RIL posts 8-year high net profit in March quarter aided by higher refining and petrochem margins

Reliance Industries on Friday reported a 16 percent jump in the March quarter net profit to a record quarterly earning of Rs 7,398 crore on the back of higher refining and petrochem margins. [caption id=“attachment_2590574” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  RIL reported a 16% rise in its consolidated net profit in fourth quarter[/caption] Consolidated net profit of Rs 7,398 crore in January-March 2016 quarter is against Rs 6,381 crore in the same period a year ago, the company said in a statement. The quarterly profit has been the highest posted by the company in last 8 years i.e December 2007 quarter. RIL’s consolidated net profit for fiscal year 2016 rose by 17.2 percent to Rs 27,630 crore as against Rs 23,566 crore in year ago. “FY 2015-16 has been a year of outstanding achievement for our downstream hydrocarbon businesses, notwithstanding persisting global economic uncertainty," said Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director, Reliance Industries in a statement. “Looking ahead, we are focused on ensuring a flawless start- up and stabilization of the new growth platforms across our hydrocarbon and consumer businesses. The commercial roll-out of our Jio services this year will digitally enable a billion Indians and propel growth for India and Reliance,” Ambani said. RIL earned $10.8 on turning every barrel of crude oil into fuel compared with a gross refining margin of $10.1 in the fourth quarter of 2014-15. Refining margin outperformed Singapore benchmark by $3.1 per barrel. The company said it posted a record quarterly consolidated PBDIT (profit before depreciation, interest, and taxes) of Rs 13,994 crore, up 16.9 per cent. The retail business achieved sales of Rs 5,781 crore during the quarter, up 21 per cent year-on-year, with EBIT of Rs 131 crore up 26 per cent. (Disclosure: Firstpost is part of Network18 Media & Investment Limited which is owned by Reliance Industries Limited.)