Reliance Petro posts 10.5% rise in Q2 profits at Rs 411 crore

Our Corporate Bureau

Mumbai, Oct 30: Reliance Petroleum Ltd (RPL), India’s largest private sector company, has posted a 10.5 per cent increase in net profit at Rs 411 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, 2001 as compared to Rs 372 crore in the corresponding period last year.

Total income for the quarter has increased marginally by 2.1 per cent to Rs 8,575 crore from Rs 8,395 crore for the same quarter last year. The total income includes Rs 60 crore insurance claim received towards loss of profit due to business interruption caused by the earthquake on January 26, 2001.

Commenting on the results, RPL managing director Anil Ambani said: “We are encouraged by the company’s strong financial performance in a difficult operating environment, characterised by weakness in domestic demand and significant volatility in crude and product prices. We believe that RPL’s inherent operational strengths will enable the company to maintain its performance, despite the challenges arising from the prevailing uncertain global economic outlook.”

For the half-year ended September 30, 2001, the company posted a 29 per cent increase in the net profit at Rs 867 crore as against Rs 672 crore in the same period last year. RPL has achieved 21 per cent increase in sales for the first half to Rs 17,331 crore (Rs 14,308 crore).

The first half witnessed the company achieving a record capacity utilisation of 107 per cent. RPL processed 14.42 million tonne (mt) of crude during the first half in the current year as against 12.6 mt during the corresponding period last year. Exports stood at Rs 3,581 crore.

The company said that overall domestic consumption for petroleum products suffered a drop of 1.5 per cent in the first half of the fiscal 2001. Consumption of HSD dropped by 5.3 per cent and that of kerosene by 5.6 per cent. However, LPG recorded a growth of 10.2 per cent and gasoline consumption grew by 5.8 per cent. The average capacity utilisation for the other Indian refineries, excluding RPL, was just 86 per cent, which largely restored the demand supply balance.