Reliance Industries declares strong Q3 results

Mumbai (Maharashtra)[India], January 20 : Reliance Industries (RIL) registered strong earnings for third quarter on Friday showing an increase of 14.8 per cent in its gross revenue to Rs 240,963 crore, supported by continuing growth momentum in consumer businesses.
The company said its digital services segment achieved 20.4 per cent year-on-year growth while its retail segment grew by 17.2 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y).
Higher realization in the oil-to-consumer (O2C) business with an increase in energy prices along with nearly twice the growth in oil and gas business also contributed to growth in revenue.
RIL's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (Ebitda) increased by 13.5 per cent year-on-year to Rs 38,460 crore on the account of strong growth in subscriber base and 17.5 per cent increase in average revenue per user (ARPU) in Digital Services Segment.
It also was supported by improvement in middle distillate cracks, partially offset by weak downstream chemical margins and solvent absorption-extractive distillation (SAED)-related costs in O2C segment, according to a RIL release.
There was higher gas price realisation with increase in ceiling price, and marginally higher volumes in the oil and gas segment during the quarter.
According to RIL, depreciation increased by 32.6 per cent y-o-y to Rs 10,187 crore due to an expanded asset base across all the businesses and higher network utilisation in Digital Services business.
During the reviewed quarter, finance costs increased by 36.4 per cent y-o-y to Rs 5,201 crore due to increase in interest rates and loan balances. Proactive resource management helped contain impact of sharp hike in rates by the central bank, RIL said.
Tax expenses during the reviewed quarter were Rs 5,266 crore on account of lower available tax credits and incentives.
RIL said its profit after tax (before considering impact of exceptional item for third quarter) marginally improved by 0.6 per cent y-o-y at Rs 17,806 crore. The capital expenditure for the quarter ended December 31, 2022 was Rs 37,599 crore.
The release said the company's outstanding debt as on December 31, 2022, was Rs 303,530 crore. Cash and Cash Equivalents as on December 31, 2022, were at Rs 193,282 crore ($ 23.4 billion). RIL said its net debt is lower than annualized Ebitda.
Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director, Reliance Industries Limited, said: "Our teams across businesses have done an excellent job in delivering strong operating performance through a challenging environment. All segments contributed to the robust growth in consolidated EBitda on y-o-y basis. In O2C business, middle distillate product fundamentals remain strong with firm demand, constrained supply, and high natural gas prices in Europe."
The CMD said downstream chemical products witnessed margin pressure with excess supply and relatively weak regional demand. "Our focus remains on operating safely and reliably producing vital fuel and materials for consumers."
On its telecom firm, he said, "Jio delivered record revenues and Ebitda driven by strong momentum in customer growth and data consumption. This quarter we launched True 5G services.
He said it was now available in 134 cities and towns in India, enhancing customer experience while enabling next-generation services. "It is heartening that customers recognise the great value and world class connectivity that Jio offers on its 4G and 5G networks," he added.
Mukesh Ambani said retail business had another quarter of strong progress with more Indians choosing to shop at Reliance Retail stores. "We are focused on delivering superior products and value to customers while improving profitability."
"Our upstream business delivered robust growth with sustained production from KG D6 block along with higher realisation. We are on track to reach 30 MMSCMD of gas production in FY 24 after the commissioning of MJ field. This will significantly enhance India's energy security in a volatile energy market environment," the CMD said.
"We are making rapid progress towards the implementation of new energy Gigafactories at Jamnagar as part of our commitment to revolutionizing the green energy sector. Our strong balance sheet and robust cash flows remain the cornerstone of our commitment in growing existing businesses as well as investing in new opportunities," he added.
Akash M Ambani, Chairman, Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited, said Jio is undertaking the "most ambitious and fastest ever 5G rollout plan for any country of our size".
"Within three months of launch, Jio True5G is now available across 134 cities and would be available across India by December 2023. In addition, Jio will connect over 100 million premises with JioFiber and JioAirFiber offering unparalleled digital experiences. We will also empower small merchants and businesses with cutting-edge, plug-and-play solutions delivered from the cloud."