RIL Q2 profit nearly flat at Rs 13,656 cr, revenue up 34 pc

The oil to telecom behemoth had posted Rs 13,680 crore net consolidated profit in the July-September quarter of the financial year 2021-22.

RIL's revenue from operations during July-September quarter of the current financial year zoomed 34 percent to Rs 232,863 crore as compared to Rs 174,104 crore in the corresponding period last financial year.

Helped by retail and digital business, the conglomerate's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) for Q2FY23 stood at Rs 34,663 crore, higher by 14.5 percent year-on-year.

RIL shares closed 1.16 percent down over previous close at Rs 2,471.95 a piece on Friday on BSE.

Commenting on the results, RIL Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani said, “I am pleased with the record performance of our consumer businesses which continue to scale new milestones every quarter."

He further said that the company had seen consistent net subscriber additions and higher engagement in the digital services segment.

"Jio has announced beta trial for its industry-leading Standalone 5G services and is making rapid progress for an ambitious and the fastest ever roll out of True 5G on pan-India basis. Our Retail business delivered record performance with strong revival in footfalls, store additions and digital integration," the RIL Chief said.

Ambani said that performance of O2C (oil to chemicals) business reflected subdued demand and weak margin environment across downstream chemical products. He further said that transportation fuel margins were better than last year but significantly lower sequentially.

"Segment performance was also impacted by the introduction of special additional excise duties during the quarter to ensure stable supply and lower volatility in the domestic market. Our domestic Oil & Gas business continued to deliver robust performance maintaining production at 19 MMSCMD levels in the KG D6 block, significantly enhancing energy security for the country. We are confident of commissioning MJ Fields by year end,” the RIL Chairman said.

As per a media statement, gross revenue of Jio Platforms for the July-September quarter (Q2FY23) was Rs 28,506 crore, higher by 22.8 percent year-on-year.

"ARPU (average revenue per user) during the quarter of Rs 177.2 per subscriber per month saw a healthy 23.5 percent growth on Y-o-Y basis," it said.

While total customer base as on 30th September 2022 was 427.6 million, total data traffic was 28.2 billion GB during the quarter registering 22.7 percent year-on-year growth.

Earlier during the day, Reliance Jio lnfocomm Ltd (RJIL) reported 28 percent year-on-year increase in net profit at Rs 4,518 crore for the quarter ending September 30, 2022.

RJIL's revenue from operations stood at Rs 22,521 crore for the July-September quarter of FY23, up 20 percent as compared to Rs 18,735 crore in the corresponding period of the previous financial year.

RIL said that its retail business delivered record revenue and profits during the quarter led by broad-based growth across all consumer baskets.

The retail business posted its highest-ever EBITDA of Rs 4,404 crore, up 51.2 percent Y-o-Y.

"EBITDA from operations increased 75.9 percent Y-o-Y to Rs 4,286 crore in 2Q FY23, with a 130 basis point margin improvement over the same time last year resulting from favorable mix, positive operating leverage and operational efficiencies," said the press statement.

"Net profit for the quarter was Rs 2,305 crore ($ 283 million) higher by 36.0 percent Y-o-Y," it added.

As per the release, the O2C segment revenues for 2Q FY23 increased by 32.5 percent Y-o-Y to Rs 159,671 crore primarily on account of higher crude oil prices.

"Segment EBITDA for 2Q FY23 declined by 5.9 percent Y-o-Y to Rs 11,968 crore primarily on account of introduction of SAED (Special Additional Excise Duty) on transportation fuels and lower Polymer deltas. SAED related costs during the quarter was Rs 4,039 crore," it said.

The oil and gas (exploration and production) segment revenues for 2QFY23 increased by 134.4 percent Y-o-Y to Rs 3,853 crore, led by higher production and improved gas price realization.

RIL said that consolidated revenue of its media business rose 12.5 percent Y-o-Y to Rs 1,812 crore during 2Q FY23 amidst a challenging advertising environment, flat subscription revenue and ad revenue loss from removal of Hindi GEC from DD FreeDish.

"Consolidated EBITDA was Rs 32 crore, down 87.4 percent on a Y-o-Y basis," it said.

(With UNI inputs)