RIL reports Rs9,036-cr Q1 net profit on revenues of Rs172,956 cr

RIL said it profit before depreciation, interest and tax (PBDIT) increased by 9.1 per cent to Rs24,486 crore ($3.5 billion) during the quarter ended 30 June 2019 while profit before tax increased by 4.7 per cent to Rs14,366 crore ($2.1 billion) 

RIL’s cash profit increased by 1.8 per cent to Rs16,184 crore ($2.3 billion) while its net profit increased by 6.8 per cent to Rs10,104 crore ($1.5 billion).

RIL’s refining revenues, however, declined by 3.0 per cent to Rs96,384 crore ($14.0 billion) with exports falling by 4.5 per cent to Rs50,158 crore ($7.3 billion). Profit before depreciation, interest and taxes (PBDIT) declined by 1.4 per cent to Rs16,985 crore ($2.5 billion) Profit before tax was down 1.7 per cent at Rs12,109 crore ($1.8 billion) Cash profit decreased by 5.9 per cent to Rs11,842 crore ($1.7 billion) 

Gross refining margin (GRM) stood at $ 8.1 a barrel for the quarter.

Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) and BP announced the sanction of the MJ project (also known as D55) in Block KG D6, offshore the east coast of India. MJ is the third of three new projects in the Block KG D6 integrated development plan and its approval follows sanctions for the development of ‘R-Series’ deep-water gas field in June 2017 and for the satellites cluster in April 2018. Together the three projects are expected to develop a total of about 3 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of discovered gas resources with a total investment of circa Rs35,000 crore ($5 billion). These projects together, when fully developed, will bring about 1 billion cubic feet a day of new domestic gas onstream, phased over 2020-2022. 

Reliance Ethane Holding Pte. Ltd. (REHPL) a wholly owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited, incorporated in Singapore, having 100 per cent holding in six limited liability companies (LLCs) which own very large ethane carriers (VLECs), Mitsui O.S.K Lines Ltd of Japan and a strategic minority investor signed binding definitive agreements for a strategic investment by MOL and minority investor in the six special purpose limited liability companies, each owning a VLEC. MOL and the strategic minority investor have completed their strategic investment in the SPVs. 

Reliance Brands Limited (RBL), a subsidiary of RIL, completed the acquisition of 100 per cent stake of Hamleys Global Holdings Limited (HGHL), through a special purpose vehicle set up in United Kingdom for a cash consideration of GBP 67.96 million. This acquisition will establish RBL as a major player in the global toy retail industry. 

Operating environment for both downstream businesses, refining and petrochemicals, has been challenging for the previous six quarters. 1Q FY20 was particularly tougher with geopolitical pressures exacerbating crude markets, RIL stated. 

Despite a slowdown in the FMCG and consumer sector, Reliance Retail maintained strong growth momentum through expansion across geographies, formats and verticals, reflecting in revenue growth of 48 per cent YoY and EBITDA growth of 70 per cent YoY.

During the quarter, Reliance Retail crossed the milestone of 100 million register customers and 150 million footfalls, establishing its position as the most preferred retailer in India. 

Reliance Jio maintained strong momentum in subscriber addition with gross adds of 33.8 million during the quarter. This translated into revenue and EBITDA growth of 44 per cent and 49 per cent respectively. 

“Our first quarter earnings were strong despite weak global macroeconomic environment and challenging hydrocarbon market conditions. Our downstream businesses delivered resilient performance in an environment of slower demand growth and incremental supplies. The performance reflects the benefits of deep refining and petrochemicals integration, chain economics and feedstock flexibility,, Mukesh D Ambani, chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries Limited, said.

“The company continues to make major strides in its retail and digital services businesses led by focus on growth markets with offerings in the right product segments and compelling value proposition. We are pleased with the robust growth both in revenues and operating income for Reliance Retail. Our digital services business continues to transform the mobility market in India while scaling newer milestones,” he added.

Reliance, meanwhile, entered into an agreement with Brookfield for investment of Rs25,215 crore in the Tower Infrastructure Trust. This is the single largest foreign investment in an Indian infrastructure vehicle and is also a significant step forward in optimizing the capital structure of the digital and infrastructure businesses.