RIL Q2 net profit falls 5% due to weak show at O2C business 

Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) chairman Mukesh Ambani. File
| Photo Credit: PTI

Reliance Industries Ltd reported second quarter consolidated net profit dropped 4.77% to ₹16,563 crore from ₹17,394 crore in the same period last year due weak contribution from the Oil to Chemicals (O2C) business.

Gross revenue for the quarter ended September 30, 2024 increased 0.8% Year on Year (YoY) to ₹258,027 crore.

While O2C business revenue improved 5.1% with higher volumes and increased domestic placement of products, the EBITDA was down 23.7% to Rs 12,413 crore on account of sharp decline in product margins. Fuel cracks declined by nearly 50% YoY, the company said in a filing.

“Downstream chemical also declined with muted global demand in a well-supplied market. RIL benefited due to superior ethane cracking economics driven by sharp fall in ethane prices,” it added.

Lower gas price realisations led to 6% lower revenue in the Oil and Gas segment. But it reported 11% growth in EBITDA YoY at Rs 5,290 crore.

Jio Platform Ltd which the company’s digital services reported 23.4% YoY growth in net profit at Rs 6,539 crore on revenues of Rs 37,119 crore, which grew 17.7% YoY.

Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd, the retail business of the company reported 1.3% growth in net profit at Rs 2,836 crore on topline of Rs 76,302 crore which was down 1.1% YoY as people deferred purchases of fashion, electronics and lifestyle products to the festive season.

Mukesh D. Ambani, CMD Reliance Industries Ltd in a statement said “Our performance reflects robust growth in digital services and upstream business. This helped partially offset weak contribution from O2C business which was impacted by unfavorable global demand-supply dynamics.”

“Growth in digital services was led by increased ARPU and improving customer engagement metrics reflecting the strong value proposition of our services. The home broadband segment is witnessing accelerated momentum on the back of our unique industry-leading JioAirFiber offering,” he said.

“The retail segment continues to increase its consumer touchpoints and product offerings across physical and digital channels. The focus on strengthening our retail operations will help us rapidly scale-up this business in the coming quarters and years and sustain our industry-leading growth momentum,” he added.