Reliance Industries Q2 net falls 15% on weak oil business
New Delhi: Billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries Ltd on Friday reported a 15 percent drop in second-quarter net profit after a slump in core oil and chemicals business dragged down continued good showing in consumer-facing verticals such as telecom.
Net profit attributable to owners at Rs 9,567 crore in July-September compared with Rs 11,262 crore a year back, Reliance said in a stock exchange filing.
The oil-to-telecom-to-retail conglomerate saw consumer-facing units doing well amid the lockdown easing but the core business continued to face pressure.
The firm's net addition of 7.3 million subscribers and per-user revenue rising to Rs 145 helped the telecom business soar.
Digital services, which include the telecom arm Jio, saw pre-tax profit surge 53 percent to Rs 8,345 crore as revenues soared by more than one-third.
With markets gradually opening up in the second quarter after a strict lockdown, revenue from the retail business was almost flat at Rs 39,199 crore and EBITDA was 14 percent lower at Rs 2,009 crore.
Petrochemicals revenue fell 23 percent to Rs 29,665 crore and pre-tax profit dropped 33 percent at Rs 5,964 crore.
Refining EBITA almost halved to Rs 3,002 crore as revenue slumped 36 percent.
The firm's twin refineries earned USD 5.7 per barrel on turning every barrel of crude oil into fuel.
The profit in Q2 was lower sequentially as well as the April-June earning of Rs 13,248 crore included a one-time gain of Rs 7,629 crore from sale of 49 percent stake in petro retailing business to BP.
The company has sold a minority stake in the retail and telecom businesses to investors such as Silver Lake and KKR. It raised Rs 1.52 lakh crore from the sale of stake in Jio Platforms and another Rs 37,710 crore from the sale of an 8.48 percent stake in its retail unit.
The firm had a gross debt of Rs 279,251 crore as of September 30, down from Rs 336,294 crore in the previous quarter. After considering Rs 185,711 crore of cash and Rs 30,210 crore received from stake sale deals that have closed and another Rs 73,586 crore pending from the strategic investors, the firm had a surplus of Rs 10,250 crore.
Commenting on the results, Reliance Industries Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani said, "We delivered strong overall operational and financial performance compared to the previous quarter with recovery in petrochemicals and retail segment and sustain growth in the digital services business."
"Domestic demand has sharply recovered across our oil-to-chemical (O2C) business and is now near the pre-Covid level for most products. Retail business activity has normalized with strong growth in key consumption baskets as lockdown ease across the country," he added.
With large capital raise in the last six months across Jio and retail business, several strategic and financial investors have joined the Reliance family, he said.
"We continue to pursue growth initiatives in each of our businesses with a focus on the India opportunity," he further said.
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London, Nov 22: A bomb disposal squad deployed as a “precaution” to the South Terminal of Gatwick Airport concluded an investigation into a "security incident" on Friday after making a “suspect package” safe.
The South Terminal of Gatwick Airport, the UK's second busiest airport after Heathrow, which was briefly shut owing to the incident reopened following the incident.
The Gatwick is around 45 km south of London.
Two people detained during the enquiries have since been allowed to continue their journey as the airport was opened.
“Police have concluded their investigation into a report of a suspect package at Gatwick Airport. Officers from the EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) team made the package safe, and the airport has been handed back to its operator,” Sussex Police said in an updated statement.
“Two people detained while enquiries were ongoing have subsequently been allowed to continue their journeys. There will remain an increased police presence in the area to assist with passengers accessing the South Terminal for onward travel,” the statement added.
Earlier on Friday, the incident caused severe disruption at the busy airport’s South Terminal, while the North Terminal of Gatwick Airport remained unaffected.
“Police were called to the South Terminal at Gatwick Airport at 8.20 am on Friday (November 22) following the discovery of a suspected prohibited item in luggage,” a Sussex Police statement said.
“To ensure the safety of the public, staff and other airport users, a security cordon has been put in place whilst the matter is dealt with. As a precaution, an EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) team is being deployed to the airport. This is causing significant disruption and some roads around the South Terminal have been closed. We’d advise the public to avoid the area where possible,” it said.
Footage on social media taken outside the airport showed crowds of frustrated travellers being moved away from the terminal building.
Gatwick said it was working hard to resolve the issue.
“A large part of the South Terminal has been evacuated as a precaution while we continue to investigate a security incident," the airport said in a social media post.
“Passengers will not be able to enter the South Terminal while this is ongoing. The safety and security of our passengers and staff remain our top priority. We are working hard to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.”
Train and bus services that serve the airport were also impacted while the police carried out their inquiries.
In an unrelated incident in south London on Friday morning, the US Embassy area in Nine Elms by the River Thames was the scene of a controlled explosion by Scotland Yard dealing with what they believe may have been a “hoax device”.
“We can confirm the 'loud bang' reported in the area a short time ago was a controlled explosion carried out by officers,” the Metropolitan Police said in a post on X.
“Initial indications are that the item was a hoax device. An investigation will now follow. Some cordons will remain in place for the time being but the majority of the police response will now be stood down,” it added.
