Reliance Industries has reported an 8.1% drop in consolidated net profit to Rs 20,616 crore in the fourth quarter as the global energy crisis hit its mainstay oil and chemicals business, offsetting gains in its consumer-facing telecom and retail units. On a standalone basis, the profit fell by 13% in for the March quarter at Rs 16,971 crore. For the full year, consolidated net profit jumped 18.3% to Rs 95,610 crore.
The company said the bottom line was hit by a 200 bps fall in margins, which slipped to 14.9% from 16.9% a year ago and 17.3% in the previous quarter, when crude prices were stable.
Gross revenue rose 12.9% to Rs 3,25,290 crore for the quarter and to Rs 11,75,919 crore for the full year, compared with Rs 10,71,174 crore a year ago, up 9.8%. Of the full-year net income, as much as Rs 8,924 crore came from proceeds from the sale of listed investments, the company said in a statement on Friday.
Sequentially too, net profit was lower in the reporting period, compared with Rs 18,645 crore in the December quarter. In the year-ago period, profit had stood at Rs 19,407 crore.
On the other hand, IPO-bound telecom arm Jio Platforms performed well, posting a 13% jump in net income to Rs 7,935 crore on revenue of Rs 38,259 crore, up 12.6% from Rs 33,986 crore a year earlier. For the full year, its gross revenue rose to Rs 1,72,317 crore from Rs 1,50,270 crore.
The other unlisted arm, Reliance Retail, also performed well, posting net income of Rs 3,563 crore for the reporting period, up from Rs 3,545 crore. For the full year, net income rose to Rs 13,842 crore from Rs 12,388 crore, while revenue increased 10.8% to Rs 98,232 crore for the quarter and 11.8% to Rs 3.70 trillion for the full year.
Reliance had outstanding debt of Rs 3,74,421 crore, up from Rs 3,46,896 crore in the previous quarter and Rs 3,47,530 crore in the year-ago period. However, the company also had cash balances of Rs 2,49,704 crore at the end of the quarter, up from Rs 2,29,794 crore in the previous quarter and Rs 2,30,447 crore a year ago.
Standalone revenue from oil-to-chemicals (O2C) increased 5.7%, largely driven by higher domestic market product placement and better price realisations, while oil and gas segment revenue fell 5.4% due to lower KG-D6 gas volumes, partly offset by higher realisations, the company said. Gross revenue from the mainstay business thus rose 12.9% to Rs 3,25,290 crore.
Despite the steep fall in net income, the management led by chairman Mukesh Ambani announced a Rs 6-per-share dividend for the year, which may help revive the share price, which has been under pressure for long.
The RIL counter closed 1.15% lower at Rs 1,327.80, sharply down from its 52-week high of Rs 1,611.80. Its market capitalisation has also fallen to Rs 18.11 lakh crore from Rs 22 lakh crore.