to deliver another record performance in challenging market conditions,” Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries, said in a statement after the release of the latest numbers. “The refining business has delivered eight consecutive quarters of double-digit GRMs, benefiting from the global demand for transportation fuels and improved product cracks.” In a live video analysis, the company’s CFO Alok Agarwal said later that the quarter was a landmark for the company. “This quarter is a landmark in many ways. Our hydrocarbon business has record financial performance and a standalone profit of Rs 8,022 crore. It is the first time our net profit has crossed Rs 8,000 crore,” he said. Explaining the three major developments for the company, Agarwal said, “The first one is that we brought on line a part of our paraxyline capacity, which will on full commissioning place us among the top three producers in the world. We had exceptional growth in our retail business. We now have by far the largest footprint in India. And as of December end we had in excess of 72 million subscribers for the Jio network.” There are three developments that will impact the company’s business going forward: for one, agreement between Opec and non-Opec countries on oil production which has pushed up the oil prices, secondly, the election of Donald Trump as the new President of the US, which strengthened the Us dollar and depreciated the rupee; and thirdly short-term impact of demonetisation which has been taken care off with the hands on management. Most importantly, the company’s organised retail business has grown and is the piosed for the better future. Watch the entire video above. With inputs from IANS (Disclosure: Firstpost is part of Network18, owned by Reliance Industries Limited.)