RIL Q2 PAT up 15.8% at Rs 5703cr, GRM below expectations

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 Moneycontrol Bureau

Robust refining margins-which are directly co-related to crude oil prices-helped Reliance Industries (RIL) to meet analyst expectations on the bottomline. At the same time, revenues from the exploration & production business fell sharply, offsetting much of the gains from higher volume sales and price hikes.

RIL's July-September quarter net profit rose 15.8% year-on-year, to Rs 5,703 crore. This was marginally lower then the CNBC-TV18 poll projecting the bottomline at Rs 5,750 crore. Net turnover for the quarter rose 35% to Rs 80,790 crore, better than the poll estimate of Rs 79,800 crore.

"The increase in profits was largely driven by improved performance in the refining and petrochemicals business. All our manufacturing facilities operated at record levels with refineries achieving operating rates of 110%. RIL has strong balance sheet and sustained earning base to pursue growth opportunities," said, chairman and managing director  Mukesh Ambani in the earnings release.

Here is a quick look at how each of the key segments fared.

OIL AND GAS (exploration and production):
Segment revenue:                         Rs 3,563 crore, down 17.2% y-o-y

Earning before interest and taxes: Rs 1531 crore, down 10.2 % y-o-y

The company in a statement said that production from KG-D6 was 2.7 million barrels of crude oil, and 303.4 BCF of natural gas, a reduction of 42.1% and 20.3% respectively  y-o-y.The reduction in production was mainly due to reservoir complexity. Production of gas condensate was 0.40 million barrels, an increase of 26.3 % over the previous period.
Gas was sold as per the Government's Gas Utilization Policy and at a price of $ 4.2 /MMBTU.

REFINING AND MARKETING

 Segment revenue: Rs 68,096 crore, up 37% y-o-y

Segment EBIT:       Rs 3,075 crore, up 40.3% y-o-y

RIL, which operates the world's biggest refining complex in western India, said gross refining margins were at $10.1 per barrel but did not immediately provide year-ago numbers. The margins had been at $10.3 a barrel in the previous quarter. The company also said that the refining and marketing segment achieved a record revenues due to higher prices which accounted for 38.0% growth in revenue while increase in volume accounted for 3.5% growth in revenue.

 PETROCHEMICALS

Segment revenue: Rs 21,066 crore, up 39.5% y-o-y

Segment EBIT:      Rs 2,422 crore, up 10.2%

However, segment EBIT would have been higher if not for spiralling depreciation cost.

Meanwhile, have a quick glance at the company's half yearly performance

- Turnover increased by 36.0% to Rs 164,479 crore ($ 33.6 billion)
- Exports increased by 52.2% to Rs 101,872 crore ($ 20.8 billion)
- PBDIT increased by 9.0% to Rs 21,950 crore ($ 4.5 billion)
- Profit Before Tax increased by 19.6% to Rs 14,581 crore ($ 3.0 billion)
- Cash Profit increased by 4.6% to Rs 17,828 crore ($ 3.6 billion)
- Net Profit increased by 16.3% to  Rs 11,364 crore ($ 2.3 billion)
- Gross Refining Margin at $ 10.1/bbl for the quarter and $ 10.2/bbl for the half year ended 30th September 2011

For Press Release click on attachment