RIL quarterly profit drops first time in three years

23 January 2009

Reliance Industries, the country's largest private sector oil refiner with over 22 per cent of the refining capacity, has posted better than expected results for Q3 ended Dec 2008, though refining margins and income and net profit have declined. This was the first drop in quarterly profit in three years.
  
The gross refining margins (GRM) stood at $10 per barrel down from $15.4 per barrel a year ago. However, RIL refinery, continued to maintain a premium over  Singapore complex GRM of $6.4 per barrel.

The turnover for the quarter fell 9.3 per cent; it stood at Rs31,563 crore. The revenue fromm refining also fell to Rs21,740 crore against Rs26,154 crore for the same period last year, a decline of 16.8 per cent. 

Revenue from the petrochemicals division which comprises the mainstay of the company's revenues declined marginally from Rs12,706 crore a year ago to Rs12,623 crore.

Oil and gas revenues rose 36 per cent to Rs1,031 crore from Rs758 crore in the third quarter of 2007 with the Krisha-Godavari basin fields going on stream from September. 

For the nine months ended December 2008, the company's net profit at Rs11,733 crore rose 3.4 per cent over the Rs 11,349 crore of the same quarter last year.

The company said in a statement that the third quarter profits would have been lower by Rs1,177 crore had the company provided for loss on account of foreign exchange difference on borrowings from overseas as per the Accounting Standard-11. RIL adjusted the loss on value of assets in conformity with the Companies Act as per legal advice it said.