Rephrase the title:Elephants Can Dance: RIL net profit up 10% to ₹17,265 crore as consumer businesses continue to shine

• The company’s finance costs rose by 11.3% to ₹5,789 crore during the quarter while tax outgo was also higher by 22.1% YoY to ₹ 6,345 crore.
• Digital commerce and new commerce businesses contributed to 19% of revenues during the quarter.
• Revenue from the O2C segment declined by 2.4% on account of lower Brent crude oil price and planned shutdown in the refining business.

Reliance Industries reported earnings well ahead of the Street’s estimates at ₹17,265 crore against ₹15,792 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. The 10% growth in net profit has come as a surprise because the Street was building in lower profits due to a planned shutdown of its refining plants during the quarter. The company’s earnings growth is well ahead of consensus estimates. The oil to telecom conglomerate’s operating margin expanded to 18.1% from 17.7% a quarter ago and 16.2% a year ago.

RIL reported modest growth in revenues at ₹2.3 lakh crore during the quarter. The profit growth is commendable as costs continued to rise. The company’s finance costs rose by 11.3% YoY to ₹5,789 crore during the quarter primarily due to higher loan balances and higher interest rates.Tax outgo during the quarter was also higher by 22.1% YoY to ₹ 6,345 crore. Digital commerce and new commerce businesses continued to grow and contributed to 19% of revenues. RIL’s topline increasingly is being driven by growth in its consumer businesses and the December quarter has been no different. Revenue for Jio Platforms increased by 11.4% YoY, led by robust subscriber growth across mobility and homes, coupled with benefit flowing from mix improvement in average revenue per user (ARPU).

RIL Q3 FY24 performance

Source: Press release

The consumer facing businesses continued to steal the show during the third quarter too. Commenting on the company’s performance during the quarter, “Reliance has delivered yet another quarter of robust operating and financial performance, thanks to the exceptional efforts put in by teams across its businesses,” said Mukesh D. Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director, Reliance Industries. RIL reported an EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) of ₹40,656 crore against ₹35,247 crore in the year ago period and ₹40,968 crore in Q2.

As was expected, revenue from the O2C segment declined by 2.4% on account of lower price realisation led by 5.3% YoY decline in average Brent crude oil prices. However, revenue from Oil & Gas segment increased significantly mainly on account of higher volumes partly offset by lower gas price realisation from the KG D6 field. The operating income of the O2C segment for the quarter marginally increased by 1% YoY to ₹14,064 crore thanks to higher gasoline cracks and advantageous feedstock sourcing; this was partially offset by lower downstream chemical margins and planned maintenance and inspection shutdown. The company said that planned maintenance and inspection shutdown of CDU, FCCU, delayed coking and ROGC complex impacted yields and profitability. Without the shutdowns, the segment’s EBITDA would have been higher compared to previous quarters.

Segmental performance

Source: Press release

Similar to the second quarter, the retail business reported a stellar 22.8% year on year jump in revenues at ₹83,063 crore, as demand stayed robust across consumption baskets. The grocery segment grew by 41%, while fashion & lifestyle rose by 28% and consumer electronics grew by 19%. Reliance Retail opened 252 new stores during the quarter, taking the total store count to 18,774 stores with an area of 72.9 million sq ft. Reliance Retail recorded footfalls of over 282 million across formats, clocking a growth of 40.3% YoY.

Isha M Ambani, Executive Director, Reliance Retail Ventures said, “Reliance Retail has delivered steady performance during the festive quarter. Our business success is intricately woven into the larger fabric of India’s economic growth, and together, we are shaping a compelling story of innovation and world class possibilities for the future.”