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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Three footballers of Indian origin named in squads for FIFA World Cup 2026
New Delhi: Three footballers of Indian origin have been named in preliminary or final squads for the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2026, scheduled to be held across the United States, Mexico and Canada from June 11 to July 19.
According to a report published by Mathrubhumi, Sarpreet Singh was included in the New Zealand national football team squad which was announced on Wednesday.
Born in Auckland to Indian parents, Singh was eligible to represent India through his family roots but chose to play for New Zealand. The 27-year-old attacking midfielder made his senior international debut in 2018 and has since become a regular member of the national side.
Singh has made 26 appearances for New Zealand and has scored three goals while providing seven assists.
Julen Lopetegui has included two players of Indian origin: Niall Mason and Tahsin Mohammed, in Qatar’s selections for the tournament.
Mason, a defender whose mother is Indian, previously trained in the youth academies of Real Madrid, Southampton FC and Aston Villa FC. Although he received his first senior call-up earlier this year, the Qatar defender is yet to make his senior international debut.
Tahsin Mohammed, 19, was born to parents from Kerala’s Kannur district. His father Jamshid is from Thalassery, while his mother Shaima belongs to Valapattanam. The winger became the first player of Indian origin to feature in the Qatar Stars League, Qatar’s premier domestic football competition.
Mohammed has made two appearances for the senior Qatar side, including in a World Cup qualifier against Afghanistan in June 2024.
The FIFA World Cup 2026 will be jointly hosted by United States, Mexico and Canada.
