RIL's Q4 net profit up 17.3% at Rs 9,435 crore; watch CFO Alok Agarwal analysing the firm's earnings

Mumbai: Industrialist Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Limited’s (RIL) consolidated net profit for the fourth-quarter (January-March) of fiscal 2017-18 stood at Rs 9,435 crore, up by 17.3 percent on a year-on-year basis, a company statement said on Friday.

The company had posted a net profit of Rs 8,046 crore for the corresponding quarter of fiscal 2016-17.

The company’s consolidated revenue stood at Rs 1,29,120 crore, up 39 percent during Q4 FY 18, compared to the Rs 92,889 crore posted in the corresponding quarter a year ago.

“FY 2017-18 was a landmark year for Reliance where we established several records on both operating and financial parameters. Reliance has become the first Indian company to record PBDIT (Profit Before Depreciation Interest and Taxes) of over $10 billion with each of our key businesses - refining, petrochemicals, retail and digital services achieving record earnings performance,” said Mukesh D Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director, RIL.

Furthermore, Ambani said that substantial synergies, productivity gains and production growth in the energy and materials business allowed the company to perform at very competitive levels despite the uptrend in oil prices through the year.

“We have established strong foundations in retailing and digital services business with world-class supply chain management and network infrastructure which will serve our customers well. It is very heartening to see the traction our service offerings are gaining, with discerning Indian consumers. The growing Indian market provides exciting opportunities to scale-up these businesses and maximize long-term shareholder value in the coming years,” he added.

RIL’s gross refining margin (GRM) for the financial year 2017-18 was at a nine-year high of $11.6/bbl, as against $11.0/bbl in the previous year. Reliance’s Q4 FY 2017-18 GRM outperformed Singapore complex refining margins by $4.0/bbl. The GRM for the quarter stood at $11.0/bbl, as against $11.5/bbl in the year-ago period.

For the financial year 2017-18 the petrochemicals segment’s EBIT increased sharply by 63.0 percent to its highest-ever level of Rs 21,179 crore ($3.2 billion). Due to RIL’s strengthened cost positions across product chains and unmatched feedstock flexibility, the EBIT margin was higher by nearly 300 bps to 16.9 percent for FY 2017-18.

Reliance Jio’s profit grows 

RIL said that subsidiary Reliance Jio posted a standalone net profit of Rs 510 crore for the fourth-quarter (January-March) of fiscal 2017-18. Jio had posted a standalone net profit of Rs 504 crore for the third-quarter (October-December) of fiscal 2017-18. Standalone revenue from operations stood at Rs 7,128 crore during the fourth-quarter.

Ambani said: “A full-blown social, mobile and digital revolution is underway across the world, and I am glad that India is not being left behind in any way with the advent of Jio. Everyone at Jio is today proud to have played a pivotal role in transforming the digital landscape of this country and empowering millions of Indians with all the leading digital tools and skills. Jio is offering the ‘power of data’ to each Indian to fulfil every dream and to collectively take India to Global Digital Leadership.”

With inputs from IANS

(Disclosure - Reliance Industries Ltd. is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd)