Billionaire Ambani's Reliance posts record profits on consumer strength

[MUMBAI] Reliance Industries' December-quarter profit jumped 13.5 per cent to another record, as the Indian oil-to-telecoms conglomerate headed by Asia's richest man benefited from steady double-digit growth at its consumer-facing units.

Consolidated net profit climbed to 116.40 billion Indian rupees (S$2.2 billion) in the three months to Dec 31, the company said on Friday. Revenue from operations at India's largest company by market value fell 2.5 per cent to 1.57 trillion rupees.

Quarterly profit - which trumped the record 112.62 billion rupees in the prior quarter - was also higher than analysts' average expectation of 114.32 billion rupees, according to Refinitiv data.

Mumbai-headquartered Reliance has been investing heavily in its retail and telecoms arms in an effort to bring them on par with its traditional refining and petrochemicals units.

Revenue at its retail unit rose 27 per cent in the December quarter, while that from telecoms arm Jio jumped 28 per cent.

Reliance, which runs the world's biggest oil refining complex, said gross refining margin - the profit earned on each barrel of crude oil processed - was US$9.2 per barrel, slightly lower than the previous quarter but better than a year earlier.

REUTERS