Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), India's largest private sector company by market capitalization, has reported strong quarterly results, but its shares declined despite the impressive performance.

Financial Highlights

Reliance Industries reported its highest-ever consolidated quarterly EBITDA of ₹58,024.00 crore, representing a 35.7% year-on-year increase. The company's net profit surged to ₹30,783.00 crore, marking a 76.5% growth. However, it's important to note that these strong numbers included a one-time gain of ₹8,924.00 crore from the sale of listed investments. Excluding this gain, EBITDA grew by 15% and profit increased by 25%.

Segment Performance

Digital Services

Jio Platforms showed robust performance with revenue increasing by 18.8% to ₹41,054.00 crore. The company crossed a significant milestone of 200 million 5G subscribers, highlighting the rapid adoption of its 5G services.

Retail

Reliance Retail reported an 11.3% growth in revenue, reaching ₹84,171.00 crore. However, this growth rate represents a deceleration compared to previous quarters and fell short of analyst estimates.

Oil-to-Chemicals

The Oil-to-Chemicals segment experienced a slight decline in revenue, decreasing by 1.5%. This was attributed to planned maintenance shutdowns during the quarter.

Market Response and Analyst Outlook

Despite the strong results, Reliance Industries shares declined by 2.10% to ₹1,445.00. The market's reaction reflects a mixed outlook from brokerage houses:

• JPMorgan maintained an overweight rating and raised its target price to ₹1,695.00.
• Morgan Stanley noted that the earnings didn't provide sufficient growth confidence.
• Macquarie warned of potential near-term share price moderation, citing lacklustre retail performance.

Conclusion

While Reliance Industries has posted record quarterly profits and EBITDA, the market response has been cautious. The company's performance across its diverse business segments shows both strengths and areas for potential improvement. Investors and analysts will likely continue to closely monitor the company's growth trajectory, particularly in its retail and digital services segments, as well as its ability to maintain profitability in its core businesses.

Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), India's largest private sector conglomerate, has reported robust performance across its diverse business segments for the first quarter. The company's strategic investments in technology, retail, and new energy sectors are showing promising results, positioning it for sustained growth in the coming years.

Financial Highlights

RIL reported a 6% year-on-year increase in consolidated revenue, reaching ₹2,31,132.00 crore. The company's EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization) saw a significant jump of 36% to ₹58,000.00 crore. Notably, even after excluding a one-time gain of ₹8,924.00 crore from the sale of Asian Paints shares, the recurring EBITDA and PAT (Profit After Tax) grew by 15% and 25% respectively.

Jio Platforms: Leveraging Technology for Growth

Jio Platforms Limited (JPL), RIL's digital services arm, continued its strong performance with a 19% year-on-year increase in operating revenue to ₹35,032.00 crore. The company's EBITDA grew by an impressive 24% to ₹18,135.00 crore, with margins expanding by 210 basis points.

Anshuman Thakur, Head of Strategy at Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited, highlighted the company's focus on deep tech and in-house technology stack development. Jio has successfully deployed its own 5G standalone network and is now offering innovative services like Jio Games, Jio AI Cloud, and Jio PC.

Retail: Expanding Reach and Diversifying Offerings

Reliance Retail Ventures Limited (RRVL) reported an 11.3% year-on-year growth in gross revenue to ₹69,948.00 crore. The company's EBITDA increased by 12.7% to ₹6,086.00 crore, with margins improving by 20 basis points to 8.7%.

Dinesh Taluja, CFO & Corporate Development at Reliance Retail, emphasized the company's multi-format, omni-channel strategy. The retail segment saw strong performance in grocery and fashion categories, while the FMCG business doubled its revenue year-on-year.

New Energy: Building a Sustainable Future

RIL is making significant strides in its new energy business, with Karan Suri, Senior Vice President of New Energy, detailing the progress of the company's giga factories in Jamnagar. The integrated ecosystem covers solar, battery, and green hydrogen production, positioning RIL as a leader in sustainable energy solutions.

Oil to Chemicals (O2C): Resilient Performance

The O2C segment demonstrated resilience with improved fuel cracks and polymer margins. Srinivas Tuttagunta, COO of Refining & Marketing, noted that the segment benefited from a healthy demand growth of 0.7 million barrels per day in the refinery sector.

Media and Entertainment: Jio Star's Strong Debut

The newly formed Jio Star, which includes the digital streaming platform Jio Hotstar, reported impressive numbers during the IPL season. Kevin Vaz, CEO of Entertainment at Jio Star, announced that the platform reached 287 million paid subscribers during IPL, solidifying its position as a major player in the Indian streaming market.

Future Outlook

V Srikanth, CFO of Reliance Industries Limited, expressed confidence in the company's ability to double its value by the end of what he termed the "golden decade." He emphasized that RIL's diversified portfolio and strategic investments in technology and sustainable energy position the company for multi-decade growth opportunities.

As Reliance Industries continues to expand and innovate across its business segments, the company remains focused on leveraging its technological capabilities, retail network, and sustainable energy initiatives to drive long-term value creation for its shareholders and contribute to India's economic growth.