Billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd recorded healthy earnings growth for the quarter ended March, led by the consumer and oil-to-chemicals businesses. It also became the first Indian company to cross the Rs 1 lakh crore threshold in pre-tax profit.
Shares of Reliance extended gains ahead of quarterly earnings announced after market hours on April 22. It rose 0.66 percent to Rs 2,959.70 on NSE and traded above all key moving averages. The stock has been consolidating in the Rs 2,894-3,000 range since March 28.
Here are 10 key highlights from its results:
1) Q4 Profit
The oil-telecom-to-retail major has reported net profit of Rs 21,243 crore for the March quarter, growing 0.1 percent over the corresponding period of last fiscal.
However, tax expenses for the quarter increased sharply by 139 percent YoY to Rs 6,577 crore due to availing of tax credits in the corresponding quarter of the previous year, Reliance said in its filing to exchanges.
2) Q4 Revenue
Gross revenue for the quarter came in at Rs 2.65 lakh crore, rising 10.8 percent on-year, supported by double-digit growth in oil-to-chemicals (O2C) and consumer businesses.
3) Q4 EBITDA
On the operating front, Reliance said EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) increased by 14.3 percent to Rs 47,150 crore with strong contributions from all businesses and margin expansion of 50 bps to 17.8 percent.
Finance cost for the quarter declined by 1 percent from a year earlier to Rs 5,761 crore due to lower average liability balances, while the depreciation cost increased 18.5 percent to Rs 13,569 crore on expanded asset base across all the businesses, higher network utilisation in digital services business and ramp-up in upstream production, during the same period.
Jio Platforms (JPL) business recorded a net profit of Rs 5,583 crore for the March quarter, growing 12 percent compared to the year-ago period. Revenue from operations increased by 13.4 percent to Rs 28,871 crore, driven by robust subscriber growth across mobility and homes and the benefit of mix improvement in ARPU.
"Performance of the digital services segment has been boosted by accelerated expansion of subscriber base, supported by both mobility and fixed wireless services. With over 108 million True 5G customers, Jio truly leads the 5G transformation in India," Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani said.
JPL’s EBITDA grew by 12.5 percent to Rs 14,360 crore from a year earlier, primarily due to healthy revenue growth and operating leverage.
Jio added 42.5 million subscribers during the quarter, taking the total customer base to 481.8 million at the end of March, while the average revenue per user (ARPU) increased by 1.6 percent on-year to Rs 181.7 per subscriber per month and remained steady compared to previous quarter.
"ARPU with better subscriber mix partially offset by increasing mix of promotional 5G traffic, offered unlimited to subscribers and not yet charged separately," Reliance said.
Engagement levels continued to remain strong, with data traffic for the quarter surging by 35.2 percent year-on-year to 40.9 billion GB and voice traffic rising 9.7 percent to 1.44 trillion minutes.
Reliance Retail delivered strong performance during the quarter with revenue growing 10.6 percent on-year to Rs 76,627 crore led by growth in consumer electronics and fashion & lifestyle segments, with 562 new store openings during the quarter. Store footfalls jumped by 24.2 percent to 272 million across formats during the same period.
Profit delivery was robust, rising 11.7 percent YoY to Rs 2,698 crore, with EBITDA at Rs 5,823 crore which was up by 18.5 percent YoY and margin expansion of 60 bps at 8.6 percent for the quarter.
6) O2C
The oil-to-chemicals business’s revenue rose by 10.9 percent to Rs 1.43 lakh crore for the quarter, driven by improved realisation in the transportation fuels segment and higher volumes.
“Strong demand for fuels globally, and limited flexibility in refining system worldwide, supported margins and profitability of the O2C segment,” Mukesh Ambani said.
The O2C business had a resilient EBITDA despite a weak margin environment, rising marginally by 3 percent year-on-year to Rs 16,777 crore supported by advantageous feedstock sourcing, ethane cracking and higher domestic product placement. The margin was down 90 bps for the quarter at 11.8 percent.
The total throughput and production meant for sale (total production adjusted for captive consumption) remained steady at 19.8 MMT and 17.1 MMT, respectively, compared to Q4FY23.
7) Oil & Gas
Its KG-D6 block has achieved 30 MMSCMD of production and accounted for 30 percent of India’s domestic gas production. Further, the block is producing around 23,000 barrels per day of oil/condensate.
The oil & gas segment revenues increased sharply by 42 percent year-on-year to Rs 6,468 crore with higher volumes from KG D6 block. The segment EBITDA also jumped significantly by 47.5 percent to Rs 5,606 crore, led by 66.4 percent higher gas and condensate production from KG D6 block, with margin expanding 330 bps to 86.7 percent during the same period.
But, the average price realisation was lower for KG D6 gas at $9.53 per mmBtu (metric million British thermal unit) in Q4, against $11.39 per mmBtu in the year earlier. The average price realised for CBM gas was $14.34 per MMBTU compared to $19.57 per MMBTU during the same period.
8) Media
The media business recorded a strong operating and financial performance across verticals during the quarter, with revenue showing a massive growth of 63 percent to Rs 2,419 crore, driven by sports, movies and news verticals. News business revenue grew by 25 percent during the same period, driven by the strong growth in advertising revenue for both TV and digital platforms.
9) Annual numbers
Reliance concluded FY24 with a consolidated net profit of Rs 79,020 crore, marking a 7.3 percent growth, and reported gross revenue of Rs 10 lakh crore, up 2.6 percent from the previous year, driven by expansion in consumer and upstream operations.
Further, the annual consolidated profit before tax crossed Rs 1 lakh crore mark during the year, becoming the first company in India.
Its EBITDA for the financial year ended March 31 increased by 16.1 percent to Rs 1.79 lakh crore compared to previous fiscal, with positive contribution from all key operating segments, while the margin expanded by 210 bps to 17.9 percent.
10) Dividend
Reliance, India’s most valuable company, announced a dividend of Rs 10 per share for the year.
The company had a capital expenditure for the year at Rs 1.32 lakh crore with investments in pan-India 5G roll-out, expansion of retail infrastructure and new energy business, against Rs 1,42 lakh crore in the previous fiscal. This excluded amount incurred towards spectrum and is adjusted for capital advances and regrouping of assets.
Disclaimer: MoneyControl is a part of the Network18 group. Network18 is controlled by Independent Media Trust, of which Reliance Industries is the sole beneficiary.
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