Reliance Q1 net up 16.7 per cent at Rs5,661 crore

Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) today reported its highest ever quarterly financial performance with record refining throughput and strong margin recovery accompanied by rich gas and condensate discovery in deep-water, east coast of India.

RIL today reported a 16.7 per cent increase in its net profit for the quarter ended June 2011 at Rs5,661 crore ($1.3 billion and gross refining margin at $ 10.3 / bbl for the quarter ended 30th June 2011.

Turnover increased by 37.2 per cent to Rs83,689 crore ($ 18.7 billion) and exports increased by 57.5 per cent to Rs51,737 crore ($ 11.6 billion).

Profit before depreciation, interest and taxes (PBDIT) increased 9.3 per cent and achieved a record level of ` Rs11,005 crore ($2.5 billion).

Profit before tax increased by 20.3 per cent to Rs7,264 crore ($ 1.6 billion) while cash profit increased by 5.5 per cent to ` Rs9,006 crore ($ 2.0 billion).

Meanwhile, the government has given its approval to the proposal of RIL to assign 30 per cent of its interest to BP Exploration (Alpha) Limited in 21 out of 23 blocks. RIL said it would pursue with the government to resolve the issues, if any, concerning the balance two blocks.

RIL announced a rich gas and condensate discovery in the very first well drilled in the block CY-PR-DWN-2001/3(CYPR-D6) located in deepwater Cauvery-Palar basin. The block with an area of about 8600 sq km was awarded to RIL under the bidding round of NELP-III. RIL currently holds 100 per cent participating interest in this block. This is one of the 23 exploration blocks where BP would have 30 per cent participating interest.

Commenting on the results, Mukesh D. Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director, Reliance Industries Limited said:

"Reliance Industries continues to deliver strong financial and operating results. The growth in earnings was driven by strong refining margins and sustained performance in the petrochemicals business. Our cash flows give us the unparalleled opportunity to allocate capital to higher-margin resource plays in leading markets around the world. We remain committed towards investing in India and have commenced the investment program in the petrochemical business."