India's Reliance Industries reports record quarterly profit (updated)

Den Networks

17/10/2018 15:21

* Telecom unit Jio reports profit in Q2 
    * Reliance to invest in Hathway, Den Networks

 (Adds details on deal, Jio results)
    Oct 17 (Reuters) - India's Reliance Industries Ltd  RELI.NS 
reported a record quarterly profit on Wednesday, driven by
growth in its core petrochemicals business and helped by rising
revenues at budding telecoms unit Jio.
    The telecoms unit is central to the ambition of Chairman
Mukesh Ambani - Asia's richest man - to make Reliance's consumer
businesses as big as its energy operations, which currently
contribute the bulk of group revenues and profits.
    Jio marked a fourth straight quarter of profit in
June-September, of 6.81 billion rupees ($93 million), compared
with a loss in the same period last year.
    Reliance, which in August became the first Indian company to
reach a market value of 8 trillion rupees, said group
consolidated profit rose more than 17 percent in June-September
to 95.16 billion rupees.
    That was just shy of a forecast 95.67 billion rupees by 11
analysts, according to I/B/E/S data from Refinitiv.
    The group's businesses include refining, petrochemicals,
retail and telecommunications. On Wednesday it said it would
also invest in cable television and digital cable distribution
companies to widen its sphere of business.
    It will pay 20.45 billion rupees for primary investment in
DEN Networks Ltd  DENN.NS  and 29.40 billion rupees for a stake
in Hathway Cable and Datacom Ltd  HAWY.NS . 
    Reliance said its EBIT for petrochemicals rose nearly 64
percent in June-September, the second quarter of its financial
year, from a year earlier to 81.20 billion rupees.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N1VE3MN
    Its gross refining margin for the three months through
September, or profit earned on each barrel of crude processed,
was $9.5 per barrel, Reliance said https://www.bseindia.com/xml-data/corpfiling/AttachLive/fc57e2e8-2a58-4c11-be38-e1824abc5ea6.pdf
 in a statement. 

($1 = 73.5200 Indian rupees)

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Reliance launches fibre broadband, after disrupting India's
telecoms market     urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N1U12D1
BUZZ-Reliance Ind becomes first Indian company to cross 8 trln
rupees mkt cap      urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N1VE3MN
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 (Reporting by Tanvi Mehta in Bengaluru; Editing by Christopher
Cushing and Susan Fenton)
 ((tanvi.mehta@thomsonreuters.com; +91 80 67494756 ; Reuters
Messaging: tanvi.mehta.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))