Reliance Industries Ltd, one of the top importers of crude oil from Russia has decided to recalibrate its oil imports from that country in line with Government of India’s guidelines
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) chairman Mukesh Ambani. File
| Photo Credit: PTI

Reliance Industries Ltd reported second quarter consolidated net profit dropped 2.8% to ₹19,323 crore from ₹19,878 crore in the same period last year.

Gross revenue for the quarter ended September 30, 2024 remained stable Y-o-Y at ₹2,58,027 crore, the company said in a filing.

Oil to Chemicals (O2C) revenue improved with higher volumes and increased domestic placement of products.

Digital services revenue increased with the impact of revised telecom tariffs for mobility services and scale-up of homes and digital services businesses. Lower gas price realizations led to 6% lower revenue in the Oil and Gas segment, the company said.

The company’s EBITDA decreased by 2.0% Y-o-Y to ₹43,934 crore. EBITDA for Jio Platforms Limited (JPL) increased 17.8% Y-o-Y due to better subscriber mix, digital services scale-up and revision in telecom tariffs, the company said.

EBITDA margin for Reliance Retail Ventures Limited (RRVL) improved by 30 bps with continued focus on streamlining of operations and calibrated approach in B2B. O2C EBITDA was lower by 23.7% on account of sharp decline in product margins. Fuel cracks declined by nearly 50% Y-o-Y, it said.

Downstream chemical also declined with muted global demand in a well-supplied market. RIL benefited due to superior ethane cracking economics driven by sharp fall in ethane prices.

Oil and Gas segment EBITDA increased by 11.0% on account of sustained volume growth and one time provisioning towards decommissioning cost for Tapti field in Q2 FY 24.

Mukesh D. Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director, Reliance Industries Limited said: “I am happy to note that during this quarter Reliance once again demonstrated the resilience of its diversified business portfolio. Our performance reflects robust growth in Digital Services and Upstream business. This helped partially offset weak contribution from O2C business which was impacted by unfavorable global demand-supply dynamics.”

“Growth in Digital Services was led by increased ARPU and improving customer engagement metrics reflecting the strong value proposition of our services. The home broadband segment is witnessing accelerated momentum on the back of our unique industry-leading JioAirFiber offering. Jio’s broad spectrum of offerings enables it to digitally empower every village, town and city in India as well as the country’s small and medium scale enterprises. The digital services business continues to focus on innovative deep-tech solutions on a national scale and is on track to deliver the path-breaking benefits of Artificial Intelligence to all Indians,” he said.

“The retail segment continues to increase its consumer touchpoints and product offerings across physical and digital channels. The unique omni-channel retail model enables the business to service a wide range of requirements of a vast, heterogenous customer base. The retail business continues to partner with renowned domestic as well as global players, expanding its basket of quality product offerings. The focus on strengthening our Retail operations will help us rapidly scale-up this business in the coming quarters and years and sustain our industry-leading growth momentum,” he added.

Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani Chairman poses with (from 2nd R to L) wife Nita Ambani, children Isha Ambani, Anant Ambani, and Akash Ambani. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

The Board of Directors of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), at its meeting held on August 28 on the recommendation of the Human Resources, Nomination and Remuneration Committee, considered and recommended to the shareholders for approval of appointment of Isha Ambani, Akash Ambani and Anant Ambani as Non-Executive Directors of the Company. 

“Their appointment will take effect from the date they assume office after approval by the shareholders,” RIL said in a statement.

The Board of Directors also accepted the resignation of Nita Ambani from the Board respecting her decision “to devote her energies and time to guide and enable Reliance Foundation (RF) to make even greater impact for India.”

“The Board of Directors appreciated Nita Ambani for her leadership of Reliance Foundation as its Founder Chairperson. Over the years, RF has made considerable progress in its mission of nurturing and empowering marginalised and under-resourced communities in India,” the statement said. 

“They lauded Nita Ambani’s request to focus even more on strengthening Reliance Foundation as it embarks on a mission to achieve even greater societal transformation by undertaking a host of new programmes and initiatives,” the statement added.

“As the Chairperson of Reliance Foundation, Nita Ambani will attend all the RIL Board meetings as a permanent invitee to the Board so that the Company can continue to benefit from her advice,” the statement further said.

The company said that Isha Ambani, Akash Ambani and Anant Ambani have been closely involved with and are leading and managing key businesses of RIL over the last few years including retail, digital services and energy and materials businesses. “They also serve on the boards of the key subsidiaries of RIL.“

“Their appointment to the Board of RIL will enable RIL to gain from their insights and infuse new ideas, the Board opined,” RIL said.