RIL Q2 Results: Profit dips even as revenue rises; Jio's PAT up 28%; Retail posts record EBITDA

India's top valued company Reliance Industries Ltd's net profit remained almost flat at ₹13,656 crore during Q2 FY23 from the year-ago quarter. The conglomerate's telecom arm Jio posted a 28% YoY rise in its standalone net profit while Reliance Retail reported record quarterly EBITDA. Shares of Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries closed more than a per cent lower at ₹2,471 apiece on the BSE ahead of its earnings announcement.

RIL announces demerger of its financial services biz

Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) on Friday said that it will demerge its financial services business and list it separately on the stock exchanges under Jio Financial Services Ltd.

Reliance's O2C biz

Reliance's traditional oil-to-chemicals business, which was seeing windfall gains earlier this year, has been hit by government's tax on fuel exports, weaker refining margins and inventory losses due to the fall in crude oil prices.

Market reaction

Shares of Reliance fell 1.2% today, paring this year's rise to 4.4%. Earnings were announced after the close of market hours. Reliance shares slipped 8.4% in the September quarter while the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex rose 8.3%.

Jio subscribers and ARPU

Net subscriber addition was healthy at 7.7 million as gross adds remained strong at 32.7 million in 2Q FY23.

Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) improved further to ₹177.2 due to better seasonality and improving subscriber mix

Reliance Retail stores count

The business expanded its physical store network with 795 new stores, taking the total store count at the end of the quarter to 16,617 stores, the company said

O2C EBITDA

RIL said that its O2C segment EBITDA was impacted by weak downstream chemical margins and introduction of SAED, which was partially offset by firm transportation fuel margin

RIL's debt

Outstanding debt as on September 30, 2022 was ₹294,859 crore whereas cash and cash equivalents as on September 30, 2022 were at ₹201,606 crore, RIL said

Mukesh Ambani on Jio, Retail businesses

"I am pleased with the record performance of our consumer businesses which continue to scale new milestones every quarter. We saw consistent net subscriber additions and higher engagement in Digital Services segment. Jio has announced beta trial for its industry-leading Standalone 5G services and is making rapid progress for an ambitious and the fastest ever roll out of True 5G on pan-India basis. Our Retail business delivered record performance with strong revival in footfalls, store additions and digital integration. Reliance Retail continues to provide a compelling proposition of great shopping experience and superior value across consumption baskets and price points," he added

Mukesh Ambani on RIL Q2 results

"Performance of our O2C business reflect subdued demand and weak margin environment across downstream chemical products. Transportation fuel margins were better than last year but significantly lower sequentially. Segment performance was also impacted by the introduction of special additional excise duties during the quarter to ensure stable supply and lower volatility in the domestic market," said Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director, Reliance Industries Limited.

Reliance Retail Q2 results

Reliance Retail witnessed a jump of 11% in revenue & 15% in EBITDA on a sequential basis