Billionaire Mukesh
Ambani's Reliance Industries Ltd on Friday reported more than doubling of its
March quarter net profit as consumer businesses of retail and telecom as well
as petrochemicals saw sequential recovery on improved spreads offsetting
continued weakness in refining business.
Consolidated
net profit of Rs 13,227 crore in January-March compared with Rs 6,348 crore
earned a year back, the company said in a statement.
The fourth quarter net
profit included Rs 797 crore exceptional item due to gain on sale of US shale
assets.
Revenue was up 13.6 per
cent to Rs 1,72,095 crore.
The
oil-to-telecom conglomerate posted the highest ever annual net profit of Rs
53,739 crore, up 34.8 per cent year-on-year.
This was aided by record
annual EBITDA for Jio Platforms at Rs 32,359 crore and highest ever annual
EBITDA for Reliance Retail at Rs 9,789 crore.
While the oil-to-chemical
or O2C business improved quarter-on-quarter, it was lower than year-ago
earnings primarily due to weakness in the refining business.
This was more than made
good by a spurt in consumer-facing businesses of telecom and retail which now
contribute to 45 per cent of earnings as compared to 33 per cent a year back.
Jio Platforms, which houses
the firm's telecom arm, posted a 47.5 per cent net profit to Rs 3,508 crore in
January-March as it added over 1.54 crore net subscribers.
But a switch
to 'bill and keep regime' from 'interconnect usage charges' saw its per user
earning fall to 138.2 per month from Rs 151 in the previous quarter.
It had 42.62 crore
subscribers at the end of March.
Jio's data traffic during
the quarter stood at 16.7 billion GB, up 5.2 per cent quarter-on-quarter while
voice traffic at 1.03 trillion minutes was up 6 per cent.
Its average monthly per
user data consumption was strong at 13.3 GB and voice consumption was at 823
minutes.
Subscriber additions picked
up following the new JioPhone offer in March.
A record revenue from
grocery business and strong growth in consumer electronics saw net profit from
retail business rise 45 per cent quarter-on-quarter to Rs 2,247 crore in Q4.
The firm added 826 stores
to take the number of stores to 12,711.
But the resurgence of Covid
infections has impacted the retail operations in April, with footfalls dropping
to 35-40 per cent of pre-Covid levels.
While there was a sustained
recovery in petrochemical margins, refineries operated at lower capacity due to
the pandemic, pulling down O2C EBITDA by 4.6 per cent to Rs 11,407 crore.
The start of gas production
from newer discoveries in the eastern offshore KG-D6 block led to the company
seeing its second straight quarter of pre-tax profits in the segment after many
years.
For the full 2020-21
fiscal, revenue was down 18.3 per cent at Rs 5,39,238 crore and net profit was
up nearly 35 per cent at Rs 53,739 crore.
Reliance announced a
dividend of Rs 7 per share for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2021.
Jio Platforms posted full
year net profit of Rs 12,537 crore while Reliance Retail full year profits
stood at Rs 5,481 crore.
Commenting on the results,
Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director, Reliance Industries Limited,
said: "We have registered robust recovery in O2C and retail segment, and
resilient growth in Digital Services business (which includes telecom unit
Jio)."
"Sustained high utilisation
rates across sites and improvement in downstream product deltas as well as
transportation fuel margins aided O2C earnings growth.
"Our consumer
businesses have proved to be a digital and physical lifeline for the nation in
these challenging times," he said.
While COVID-19 disrupted
livelihoods, Reliance added nearly 75,000 jobs to the economy, he said without
giving details.
"These are
extraordinarily challenging times for India. Our immediate priority is to help
our country and community tide over the COVID crisis.
"We have deployed our
best resources in strengthening the nation's fight against the pandemic.
"Our facilities in
Jamnagar are producing life-saving medical grade oxygen, which is the crucial
need of the hour in many states," Ambani said.
The fourth quarter of FY21
marks the start of an earnings upgrade cycle after a year of challenges.
Higher chemical margins
(LDPE and PVC are at decade highs) more than negate slower per user telecom
revenue.
Refining margins are
recovering despite lockdowns as inventories unwind as permanent refinery
shutdowns continue globally.
FY22 earnings, however,
face downside risks as blip on fuel demand due to resurgence of Covid
inflections delays return to refineries to pre-pandemic utilisation and
profitability levels, telecom tariff hikes continue to be delayed and retail
recovery could be impacted by a fresh set of restrictions.
Gross debt fell to Rs
251,811 crore as of March-end when compared to Rs 257,413 crore as of
December-end, while cash at hand rose to Rs 254,019 crore from Rs 220,524
crore.
Net debt stood at a
negative (-) Rs 2,208 crore.