Reliance Q4 net up 32% on refining margin rise; sales down

Moneycontrol Bureau

Reliance Industries' (RIL) fourth quarter net profit rose 32 percent year-on-year to Rs 5589 crore, boosted by higher other income and an improvement in gross refining margin, even as quarterly revenues declined 1.4 percent during the same period to Rs 86,618 crore.

A CNBC-TV18 poll had estimated the net profit to be around Rs 5540 crore and revenues around Rs 91,673 crore.

"Operating profit before other income and depreciation decreased by 8.4 percent from Rs 33,619 crore to Rs 30,787 crore due to reduction in oil & gas and petrochemicals earnings, partially offset by higher operating profit from refining. Net operating margin was lower at 8.5 percent as compared to 10.2 percent on a Y-o-Y basis due to lower production of oil & gas and weaker margins in petrochemicals business," the company said in its release.

GRM, the difference between the cost of processing crude and value of finished petroleum products sold, rose to USD 10.1/bbl from USD 7.6/bbl YoY, led by improved diesel and petrol margins. This more than doubled the operating profit for the refining and marketing segment to Rs 3520 crore.

The buoyancy in the refining and marketing business helped offset tepid performance in the oil & gas exploration, and petrochemical segments.

Revenues from the oil & gas exploration business fell 39 percent year-on-year to Rs 1597 crore due a continued decline in output from the KG-D6 block. Revenues from the petrochemical business grew 3.5 percent year-on-year to Rs 22,158 crore, but operating margin shrunk to 8.6 percent from 10.2 percent.

The company said revenues in its retail store chain business rose 42 percent to Rs 10,800 crore, and achieved a cash break even with an operating profit of Rs 78 crore.

During the year, the company bought back 4.25 crore shares worth Rs 3044 crore.

Read full press release here:

Read More