Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) on Friday released its fiscal fourth quarter earnings report with profit growth of 2.4 per cent as store rationalisation in retail business and improved margins in telecom helped offset weakness in mainstay oil and petrochemicals business and higher finance cost. The oil-to- FMCG conglomerate reported Q4 consolidated profit at Rs 19,407 crore in comparison to Rs 18,951crore recorded during the corresponding quarter of FY24. Profit was also up sequentially from Rs 18,540 crore in the October-December quarter.
It posted Q4 revenue from operations at Rs 2,64,573 crore, up 9.91 per cent as against Rs 2,40,715crore reported during the fourth quarter of previous financial year. The consolidated EBITDA stood at Rs 43,832 crore.
Annual profits, meanwhile, remained almost unchanged at Rs 69,648 crore but the conglomerate became the first company to hit a net worth of over Rs 10 lakh crore in 2024-25. Last year, it became the first company to hit a market cap of Rs 20 lakh crore.
In the fourth quarter, increased subscriber base led to higher earnings in the telecom business while a rationalisation of stores and pick up in quick commerce improved retail metrics. The oil-to-chemicals (O2C) business, however, saw pre-tax earnings fall on lower fuel cracks and polyester chain margins.
The profit before tax (EBITDA) rose 3.6 per cent to Rs 48,737 crore. This was despite an almost 7 per cent rise in finance cost due to higher debt (Rs 3.47 lakh crore as of March 31, 2025, compared to Rs 3.24 lakh crore a year back).
Jio Platforms Ltd saw profits rise by 26 per cent to Rs 7,022 crore in Q4 and 22 per cent in full-year (Rs 26,120 crore). All four key parameters – data minute usage, data consumed, average per-user earnings and number of subscribers – grew. The customer base rose to 488.2 million from 482.1 million in October-December 2024 and 481.8 million in January-March 2024. Average revenue per user rose to Rs 206.2 from Rs 203.3 in the preceding quarter and Rs 181.7 a year ago.
Retail arm Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd posted a 29 per cent year-on-year rise in profit to Rs 3,545 crore. While it opened 238 new stores to take the number to 19,340, the area operated fell 2.1 per cent to 77.4 million square feet due to store rationalisation.
Oil-to-chemical business, which houses the company’s twin refineries at Jamnagar in Gujarat and petrochemical plants, saw EBITDA drop by 10 per cent to Rs 15,080 crore in Q4 and 12 per cent in the full fiscal. It made good the fall in cracks or margins by placing more fuel in the domestic market.
In the fuel retail business, Jio-bp – its joint venture with BP of the UK – saw diesel and petrol sales rise by 24.4 per cent and 25.4 per cent respectively in the quarter. Lower gas output from KG-D6 fields led to an 8.6 per cent fall in the pre-tax profit of its oil and gas business to Rs 5,123 crore in Q4. “The average KGD6 production for the Q4 is 26.73 million standard cubic metres per day of gas and 19,000 barrels a day of oil,” it said.
Mukesh D Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director, RIL, said that FY25 has been a challenging year for the global business environment, with weak macro-economic conditions and a shifting geo-political landscape. “Our focus on operational discipline, customer-centric innovation and fulfilling India’s growth requirements has helped Reliance deliver a steady financial performance during the year,” he added.
(With inputs from PTI)