MUMBAI: Reliance Industries, which runs the world’s largest single-location oil refinery with 60 million tonnes of refining capacity, has warned that the continuing geopolitical and tariff-related uncertainties could disrupt trade flows and the demand-supply balance in its oil-to-chemicals business.
The company, in the FY25 annual report released Thursday, said though it expects crude prices to remain volatile amid evolving sanctions, changing tariff regimes and output decisions by the oil cartel Opec and non-Opec members, oil demand is likely to maintain growth despite growing electric vehicle adoption as the economy is on a strong footing.
In its 2025 oil outlook, the company, which closed the year with the highest ever revenue and net income -- Rs 10.71 trillion and Rs 81,309 crore respectively in FY25 -- said the ramp-up of new refineries may lead to weaker product cracks.
"But expected closures can create upside potential for refining margins. Domestic fuel demand is expected to remain healthy with increasing economic activity, while domestic demand for downstream chemical products is expected to grow ahead of the GDP growth rate, driven by demand from infrastructure, packaging, automobiles and agriculture," RIL said.
The company further said it remains on track to become net carbon zero by 2035 and is progressing rapidly to set up a 30 gwh modular battery gigafactory for cells, packs, containerised BESS (battery energy storage systems), and the backward integration into battery materials.
In his address to the shareholders, company chairman Mukesh Ambani said RIL sees the “breakneck speed with which the world is changing, reshaped by digital disruption, global shifts, and technological breakthroughs, not as a challenge but as an opportunity. We are reimagining our future and reshaping our businesses to become a new-age deep-tech enterprise.”
“From energy to entertainment, from retail to digital services, we are integrating next-generation technologies across every business vertical. Over 1,000 of our in-house scientists are leading cutting-edge research in areas like AI, renewable energy, advanced materials, and digital platforms, while our manufacturing infrastructure is being future-proofed to support the national aspiration of becoming a global manufacturing powerhouse,” Ambani said.
Ambani said even amidst extreme external volatility, Reliance delivered a year of solid and balanced growth in FY25: revenue rose 7.1% to a record Rs 10.71 trillion, from which it earned an operating profit of Rs 1.83 trillion which grew 2.9% on-year and a net income of Rs 81,309 crore, which was 2.9% more than it had earned in the previous fiscal.
Meanwhile, the company said its digital arm Jio has filed for 1,654 patents in FY25, nearly doubling its total tally of patents to over 3,341 to date. During the year, Jio Platforms and its subsidiaries were granted 154 patents, taking the total granted patents 485 patents.
Reliance spent over Rs 4,185 crore in FY25 towards R&D. This was 14.9% higher than Rs 3,643 crore in FY24. In just three years, RIL’s annual R&D spend increased by over Rs 1,500 crore from Rs 2,608 crore in FY22.
The year also saw RIL commissioning 1gw of solar PV panels capacity and will be commissioning 30 gwh of battery capacity in FY26.
The company is also on track to establish a fully automated, multi-gw electrolyser manufacturing facility by the end of 2026.
Meanwhile, the chairman Ambani continued to forego his entire remuneration including salary, allowances, perquisites, retiral benefits as well as any commissions for the fifth year in a row. Prior to the pandemic, his remuneration was capped at Rs 15 crore since FY09.
In FY25, RIL's contribution to the national exchequer crossed the Rs 2 trillion-landmark for the first time, and over Rs 10 trillion in the past six years at 10,12,823 crore. RIL's contribution to the national exchequer stood at Rs 2,10,269 crore in FY25, up 12.8% from Rs 1,86,440 crore in FY24.
“As Reliance approaches its golden jubilee, we’ve built high-powered growth engines: retail, digital services, media and entertainment, and new energy. Each of these platforms is technology-first, innovation-led, and positioned to disrupt industries while delivering massive value to Indian consumers and the global market,” Ambani concluded.