Mumbai, Apr 25 (PTI) Reliance Industries Ltd on Friday reported a 2.4 per cent rise in its March quarter net profit as store rationalisation in retail business and improved margins in telecom helped offset weakness in mainstay oil and petrochemicals business and higher finance cost.

Consolidated net profit of Rs 19,407 crore, or Rs 14.34 per share, in January-March - the fourth quarter of April 2024 to March 2025 fiscal (FY25) - was higher than Rs 18,951 crore, or Rs 14 a share, in the same period a year back, the company said in a statement.

Profit was also up sequentially from Rs 18,540 crore in the October-December quarter.

Annual profits were almost unchanged at Rs 69,648 crore but the oil-to-telecom-and-retail conglomerate became the first company to hit a networth of over Rs 10 lakh crore in 2024-25. Last year, it became the first company to hit a market cap of Rs 20 lakh crore.

In the fourth quarter, increased subscriber base led to higher earnings in the telecom business while a rationalisation of stores and pick up in quick commerce improved retail metrics. The oil-to-chemicals (O2C) business however saw pre-tax earnings fall on lower fuel cracks and polyester chain margins.

The profit before tax (EBITDA) rose 3.6 per cent to Rs 48,737 crore. This was despite an almost 7 per cent rise in finance cost due to higher debt (Rs 3.47 lakh crore as of March 31, 2025, compared to Rs 3.24 lakh crore a year back).

Jio Platforms Ltd, the unit that houses the telecom and digital businesses, saw profits rise by 26 per cent to Rs 7,022 crore in Q4 and 22 per cent in full-year (Rs 26,120 crore).

All four key parameters - data minute usage, data consumed, average per-user earnings and number of subscribers - grew. The customer base rose to 488.2 million from 482.1 million in October-December 2024 and 481.8 million in January-March 2024. Average revenue per user rose to Rs 206.2 from Rs 203.3 in the preceding quarter and Rs 181.7 a year ago.

Retail arm Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd posted a 29 per cent year-on-year rise in profit to Rs 3,545 crore. While it opened 238 new stores to take the number to 19,340, the area operated fell 2.1 per cent to 77.4 million square feet due to store rationalisation.

Oil-to-chemical business, which houses the company's twin refineries at Jamnagar in Gujarat and petrochemical plants, saw EBITDA fall 10 per cent to Rs 15,080 crore in Q4 and 12 per cent in the full fiscal. It made good the fall in cracks or margins by placing more fuel in the domestic market.

In the fuel retail business, Jio-bp - its joint venture with BP of the UK - saw diesel and petrol sales rise by 24.4 per cent and 25.4 per cent respectively in the quarter, the statement said.

Lower gas output from KG-D6 fields led to an 8.6 per cent fall in the pre-tax profit of its oil and gas business to Rs 5,123 crore in Q4.

"The average KGD6 production for the 4Q is 26.73 million standard cubic metres per day of gas and 19,000 barrels a day of oil," it said.

Commenting on the results, Reliance chairman and managing director Mukesh D Ambani said FY2025 has been a challenging year for the global business environment, with weak macro-economic conditions and a shifting geo-political landscape.

"Our focus on operational discipline, customer-centric innovation and fulfilling India’s growth requirements has helped Reliance deliver a steady financial performance during the year," he said.

The O2C business posted a resilient performance despite considerable volatility in energy markets. Significant demand-supply imbalances in downstream chemicals markets have led to multi-year low margins. "Our business teams ensured optimization of integrated operations and feedstock costs to enhance margin capture across value chains," he said.

Stating that the retail segment too delivered consistent growth, he said in FY25, the business focused on a strategic recalibration of store network, aimed at improving operational efficiencies and long-term sustainability.

"Our digital services business achieved record revenue and profit numbers. Steady increase in subscriber base, with an improving mix and increasing user engagement metrics boosted earnings. Strong adoption of our 5G services and our home broadband offerings continues with accelerated addition in subscribers and in the number of home-connects," he said.

Giving an update on the new energy business, he said during FY25, Reliance laid a strong foundation for its projects in renewable energy and battery operations. "In the coming quarters, we will see the transition of this business from incubation to operationalization. I firmly believe that the new energy growth engine will create significant value for Reliance, for India and for the world." PTI ANZ MR MR MR