Reliance Industries rallies as Q2 profit beats forecast

The stock rallied 5% to Rs 956 after the company reported 12.5% rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 6,720 crore for the quarter ended September on back of higher refining margin.

Reliance Industries has rallied 5% to Rs 956 on the BSE in early morning trade after the company reported a better-than-expected 12.5% rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 6,720 crore for the quarter ended September on back of higher refining margin. The company had profit of Rs 5,972 crore in the year-ago quarter.

The consolidated sales, however, declined 33.8% year-on-year to Rs 75,117 crore from Rs 1,13,396 crore in the September 2014 quarter.

Analysts on an average expected profit of Rs 5,776 crore on revenues of Rs 61,442 crore for the quarter.

The company’s gross refining margin (GRMs) for the September quarter stood at $10.6 a barrel, against $8.3 a barrel in the year-ago period.

Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margin improved by 400bps to 9.3%, Reliance Industries said in a press release.

Commenting on the results, Mukesh D. Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director, Reliance Industries Limited said: "Refining business performance was notable, as it benefited from a combination of high utilization levels, advantageous crude market opportunities and strong global fuels demand. Petrochemicals segment performance reflects strong volume growth, product mix improvement and lower energy costs.

At 09:21 am, the stock was up 4.5% at Rs 953 on the BSE. A combined 1.38 million shares changed hands on the counter on the BSE and NSE.