RIL net profit dips 1st time in 9 quarters; down 4.5%

Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd on Friday reported a 4.5% year-on-year drop in its consolidated net profit to Rs 5,256 crore for the third quarter ending December against Rs 5,502 crore last year.

Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) on Friday reported a 4.5% year-on-year drop in its consolidated net profit to Rs 5,256 crore for the third quarter ending December against Rs 5,502 crore last year.

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This is RIL’s first profit decline in nine quarters after a steep fall in crude oil prices that hurt the company’s core refining business and margins.

Turnover during October-December was also down by 20.4% to Rs 96,330 crore against Rs 121,077 crore in the year-ago period.

An unprecedented year-on-year fall in benchmark oil price by 30% was the key factor for the company’s declining revenue.

Gross refining margins, or the earnings, by the operator of the world’s biggest oil-refinery complex for turning every barrel of crude into fuel, were low in the fourth quarter. RIL’s GRM stood at $7.3 a barrel in the third quarter as compared to $7.6 a year ago.

“The quarter witnessed heightened volatility across the hydrocarbon business. Benchmark crude oil prices declined by around 40% through the quarter, with consequent impact on petrochemical feedstock and product prices,” the company said in a statement.

RIL’s exports declined by 21.5% to Rs 58,507 crore. While debt rose to Rs 150,007 crore from Rs 142,084 crore as on September 30, cash-in-hand fell to Rs 78,691 crore as on December 31 from Rs 83,456 crore at the end of previous first quarter.