Reliance Industries’ consolidated net profit in the recent September quarter dipped 23 per cent Y-o-Y.
This was primarily due to exceptional items pertaining to asset sales in the year-ago period. Excluding this, the company’s profit rose 43 per cent Y-o-Y.
This was driven by stellar performance in its petrochemicals business and a good show in the refining and retail segments. Robust demand, along with higher operating margin, resulted in a 36 per cent rise in the petrochemicals segment’s profit.
Despite the gross refining margin reducing to $10.1 a barrel from $10.6, higher volumes saw the refining segment’s profit rise nearly 10 per cent. The retail segment’s profit rose 42 per cent.
The exploration segment though posted a loss of about ₹500 crore due to shrinking output and pricing pressure. The digital business rolled out in the quarter will take a few years to break even. The refining, petchem and retail segments should be the key profit growth drivers meanwhile.