RIL Q3 results: Net profit rises 7.4% to Rs 18,540 cr, beats estimates

Beating analyst estimates, oil-to-telecom conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) on Thursday reported a 7.4 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) increase in its consolidated profit (attributable to the owners) to Rs 18,540 crore for the third quarter of the current financial year (Q3FY25). Consolidated profit before interest, depreciation, and taxes (PBIDT) for RIL was up 7.8 per cent Y-o-Y to Rs 48,003 crore.

 

In a Bloomberg poll, 11 analysts estimated a consolidated revenue of Rs 2.33 trillion and nine foresaw a net income adjusted of Rs 18,326 crore for RIL in Q3FY25.

 

Addressing the press, RIL Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) Mukesh Ambani said: “Robust growth in digital services business was led by sustained subscriber addition and consistent improvement in customer engagement metrics. Retail segment delivered a strong performance, with noteworthy contributions from all formats. The business ably capitalised on the pickup in consumption amid festive demand during the quarter.” The O2C (oil-to-chemicals) business showcased its innate resilience, registering growth even in this prolonged period of volatility in the global energy markets, he added.

 

RIL’s consolidated revenue for Q3 came in at Rs 2.39 trillion, 6.6 per cent higher than a year ago. The O2C business revenue saw a 6 per cent rise, and revenue from the retail business was up 7 per cent Y-o-Y. That for telecom was up 19.4 per cent. The oil and gas division saw a 5.2 per cent drop in revenue from a year earlier.

 

This Q3 performance also marks a reversal in RIL’s three straight quarters of declining trend for its consolidated profits on a Y-o-Y basis.

 

Sequentially, RIL’s consolidated net profit was up 11.9 per cent while revenue rose 3.6 per cent. On a standalone basis, RIL’s revenue was down 2.6 per cent to Rs 1.24 trillion, and net profit declined 12.2 per cent to Rs 8,721 crore Y-o-Y.

 

Reported profit after tax (PAT) for Q3 stood at Rs 21,930 crore, up 11.7 cent from the previous year, according to RIL’s press note. The company also highlighted that it is “record Ebitda and PAT at a consolidated level for this quarter”.

 

The digital services business of RIL brought in the highest incremental share amongst the segment to the overall Ebitda for the company on a Y-o-Y basis. The vertical reported an 18.8 per cent Y-o-Y rise in EBITDA to Rs 16,585 crore. Revenue for this business rose 19.4 per cent to Rs 33,074 crore. The company said, Jio Platforms has reported its record quarterly PAT.

 

RIL operates three main business divisions — O2C, which comprises refining, fuel-retailing, and petrochemicals; and two consumer-facing businesses, namely retail and telecom.

 

The conglomerate’s O2C business posted a 6 per cent rise in revenue to Rs 1.49 trillion Y-o-Y, and Ebitda for the segment rose 2.4 per cent to Rs 14,402 crore, scripting a recovery from the weakness seen in the last couple of quarters.

 

Exports from the O2C division continued to reflect a decline, registering a 9.3 per cent drop to Rs 67,672 crore.

 

RIL Chief Financial Officer (CFO) V Srikanth said the steady performance for the O2C business was on account of benefit from favourable feedstock sourcing and higher volumes. In its statement, the company said O2C revenue rise was primarily on account of higher production meant for sale as compared to Q3FY24.

 

The retail business saw revenue from operations up 7 per cent Y-o-Y to Rs 79,595 crore. Its Ebitda was up 9.5 per cent to Rs 6,828 crore in Q3FY25.

 

RIL’s net debt as of December 2024 stood at Rs 1.15 trillion, with consolidated gross debt at Rs 3.5 trillion, marginally up from Rs 3.11 trillion a year ago. Net debt-to-Ebitda stayed steady at 0.6 times Y-o-Y. Capital expenditure also continued at a steady rate of Rs 32,259 crore for the quarter. Finance costs, the company said, increased by 6.7 percent Y-o-Y to Rs 6,179 crore primarily due to higher debt balance.

 

Srikanth also noted, “We have always invested at the bottom of the cycle and this is the time to take advantage of lower project cost,” and listed on-going investments including – an integrated 1.5 MMTPA polyvinyl chloride and chlorinated polyvinyl chloride facilities at Dahej and Nagothane, expanding virtual ethane pipeline from North America by Rs 50 percent and adding 3 more very large ethane carriers (VLECs), one MMTPA specialty Polyester capacity and 3 MMTPA PTA capacity. To be sure, Ambani has listed most of these expansion plans in his earlier AGM speeches.