RIL Q2 net profit drops 5% due to weak performance in O2C business

Reliance Industries Ltd reported consolidated net profit in the second quarter declined by 4.77% to ₹ 16,563 crore from ₹ 17,394 crore in the same period last year, due to weak contribution from the oil-to-chemicals (O2C) business.
Gross revenue for the quarter ended September 30, 2024 grew 0.8% year-on-year (YoY) to ₹258,027 crore.
While O2C business revenue grew 5.1% on the back of higher volumes and increased home placement of products, EBITDA declined 23.7% to Rs 12,413 crore due to a sharp drop in product margins. Fuel cracks declined by nearly 50%, the company said in a filing.
“Downstream chemicals also declined due to subdued global demand in a well-supplied market. RIL benefited from better ethane cracking economics driven by a sharp decline in ethane prices,” it said.
The oil and gas sector’s revenue declined by 6% due to lower gas prices. But it reported an 11% year-on-year rise in EBITDA to Rs 5,290 crore.
Digital services provider Jio Platforms Ltd reported net profit of Rs 6,539 crore, up 23.4% year-on-year, while revenue stood at Rs 37,119 crore, up 17.7% over the previous year.
Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd, the company’s retail business, reported a 1.3% rise in net profit at Rs 2,836 crore on revenue of Rs 76,302 crore, down 1.1% from the same quarter last year, as people deferred purchases of fashion, electronics and lifestyle products till the festive season.
“Our performance reflected strong growth in digital services and upstream business. This helped partially offset weak contribution from the O2C business, which was impacted by unfavorable global demand-supply dynamics,” Mukesh D. Ambani, CMD, Reliance Industries Ltd, said in a statement.
“Growth in digital services was led by increased ARPU and improving customer engagement metrics, reflecting the strong value proposition of our services. The home broadband segment is witnessing an uptick led by our unique industry-leading JioAirFiber offering,” he added.
“The retail segment continues to enhance its consumer touchpoints and product offerings across physical and digital channels. Our focus on strengthening our retail operations will help us rapidly grow this business and maintain our industry-leading growth momentum in the coming quarters and years,” he added.