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Our Bureau

Mumbai, July 24

Reliance Industries has posted a profit of Rs 3,636 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, a fall of 11.5 per cent from Rs 4,110 crore in the corresponding period last year.

Total revenue dropped 23 per cent to Rs 32,055 crore from Rs 41,579 crore.

“Decrease in prices accounted for 24.4 per cent reduction in revenue that was partially offset by higher volumes which accounted for 1.8 per cent growth in revenue. During the period, exports were lower by 38.5 per cent at Rs 17,433 crore,” said a company statement.

RIL’s outstanding debt as on June 30 was Rs 51,780 crore and it has cash-and-cash equivalent of Rs 21,827 crore. The 33-million-tonne refinery at Jamnagar, Gujarat, processed 7.96 million tonnes (mt) of crude, down from 8.13 mt processed in the quarter of 2008-09.

During the period, the average refinery utilisation rate was 82.2 per cent (86.2 per cent) in North America, 78.9 per cent (83 per cent) in Europe and 78 per cent (84 per cent) in Asia.

The gross refining margin fell to $7.5 a barrel during the quarter from $15.7 a barrel a year ago. According to the statement, revenue for the refining and marketing segment fell 22.7 per cent to Rs 25,180 crore from Rs 32,587 crore mainly due to high product prices driven by high crude oil prices during the first quarter of 2008-09.

RIL had also planned to kickstart its domestic fuel retail operations again but so far, less than 100 of its 1,432 outlets are reportedly functioning. Even though petrol and diesel prices have increased, private players still find it difficult to take on their public sector counterparts which have a larger network and are also compensated for losses by the Centre.

As for RIL’s upstream business, total production from the D6 block of the Krishna-Godavari basin was 1,733 million standard cubic metres (mscm) of natural gas and 99,274 tonnes of crude oil. The company’s revenue from exploration and production went up to Rs 1,864 crore (Rs 736 crore).

According to the statement, total gas production from KG D6 has ramped up to around 30 mscm a day in just three months. It is being supplied to 15 fertiliser and power companies apiece and to two steel companies.

The total production from the Panna-Mukta block was 470 mscm of natural gas and 4,51,700 tonnes of crude oil, a growth of 33 per cent and 40 per cent, respectively, compared with the previous year.

RIL’s international upstream business comprises 14 blocks spread across Peru, Yemen, Oman, Kurdistan, Colombia, East Timor and Australia.

The petrochemicals segment clocked revenue of Rs 11,540 crore for the quarter on the back of higher demand for polymers and polyester. During the period, domestic demand for most products remained strong, especially polymers and polyester, while that for fibre intermediates was flat.

Reliance Petroleum, which also declared its results on Friday, has posted a net profit of Rs 105 crore for the first quarter ended June 30. Net turnover was Rs 7,639 crore, while total expenditure was Rs 7,425 crore.

The 29-mt refinery in Jamnagar processed 4.04 mt of crude in the quarter, according to a press release.

It exported 2.5 mt of refined products to 26 countries, including Europe and the US. The gross refining margin was $5.4 a barrel.

“The refinery has had a smooth and safe start up in this quarter and achieved stability of operations. We look forward to it creating significant value,” said Mr Mukesh Ambani, Chairman. RPL has already got shareholder approval to merge with RIL.

The RPL scrip closed at Rs 125.60, down 0.95 per cent over the previous close on the BSE.

More Stories on : Petroleum | Petroleum | Reliance Industries Ltd

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