Mukesh Ambani-owned oil-to-chemicals-to-telecom conglomerate Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) on Friday posted a consolidated profit after tax (PAT) at Rs 16,203 crore, up 22.5 per cent in the quarter ended 31 March, 2022 following strong performance across its energy, telecom and retail verticals. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 13,227 crore in the year-ago period.
Sequentially, the company's profit declined 12.6 per cent in March quarter from Rs 18,549 crore in the previous December quarter.
RIL's revenue from operations has come in at Rs 2,11,887 crore from Rs 1,54,896 crore in the same quarter last fiscal. It is now the first Indian corporate to cross $100 billion in sales revenues.
The board also recommended a dividend of Rs 8 per equity share of Rs 10 each for the financial year ended March 31, 2022.
The company's EBITDA, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization for the year stood at record Rs 1,25,687 crore ($16.6 billion), higher by 28.8 per cent.
RIL noted that the continuance of coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic globally and in India is causing significant disturbance and slowdown of economic activity. The company's operations and revenue were impacted due to COVID-19. However, it added that during the year ended March 31, 2022, there is no significant impact of COVID-19 on the operations.
Meanwhile, Reliance Jio reported 24 per cent rise in standalone net profit at Rs 4,173 crore for the quarter ended 31 March, 2022. The telco had reported a net profit of Rs 3,360 crore in the year-ago period.
Further, the company's average revenue per user or ARPU during the quarter came at Rs 167.6 per subscriber per month, up 21.3 per cent growth on Y-o-Y basis and 10.5 per cent growth on Q-o-Q basis.
Revenue at the company's retail unit Reliance Retail rose 23.2 per cent, while its digital services segment reported a 20.2% jump in revenue.
Commenting on the results, Mukesh D. Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director, Reliance Industries Limited said: “Despite the ongoing challenges of the pandemic and heightened geo-political uncertainties, Reliance has delivered a robust performance in FY2021-22. I am pleased to report strong growth in our Digital Services and Retail segments. Our O2C business has proven its resilience and has demonstrated strong recovery despite volatility in the energy markets."
"Our relentless focus on customer satisfaction and service has led to higher engagement and increased footfalls, driving robust revenue and earnings figures across our consumer businesses. The gradual opening up of economies coupled with sustained high utilization rates across sites and the improvement in transportation fuel margins and volumes have bolstered our O2C earnings." he added.
Noting the addition of employees in March quarter, Ambani stated, "During the year, Reliance has also been able to generate significant employment opportunities for the people of our country and continues to remain amongst India’s largest private sector employers. Over the past year, we added over 2.1 lakh new employees across our businesses with our consumer and technology business creating a large part of these new jobs."
On RIL's retail subsidiaries, Ambani noted, "I am pleased to report that our Retail business has crossed the 15,000 store benchmark. JioFiber is now the largest broadband provider in India within two years of launch. Oil and Gas business is now contributing 20% of domestic gas production."
"I am particularly happy with the progress our Company is making in the New Energy and New Materials business. We are forging ahead with the development of our New Energy Giga Factories complex across 5,000 acres in Jamnagar. And with the strong global partnerships we have, I am confident that Reliance will create sustainable and affordable new energy solutions for India to help her meet growing energy needs, while ensuring that we achieve our ambitious target of Net Carbon Zero by 2035," he added.
Shares of Reliance Industries on Friday closed 0.74 per cent lower at Rs 2,621.15 apiece on BSE.