Reliance revenue jumps 25% to Rs 3.1 lakh crore as fuel and Jio businesses power Q1

Reliance Industries’ revenue rose 25% to Rs 3.1 lakh crore in the June quarter, lifted by strong performances at its oil-to-chemicals (O2C) business and Jio’s digital services arm, the company said on Friday. Ebitda climbed 10% to Rs 51,403 crore over the same period, even as expenses rose faster, up 27% to Rs 2.9 lakh crore.

Net profit, however, fell 25% to Rs 23,196 crore, a decline the company attributed mainly to a one-off gain of Rs 8,924 crore booked a year earlier from a stake sale in Asian Paints. Despite the year-on-year fall, the profit figure still came in above analysts’ average estimate of Rs 18,550 crore.

The O2C division, which made up 33% of total operating profit, saw Ebitda rise 17% year-on-year to Rs 17,010 crore. Stronger transportation fuel and downstream margins, higher crude sourcing from Russia and Latin America, and lower-cost ethane feedstock drove the improvement, though higher crude, freight and insurance costs, along with losses from holding domestic fuel prices steady and the reintroduction of a special additional excise duty on diesel, petrol and aviation fuel, weighed on the gains.

Jio posted a 16% rise in Ebitda to Rs 21,255 crore on strong revenue growth and a 150 basis point margin expansion. Average revenue per user rose 3% to Rs 216, helped by a better subscriber mix and seasonal gains, partly offset by broadband promotions. The telecom operator, launched in 2016, had 533 million customers as of June 30, making it the world’s second-largest by subscriber count, with data traffic up 27% and voice traffic up 2%.

Retail Ebitda was largely flat at Rs 6,309 crore, down 1%, even as revenue grew 8% on higher digital commerce contribution and infrastructure costs. Oil and gas Ebitda held steady at Rs 4,973 crore, while Ebitda from smaller businesses, including media and consumer products, fell 28% to Rs 1,856 crore. Entertainment platform JioStar’s Ebitda rose 31% to Rs 933 crore on strong revenue growth and improved cost efficiency.

Chairman Mukesh Ambani called it a steady start to the financial year, saying: “Reliance has made a steady start to FY27, with all businesses delivering strong operating performance despite continuing geopolitical tensions and volatile commodity markets. This makes me optimistic about the year ahead as we advance our new energy projects and the Jio IPO.” The company closed the quarter with cash of Rs 2.46 lakh crore against net debt of Rs 1.22 lakh crore.

Wikimedia Commons/by World Economic Forum