Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries reported a jump in June quarter profits on Friday, helped by a large one-off gain and strong growth in its consumer-facing divisions.
Led by Asia鈥檚 richest man Mukesh Ambani, Reliance is India鈥檚 most valuable company by market cap and has aggressively expanded into retail, telecoms and green energy in recent years.
Net profit attributable to owners of the company came in at 269.9 billion rupees ($3.13 billion) for the April-June quarter, a 78.3 per cent jump from the 151.3 billion rupees reported in the same period last year.
These figures were boosted by a one-off gain from Reliance selling its stake in India鈥檚 top paint maker Asian Paints, with the company鈥檚 earnings report acknowledging a nearly 280 percent on-year rise in other income.
But the company鈥檚 bottom line still surpassed the average analyst estimate of 200.59 billion rupees, a performance aided by the conglomerate鈥檚 retail and telecom units. Revenue from operations for Reliance meanwhile came in at 2.48 trillion rupees, a 5.27 per cent year-on-year increase.
Despite an aggressive expansion into retail, telecoms and green energy, the firm still relies heavily on its traditional oil business to make money.
Its core oil-to-chemicals division struggled for most of 2024 as global uncertainty upset the industry鈥檚 supply-demand dynamics, with the division continuing to battle lingering weakness.
Chairman Ambani acknowledged in a statement that energy markets encountered 鈥榟eightened uncertainty鈥� during the quarter.
The conglomerate鈥檚 earnings report noted that revenue for the oil-to-chemicals division was down due to 鈥榓 fall in crude oil prices鈥� and a planned shutdown.
Reliance鈥檚 retail and telecom arms, however, remained bright spots.
Gross revenue from its retail business was up 11.3 per cent to 841.7 billion rupees despite the early onset of monsoon rains which hurt sales of air-conditioners.
Meanwhile, the telecom unit鈥檚 average revenue per user, a key metric of topline growth, rose nearly 15 per cent year-on-year to hit 208.8 rupees on the back of strong data consumption and tariff hikes.
Reliance Industries shares closed flat in Mumbai ahead of the earnings announcement on Friday.