Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) has reported a net profit of Rs. 5,511 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2013, as compared to Rs. 5,502 crore during the same period in the previous year.
The net profit remained almost flat due to drop in gross refining margin at its refineries and continued fall in production from its KG exploration blocks.
The company reported a 10.3 per cent growth in total income at Rs. 103,521 crore against Rs.93,886 crore.
As compared to the previous quarter, the quarterly profit increased only 0.4 per cent from Rs.5,490 crore reported in the second quarter. But turnover declined by 0.1 per cent as compared to Rs.106,523 crore in the second quarter.
For the nine months ended December 31, 2013, RIL reported a 6.1 per cent growth in net profit at Rs.16,353 crore against Rs.15,414 crore in the year-ago period.
The turnover grew by 6.7 per cent to Rs.303,495 crore from Rs.284,500 crore.
Refining margin The refining margin for the third quarter dropped to $7.6/bbl from $9.6/bbl in the same period last year.
However, sales from the refining segment grew by 14.6 per cent while petrochemical sales went up by 10.1 per cent.
“Reliance’s robust refining configuration enabled it to deliver stable refining profits in the third quarter, against the backdrop of declining regional benchmark margins. Even as we invest to further strengthen our energy businesses, this quarter demonstrates the outstanding quality of our refining and petrochemical business resources and their ability to deliver creditable performance in a period marked by cyclicality and uncertainties,” Mukesh D. Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director, the company said.
Polyester facility “We are happy to announce the commissioning of our new polyester facility in Silvassa, the first among a series of projects that underpin RIL’s industry-leading competitive position. Our retail business continues on its rapid growth trajectory with 38 per cent revenue growth during the quarter,” Mr. Ambani added.
Commenting on the results, Deven Choksey, market analyst and Managing Director of KR Choksey Shares and Securities, said, “The results are on expected lines. On a sequential basis, the company has done well under the present circumstances. Margins are expected to improve in the coming quarters.”
The KG-D6 field produced 1.45 million barrels of crude oil, 0.2 million barrels of condensate and 135 billion cubic feet (BCF) of natural gas in the nine months of this financial year, a reduction of 38 per cent, 44 per cent and 51 per cent respectively on a year-on-year basis.
“Fall in production is mainly attributed to geological complexity and natural decline in the fields,” RIL said.
Reliance Retail In organised retail, RIL’s arm Reliance Retail’s revenues grew to Rs.3,927 crore in the third quarter from Rs.2,839 crore during the same period in the previous year.
For the nine months ended December 2013, the retail business achieved a turnover of Rs.10,857 crore as against Rs.7,749 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year, a growth of 40 per cent. The company did not make any announcement on the possible launch date of Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd’s services.
RIL shares closed with a loss of 0.07 per cent at Rs.884.55 on the BSE on Friday.
