Revenue for JPL increased by 11.4% Y-o-Y, led by robust subscriber growth across mobility and homes, and benefit of mix improvement in ARPU
FinTech BizNews Service
Mumbai, January 20, 2024: The Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has announced its financial and operational performance of for the quarter and nine months ended 31st December 2023.
CONSOLIDATED RESULTS FOR QUARTER ENDED 31ST DECEMBER, 2023
QUARTERLY CONSOLIDATED EBITDA AT Rs 44,678 CRORE ($5.4 BILLION), UP 16.7% Y-o-Y.
QUARTERLY EBITDA OF OIL & GAS BUSINESS AT Rs 5,804 CRORE ($697 MILLION), UP 49.6% Y-O-Y.
QUARTERLY EBITDA OF RELIANCE RETAIL AT Rs 6,258 CRORE, UP 31.1% Y-o-Y.
QUARTERLY EBITDA OF JIO PLATFORMS AT Rs 13,955 CRORE, UP 11.5% Y-o-Y.
O2C EBITDA growth muted because of planned maintenance and inspection shutdown
Quarterly Performance (3Q FY24 vs 3Q FY23)
• Gross Revenue was Rs 248,160 crore ($ 29.8 billion), up 3.2% Y-o-Y, supported by continued growth momentum in consumer businesses.
Key contributors include:
o 11.5% Y-o-Y increase in JPL EBITDA with higher revenue and increase in margins.
o Robust 31.1% increase in RRVL EBITDA led by record footfalls amid festive season. EBITDA margin for RRVL improved by 50bps to 8.4% reflecting operating leverage and continued focus on cost management initiatives.
o Sustained performance in the O2C segment with higher gasoline cracks and advantageous feedstock sourcing. This was partially offset by lower downstream chemical margins and planned maintenance and inspection shutdown.
o Planned maintenance and inspection shutdown of CDU, FCCU, Delayed Coking and ROGC complex impacted yields and profitability. O2C EBITDA would have been higher on Y-o-Y and comparable on Q-o-Q basis if all major units were available during the quarter.
o Oil and Gas segment EBITDA increased sharply by 49.6%, led by 72.6% higher gas and condensate production from KG D6 block.
Depreciation increased by 26.7% Y-o-Y to Rs 12,903 crore ($ 1.6 billion) on expanded asset base across all the businesses, higher network utilisation in Digital Services business and ramp-up in upstream production.
• Finance Costs increased by 11.3% Y-o-Y to Rs 5,789 crore ($ 696 million) primarily due to higher loan balances and higher interest rates.
• Tax Expenses increased by 22.1% Y-o-Y to Rs 6,345 crore ($ 763 million).
• Profit after tax improved by 10.9% Y-o-Y at Rs 19,641 crore ($ 2.4 billion).
• Capital Expenditure for the quarter ended December 31, 2023, was Rs30,102 crore ($ 3.6 billion) with investments in pan-India 5G roll-out, expansion of retail infrastructure and new energy business. This excludes amount incurred towards spectrum and adjusted for capital advances and regrouping of assets.
Commenting on the results, Mukesh D. Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director, Reliance Industries Limited said: “Reliance has delivered yet another quarter of robust operating and financial performance, thanks to the exceptional efforts put in by teams across its businesses. I am happy to share that Jio has completed in India the fastest rollout of True 5G services anywhere in the world. Every city, town, and village in the country is now equipped with high-speed digital connectivity, which will usher in a new era of unparalleled digital accessibility and technology-led growth. The strong uptake of the JioBharat phone and JioAirFiber services has resulted in continued expansion of Jio’s subscriber base, contributing to the stellar growth numbers of the digital services business. The retail segment has also delivered an impressive financial performance with its rapidly expanding physical as well as digital footprint. Reliance Retail remains focused on enriching customer shopping experience by adding new brands and offerings to its portfolio. Its New Commerce initiatives continue to support the growth journey of millions of small merchants through technology, generating immense societal value. The Oil & Gas segment posted its highest ever quarterly EBITDA.
I am happy to note that KG D6 is now contributing 30% of India’s gas production, fueling its transition towards a greener and cleaner tomorrow. The O2C segment delivered resilient performance aided by operational flexibility and strong domestic demand. Staying true to its commitment to sustainability, Reliance has become the first Indian company to chemically recycle pyrolysis oil into circular polymers. The New Energy Giga Complex is all set to be commissioned in the second half of CY24. I am confident that Reliance’s New Energy business will play a pivotal role in the global movement for adoption of cleaner fuels.”
OIL TO CHEMICALS (“O2C”) SEGMENT
QUARTERLY REVENUE AT Rs 141,096 CRORE ($ 17.0 BILLION), DOWN 2.4% Y-o-Y QUARTERLY EBITDA AT Rs 14,064 CRORE ($ 1.7 BILLION), UP 1.0% Y-o-Y.
Quarterly Performance (3Q FY24 vs 3Q FY23)
• Segment Revenue for 3Q FY24 reduced by 2.4% Y-o-Y to Rs 141,096 crore ($17.0 billion) primarily on account of lower price realisation led by 5.3% Y-o-Y decline in average brent crude oil prices. • Segment EBITDA for 3Q FY24 marginally increased by 1.0% Y-o-Y to Rs 14,064 crore ($ 1.7 billion) led by higher gasoline cracks and advantageous feedstock sourcing; this was partially offset by lower downstream chemical margins and planned maintenance and inspection shutdown. • Planned maintenance and inspection shutdown of CDU, FCCU, Delayed Coking and ROGC complex impacted yields and profitability. O2C EBITDA would have been higher on Y-o-Y and comparable on Q-o-Q basis if all major units were available during the quarter.
Global oil demand in 3Q FY24 rose 1.7 mb/d Y-o-Y to 102.0 mb/d due to higher demand mainly from America and Asia. Jet/Kero and Gasoline each posted strong demand growth Y-o-Y at ~1 mb/d while diesel demand declined by ~0.2 mb/d. • Dated Brent averaged $84 /bbl in 3Q FY24, lower by $4.7 /bbl. Y-o-Y.
Polyesters
• Polyester chain delta remained stable Y-o-Y as improvement in PX and MEG delta offset by weaker PTA and Polyester product deltas. Polyester chain margin was stable Y-o-Y at $ 488/MT during 3Q FY24.
RIL is the only Indian company with crude to Polyester integration and continues to benefit from integrated operations and flexibility to optimise production across chain.
Jio-bp Update
• Reliance BP Mobility Limited (RBML) (operating under brand Jio-bp), running 1,698 country-wide networks, is serves high performance HSD & MS powered by bespoke developed active technology at prevailing market price across network. RBML has launched country’s only loyalty program focused on truck drivers under Reward Meter. Sales volume grew significantly for HSD and MS on Y-o-Y basis.
MEDIA BUSINESS
NETWORK18 continued to deliver strong operating performance with leadership across important segments. QUARTERLY REVENUE AT Rs 2,064 CrORE, DOWN 4.7% Y-o-Y.
Business delivered strong operating performance across verticals, however, revenue from operations was down by 4.1% Y-o-Y to ₹ 1,774 crore, primarily due to lower Movie Studio revenue.
• TV News business revenue was up 23% Y-o-Y, driven by the strong growth in advertising revenue across clusters. Digital News business delivered 20% growth in revenue, driven by IP-events and video monetization across digital platforms
Entertainment business operating revenue declined 12% due to Movie and Sports segments. Sports revenue was lower as the base quarter had FIFA World Cup 2022. Digital ad revenue saw a strong growth driven by impact properties like Bigg Boss and Temptation Island. TV Entertainment advertising revenue was flat despite having lower non-fiction content than last year.
• Consolidated EBITDA was down due to Viacom18’s investments in growth verticals - Sports and Digital. Both these segments will be the leading drivers of revenue for the foreseeable future but require investments in the near term to build a strong consumer proposition. TV News business delivered a strong improvement in profitability driven by revenue growth.
Viacom18
• TV network share increased by 30 bps Q-o-Q to 10.8%, driven by the strong performance of Hindi GEC and Movie channels. Colors continued on the upward trajectory, exiting the year with 207 GRPs (U 15+), highest viewership since FY21. With leadership in 3 primetime slots, #1 non-fiction show (Bigg Boss S17) and 6 of India’s Top15 most viewed shows, Colors has been the fastest growing channel in the genre during the year. Colors Cineplex saw a 160bps Q-o-Q growth in viewership, helping it climb to #4 position in the Hindi movie genre, driven by premier of popular movies as well as airing of T20 cricket series (India vs Australia). Colors Kannada continued to be a strong #2 player, delivering a 350 bps Q-o-Q growth in viewership.
• JioCinema was the home of multiple sporting events during the quarter including India-Australia T20 series, IPL and WPL auctions, women’s cricket (vs England and Australia), ISL and several other premium properties. Entertainment on JioCinema was powered by a mix of TV network content and JioCinema Originals. The first season of digital-exclusive reality show, Temptation Island, was complemented by long-running TV impact properties like Bigg Boss Hindi, Bigg Boss Kannada, Khatron Ke Khiladi, and Roadies. All these shows were unequivocally successful, delivering record consumption and engagement. Watch-time of some of the TV shows was more than twice of the previous seasons with Roadies recording a 4x increase.
News
• Network18’s TV News bouquet was the highest reach news network in the country, connecting with ~175 million people on a weekly basis. The network had an all-India viewership share of 10.6%1 with leading channels in the biggest markets - News18 India (Hindi primetime) and CNN News18 (English) and CNBC TV18 (English Business).
• Network18’s Digital portfolio continued to be India’s #2 publisher, reaching over 190 million people on a monthly basis. Moneycontrol maintained leadership in terms of engagement metrics driven by its 3600 coverage of all things related to economy and markets, and further strengthened by fintech initiatives and thought leadership events like ‘Creator Economy Summit 2023’ and ‘Global AI Conclave’. Firstpost’s coverage of international events with an Indian lens continued to power reach and engagement as MAUs crossed 30 million in December and average monthly time spent increased to 6x of April’24.
