EconomyCompanies
Reliance shares jump over 6% to ₹1,237 after 41% profit rise
Mukesh Ambani's company was the biggest gainer on the Sensex in Monday's first half hour, as a surge in refining and petrochemical earnings outweighed a fall in retail profit.
Key points
- Reliance shares hit ₹1,237.30, up 6.22%, at 9:41 am.
- Profit attributable to shareholders rose 41% to ₹25,548 crore in the September quarter.
- Oil-to-chemicals EBITDA climbed 68%, while retail profit fell 24.3%.
Shares of Reliance Industries jumped more than 6% on Monday morning, the first trading session after the company reported a sharp rise in September-quarter profit on the back of its oil and chemicals business.
The stock touched a day’s high of ₹1,237.30 on the NSE at 9:41 am, up 6.22%. It was the top gainer on the Sensex from the opening minutes and did much of the work in lifting the index nearly 1,000 points. The shares had fallen about 24% this year before the results.
Profit attributable to shareholders rose 41% to ₹25,548 crore, from ₹18,165 crore a year earlier and ₹20,946 crore in the June quarter. EBITDA, or operating profit before depreciation, grew 24% to ₹62,409 crore.
The engine was the oil-to-chemicals division, where EBITDA climbed 68%, helped by higher energy prices. The retail business went the other way: gross revenue grew 6.4%, but Reliance Retail’s net profit fell 24.3%.
Jio Platforms, the telecom and digital arm that listed last week and in which Reliance holds about 66.4%, reported its first results as a listed company. Its profit rose 14% to ₹8,389 crore on revenue of ₹47,485 crore, with average revenue per user at ₹218.8. Brokerage Motilal Oswal raised its target for the stock to ₹1,515. “We reiterate our BUY rating on JPL with a revised target of Rs 1,515,” it said in a note.
Lower crude prices on Monday also helped the wider energy pack, with the Nifty Oil & Gas index the best-performing sector in early trade.