Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL), which has interests in oil, telecom and retail, reported higher-than-expected results for the March 2017 (Q4) quarter. Consolidated net profit (attributable to shareholders) rose 12.26 percent to Rs 8,046 crore while consolidated revenues from operations increased 45.2 percent to Rs 92,889 crore, on a year-on-year basis.
The company's net profit and revenues from operations for the corresponding quarter last year stood at Rs 7,167 crore and Rs 63,954 crore, respectively, according to regulatory filings by RIL with the Bombay Stock Exchange.
The gross refining margin, or GRM — a key metric for oil companies — came in at $11.5 per barrel for Q4, up from $10.8 in the corresponding quarter last fiscal.
"Refining and petrochemicals businesses achieved record levels of profitability, underpinned by our ability to access feedstock competitively from global markets, maintain high operating rates and place products in growth markets," Mukesh Ambani, chairman of RIL, said in a media statement.
On a standalone basis, net profit stood at Rs 8,151 crore, up from Rs 7,227 crore in the year-ago period while income from operations rose to Rs 74,598 crore from Rs 54,189 crore, YoY.
The company's retail fuel outlets stood at 1,221 at the end of fiscal 2017.
Reliance Jio's subscriber base stood at 108.9 million as of March 31, 2017.
The company declared a dividend of Rs 11 per equity share, entailing an outgo of Rs 3,916 crore, including dividend distribution tax.
The full year, consolidated net profit came in at Rs 29,833 crore as against Rs 29,861 crore in 2015-16, while operating revenues rose to Rs 3,30,180 crore from Rs 2,93,298 crore.
The company's revenue streams comprise petrochemicals, refining, oil and gas, retail and other businesses. Reliance Retail revenues increased to Rs 10,332 crore for Q4 at a gross level from Rs 5,646 crore in the year-ago period. "During the quarter, Reliance Retail added 63 stores across various store concepts. At the end of the year, Reliance Retail operated 3,616 stores across 702 cities," RIL said in a statement.
The company's Q4 results came after stock markets closed for the day.
