Reliance shares down over 1% post Q2 earnings

Reliance share price: Shares of Reliance Industries Ltd declined over 1 per cent in morning trade on Tuesday after the firm reported a 5 per cent fall in the July-September quarter net profit.

The bellwether stock went lower by 1.15 per cent to Rs 2,713.55 on the BSE.

At the NSE , it dipped 1.13 per cent to Rs 2,713.80 apiece.

Reliance Industries Ltd, India's most valuable company, on Monday reported a 5 per cent fall in the July-September quarter net profit as weak oil refining and petrochemical business hurt operational performance.

Its consolidated net profit fell to Rs 16,563 crore or Rs 24.48 per share in July-September - the second quarter of the current fiscal - compared to Rs Rs 17,394 crore or Rs 25.71 a share in the same period a year back, according to a company statement.

While retail and telecom businesses posted steady performance, the oil-to-chemical (O2C) business, which is made up of twin oil refineries at Jamnagar in Gujarat and petrochemical units saw margins shrink on global oversupply.

The profit before tax (EBITDA) dropped 2 per cent to Rs 43,934 crore. The financial performance was also impacted by finance costs rising by 5 per cent to Rs 6,017 crore, primarily due to higher debt. Also, depreciation rose by 2.3 per cent.

Its cash cow O2C performance was hurt by a global oversupply due to China flooding the market with petroleum products it made from refining cheap Russian crude oil. This led to a fall in product margins.

On the other hand, the firm's other two main businesses - retail and telecom - saw steady performance.