Windfall tax hits Reliance; Q2 net profit flat at Rs 13,656 crore

Billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries Ltd on Friday posted flat growth in net profit in the September quarter after a newly introduced windfall profit tax and lower refining margins dented earnings in the mainstay oil business.

The oil-to-retail-to-telecom conglomerate's consolidated net profit at Rs 13,656 crore in July-September was almost unchanged from Rs 13,680 crore net earnings in the same period last year, according to a company statement.

Sequentially, net profit fell 24 per cent from Rs 17,955 crore in April-June.

This is primarily because the firm's mainstay oil-to-chemicals (O2C) business earnings were hit by a new tax that the government imposed on