Reliance Industries net profit up 19 percent, tops estimate

REUTERS - Reliance Industries first-quarter net profit rose 19 percent year-on-year to 53.52 billion rupees, beating forecasts, lifted by stronger margins in its main oil refining business.

Net sales fell 4.6 percent to 876.5 billion rupees.

Reliance, which operates the world's biggest refining complex in western India, was expected to post June-quarter net profit of 52.7 billion rupees, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

The company reported average gross refining margin of $8.4 per barrel for the June quarter compared to $7.6 in the same period last year. (Reporting by Prashant Mehra; editing by Miral Fahmy)