Reliance Industries reports 19.1% higher PAT for Q4FY23 at Rs19,299cr on lower raw material costs and higher OPMs

Reliance Industries reported 2.12% higher revenues for the March 2023 quarter on consolidated basis at Rs216,376cr with top line growth across retail and digital services while revenues from O2C business were lower. Annual net profits at Rs74,088 crore represented an all-time record. Q4 EBITDA at Rs41,389 crore was up 21.8% yoy. 

Jio consolidated market share with 5G rollout while Reliance Retail opened over 3,300 new stores taking total store area to 65.6 million SFT. Despite yoy fall in revenues the oil-to-chemicals (O2C) business saw profit growth from optimized feedstock costs and supportive product margins in the quarter. As of FY23, gross debt stood at Rs314,708 crore while net debt (net of cash/equivalents) stood at Rs110,218 crore; 3-fold over FY22.

Financial highlights for Mar-23 compared yoy and sequentially

Net profits for the Q4FY23 quarter were up 19.11% yoy at Rs19,299 crore. This was largely driven by 21.8% increase in the EBITDA. In terms of top line growth, the digital business grew at 15.4% while the retail services grew at 19.4% yoy. The O2C business saw lower top line revenues on account of sharp fall in crude oil prices and lower price realizations on downstream products. 

The quarter saw a sharp improvement in the EBITDA of the digital business while sourcing benefits also helped improve the EBITDA of the retail business. On the O2C business, despite lower top line, the profit growth was positive due to higher transport fuel cracks and optimized feedstock costs. This offset lower petchem margins in the O2C business. One area to watch is the 64% spike in debt servicing costs due to a combination of higher debt and higher interest costs amidst rising rates.