RIL gains 1% as General Atlantic to invest Rs 3,675 cr in Reliance Retail

 Shares of Reliance Industries (RIL) advanced 1 per cent ato Rs 2,268 on the BSE in the early morning trade on Wednesday after General Atlantic, a leading global growth equity firm, said it will invest Rs 3,675 crore in Reliance Retail Ventures Limited (RRVL) for 0.84 per cent equity stake.

The stock of RIL was trading higher for the fourth straight day and has gained 4 per cent during the period. It hit a record high of Rs 2,368.80 on September 16, 2020.

"General Atlantic's investment will translate into a 0.84 per cent equity stake in RRVL. The deal values Reliance Retail at a pre-money equity value of Rs 4.285 trillion", RIL said in a media release. READ HERE

This marks the second investment by General Atlantic in a subsidiary of RIL, following an Rs 6,598.38 crore-investment in Jio Platforms announced earlier this year.

Last week, private equity (PE) firm KKR said it would invest Rs 5,550 crore in RIL's subsidiary Reliance Retail for a 1.28 per cent stake. Earlier, US-based PE firm Silver Lake had announced that it would invest Rs 7,500 crore in the retail firm for a 1.75 per cent stake.

RRVL is a subsidiary of RIL, and holding company of all the retail companies under the RIL Group. It reported a consolidated turnover of Rs 162,936 crore ($ 21.7 billion) and net profit of Rs 5,448 crore ($ 726.4 million) for the year ended March 31, 2020.

The stock of RIL has outperformed the Sensex over the past three months on the back of the company's significant deleveraging record, and ability to get on-board new investors and partners in the Digital Services business, setting a new benchmark valuation.

"Long term, we continue to like RIL's business and balance sheet, and believe all three of its core businesses – O2C, Retail and Digital Services – have become self-sustaining and cash generating, with Retail and Digital Services on a high growth path," analysts at HSBC Global Research said in recent note.

Reliance Ind's partly paid shares rally over 100% since listing on June 15

 Shares of Reliance Industries (RIL), along with its partly paid (RIL PP) shares continued their upward movement with the market price of both these stocks hitting a fresh record high on the BSE on Wednesday. RIL's PP shares hit a new high of Rs 1,469.95, and has more-than-doubled from its closing price of Rs 689 on listing day (June 15, 2020).

RIL's PP shares, with a face value of Rs 2.5 each, were issued as a part of the Rs 53,124-crore rights issue. The stock had made a stellar debut with the scrip ending at Rs 698, a 122 per cent premium against the issuance price of Rs 314.25. Coupled with the listing day rally, the stock has appreciated 368 per cent on the BSE till today.

RIL fully paid (RIL FP) shares (with a face value of Rs 10 each), too, hit a fresh high of Rs 2,368.80, surpassing its previous high of Rs 2,360 hit on September 14. In the past six months, the stock of RIL FP has advanced by 133 per cent on the BSE.

The stock of RIL has been on a roll on the back of making the company debt free. Billions of dollars have poured into its Telecom Venture JIO and now Reliance Retail seems to have caught the fancy of marquee investors. The company bounced back sharply post hitting a low of Rs 864 on March 23, enriching its shareholders in the most spectacular way.

"Long term, we continue to like RIL's business and balance sheet, and we believe all three of its core businesses – O2C, Retail and Digital Services – have become self-sustaining and cash generating, with Retail and Digital Services on a high growth path. The stock has outperformed the Nifty50 by 22 per cent over the past three months on the back of the company's significant deleveraging and new investors and partners in the Digital Services business, setting a new benchmark valuation," analysts at HSBC said in stock update note.

At $200-billion market capitalisation, Reliance Industries isn't like FAANG

 Last week, Reliance Industries (RIL) achieved the coveted milestone of crossing $200 billion in market capitalisation. There are less than 50 firms globally which are valued at more than $200 billion.

Morgan Stanley analysed how the Mukesh Ambani-led firm stacked up against eight global firms when they crossed the $200-billion milestone.

For instance, when video-streaming company Netflix crossed $200 billion in market cap in June, it had one-year forward revenues of $29 billion, against $83 billion for RIL ($41 billion excluding energy business). Its price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple was 52x compared to 28x for RIL (ex-energy). All other tech gaints Amazon, Tencent, and Facebook also traded at much higher valuations compared to RIL when they crossed the $200-billion valuation mark.

“RIL’s $200 billion market cap does not reflect very aggressive forward multiples when compared to technology or even energy peers when they reached this milestone,” observed Morgan Stanley analysts Mayank Maheshwari, Ridham Desai, and Simeon Gutman in a note.

The jury is still out on whether RIL should be valued like FAANG stocks. Notably, RIL’s one-year forward revenues for the digital and retail businesses are much lower than what Amazon, Apple or Walmart had.

Also, Ebitda for ex-energy business is currently similar to Netflix, but much lower than many other tech and retail giants, observed the brokerage.

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BofA Securities bets on RIL's 'layer of commerce', maintains 'BUY'

 After building a "digital layer" (Jio Platforms) on top of the existing “physical layer” of retail shops across electronics, grocery, and apparels, Reliance Industries' (RIL) focus over the next four years would be to add a third “layer of commerce” and monetise the existing investments across different formats, wrote analysts at BofA Securities in a note dated September 7.

The note, co-authored by analysts Sachin Salgaonkar, Sukriti Bansal and Nafeesa Gupta, suggests that though there could be intermittent corrections in the stock in the near-term, the risk-reward is favorable from a 12-month perspective. Hence, it maintains a 'Buy' with the target price of Rs 2,355.

Like Amazon, Alibaba, and Tencent, RIL, too, has the potential to create “shareholder value” to retain its customers, BofA Securities believes. In fact, RIL’s approach of owning the “pipe” as well as the “services” offered on the pipe should help it keep the subscriber base captive, they said.

"Over the next 3-5 years, we expect RIL to have approximately 500 million mobile users, offer broadband services to nearly 20-25 million households and cater to 12-15 million small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The connectivity part of the Jio business focuses on offering these consumers the connections. The services part would focus on monetising these," BofA Securities said.

Some of the services that RIL could likely offer retail customers are Entertainment, new-age apps catering to Edutech, health-tech, agri-tech services, as well as gaming apps, and an omnichannel approach on commerce to sell its grocery, apparel and electronics items to a wider audience base.

"An omnichannel approach on commerce would help RIL sell its grocery, apparel, and electronics items to a wider audience base. By working with the Kiranas, RIL would likely increase its business-to-business (B2B) sales as well. The next catalyst could be the potential stake sale at retail business," analysts wrote in a September 7 report.

Entertainment, according to BofA Securities, would help improve stickiness both for wireless and wireline users. Indian consumers prefer mainly Bollywood movies and Cricket. Jio may not fully monetise entertainment but with a differentiated offering they would be able to keep customers captive to cross sell services and earn digital revenues, the brokerage wrote.

As regards digital revenues, RIL could keep average revenue per user (ARPUs) for mobile/broadband users at a discount to competition and monetise via other ways like advertising, brand tie-ups etc. Further, the company could also create a “credit score” for consumers and SMEs based on their digital footprint, location-based data, among others and lend to them.

It must be noted that last week Reliance Retail Ventures Limited (RRVL had announced the acquisition of the entire retail, wholesale, logistics, and warehousing businesses from the Future Group as a going concern basis for a total consideration of Rs 24,713 crore. READ MORE

In another development, reports say private equity firm Silver Lake Partners is in talks to invest $1 billion in the company's retail arm.

At the bourses, shares of RIL have rallied nearly 38 per cent on a year-to-date(YTD) basis as compared to a 7 per cent fall in the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex (as of Friday's close), ACE Equity data show.

RIL to set up Rs 1.08-trillion digital arm, work on making Jio debt-free

Reliance Industries (RIL) on Friday announced a structure to make Reliance Jio (RJIL) debt-free, which is seen as a move to pave the way for a likely listing of its telecom business. As part of it, the company intends to transfer its telecom business and other digital initiatives to a wholly-owned subsidiary.
In the new scheme, RJIL’s debt will move to RIL. RJIL’s board approved an arrangement between RJIL and certain classes of its creditors, including debenture holders, for transferring identified liabilities of up to Rs 1.08 trillion to RIL.
RIL’s board also approved forming a wholly-owned subsidiary for digital platform initiatives and an investment of Rs 1.08 trillion in the subsidiary through optionally convertible preference shares (‘OCPS’). This is likely to be of a 10-year tenure.
The subsidiary will acquire RIL’s equity investment of Rs 65,000 crore in RJIL. It will subscribe to the optionally convertible preference shares.
“Given the reach and scale of our digital ecosystem, we have received a strong interest from potential strategic partners. We will induct the right partners in our platform company, creating and unlocking meaningful value for RIL shareholders,” said Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director, RIL.
ALSO READ: Reliance Jio unveils new plans with bundled in interconnect usage charges
Analysts see this as a move to clear the path for the telecom arm’s listing, as announced by the RIL management during its annual general meeting in August this year.
After this, RJIL will have no debt except spectrum-related liabilities by March 31 next year, said RIL.
For RIL, the company said: “There is no impact on the consolidated debt.”

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At the standalone level, where the debt is likely to increase, the company said: “It (the new capital structure) does not impact RIL’s standalone credit profile, given its robust cash flows and conservative leverage.”
The digital platform company with negligible leverage makes a compelling investment proposition for both strategic and financial investors, said the company.
With completing most of Jio’s capital expenditure, tower and fibre passive infrastructure assets of approximately Rs 1.25 trillion were demerged from Jio in March this year to infrastructure investment trusts (InvITs). After this demerger, Jio has become asset-light, having a balance sheet size of Rs 2.37 trillion, said RIL. The company said in a statement that Jio’s platform business included MyJio app, OTT platform JioTV, OTT platform Jio Cinema, news platform JioNews, and music-streaming platform JioSaavn.
Over 2018-19, RIL made strategic investments in start-ups such as pharma software provider C-Square, citizen SaaS provider EasyGov, AI learning platform Embibe, retail solution provider Fynd, logistics platform Grab, AI assistant platform Haptik, music streaming platform Saavn, deep tech start-up Tesseract, and vernacular language platform Reverie.
These get transferred to the wholly-owned subsidiary.
RIL has made significant investments in global tech start-ups such as DEN, Hathway, Eros International Plc, Edcast, Karexpert Technologies, Vakt Holdings, Indiavidual Learning Pvt. Ltd, Radisys Corp, and Kai OS Technologies.

Reliance Industries' market valuation tops Rs 9 trillion in intra-day trade

RIL’s market valuation topped Rs 9 trillion in intra-day trade on Friday, becoming the first domestic company to do so. Shares of the company rose as much as 2.3 per cent before giving up some gains to end at Rs 1,415, up 1.4 per cent. At close, the company was valued at Rs 8.98 trillion ($125 billion).
Shares of the Mukesh Ambani-led firm have added Rs 1.5 trillion in market cap since the government’s decision to lower corporate taxes. The stock has been particularly on fire since the start of 2017, having gained 2.6 times since. Currently, RIL ranks 68th globally in terms of market value.

Analysts are betting that RIL will become India’s first company to touch $200 billion (Rs 14.3 trillion at today’s exchange rate) in market cap. Earlier this week, BofA Securities ( formerly Bank of America Merrill Lynch) said the company was on the path to $200 billion market cap.
The brokerage has identified three “incrementally transformational drivers” that will help take the company to that level. These include new commerce initiatives; entry in SME enterprise space with Microsoft; Jio’s fiber broadband rollout; and digital initiatives such as advertising.
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RIL rides high on Jio, retail; net profit up 18% YoY at Rs 11,262 crore

Mukesh Ambani-promoted Reliance Industries (RIL) on Friday reported a 14.1 per cent rise in its consolidated profit before tax (PBT or pre-tax profit) at Rs 15,055 crore for the September quarter (Q2) of 2019-20 (FY20), following robust growth in the retail and digital service businesses.
The two consumer businesses now account for 30 per cent of RIL’s earnings before interest and tax (EBIT), as against 20 per cent in the year-ago quarter. The results, declared after market hours, were a mixed bag with some parameters ahead and a few falling short of analysts’ estimates.
Net profit for the quarter under review was at Rs 11,262 crore, up 18.3 per cent from Rs 9,516 crore a year ago. Both PBT and net profit were at their highest ever. Consolidated net sales (excluding the goods and services tax and the excise duty) stood at Rs 1.49 trillion, an increase of 3.6 per cent as compared to Rs 1.43 trillion in the corresponding period of the previous year.
“The increase in revenue is primarily on account of robust growth in the retail and digital businesses, which grew by 27 per cent and 43 per cent, respectively. This was partially offset by a decrease in refining and petrochemicals segment revenue with a 17.7 per cent fall in Brent crude price,” RIL said in a statement.
In a Bloomberg poll, analysts had estimated RIL’s consolidated net profit at Rs 11,080 crore and revenue at Rs 1.53 trillion.
Apart from strong revenue and profit growth in the retail and digital businesses, profit growth was aided by a 189 per cent surge in other income at Rs 3,614 crore, compared to Rs 1,250 crore in the year ago period. The company’s gross refining margins (GRM) for Q2 came in at $9.4 per barrel, its highest in the last four quarters. It was $9.5 per barrel a year ago, and $8.1 per barrel in the June 2019 quarter. Most analysts had estimated the GRM in the range of $9.5 to $10.5 per barrel for Q2.
EBIT for the refining business fell 6.9 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 4,957 crore. For its petrochemicals business, EBIT fell 6.4 per cent to Rs 7,602 crore.
“IMO is clearly the short-term positive trigger for improvement in refining margin, but because of the overall weak demand environment, it is pulling the margins in the other side. It (IMO) can be constructive impact,” said V Srikanth, joint chief financial officer of RIL.
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) regulations require ships to switch to cleaner fuel starting January 2020. In the consumer businesses, organised retail and digital services (Jio), Q2 EBIT grew by 64 per cent to Rs 2,035 crore, and 63 per cent to Rs 3,322 crore, respectively, compared to the year ago quarter.
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On the changes in the tax structure for companies in India, Srikanth added, “Effective MAT (minimum alternate tax) rate for the current quarter was 21 per cent, which in previous quarter was at 25 per cent, and which is the effect of MAT coming down.”

He added, “For Jio and retail, it continues to be the marginal tax rate because we have not yet elected to choose either option A or option B.”
RIL’s outstanding consolidated debt as on September 30, 2019 rose to Rs 2.91 trillion compared to Rs 2.87 trillion as on March 31, 2019. Net debt, officials said, was flat at Rs 1.57 trillion as of September 2019. The company's capital expenditure for Q2 was at Rs 19,000 crore.
At RIL’s annual general meeting in August, group chairman Mukesh Ambani announced a proposed investment by Saudi Aramco in the company’s oil-to-chemical division. Commenting on the deal, Srikanth added, “We continue to move ahead in our conversations and the number of things to be done, be it due diligence, structure finalisation, regulatory compliance. Work is going on.”
Exports from RIL’s India operations continue to fall in the September quarter, and were lower by 12.1 per cent at Rs 53,161 crore as against Rs 60,460 crore in the year ago period, primarily due to lower price realisation for refining and petrochemical products and emphasis on domestic placement.

RIL becomes first Indian firm to hit Rs 9 trn m-cap; stock up 27% in CY19

Reliance Industries (RIL), the oil-to-telecom behemoth, on Friday hit another milestone as the market capitalisation (m-cap) of the company breached the coveted Rs 9 trillion-mark, the first by any Indian company.
The stock hit a high of Rs 1,428 during the session. At close, shares of the company stood at Rs 1,415.30 apiece on the BSE, up 1.37 per cent. The m-cap stood at Rs 8,97,179.47 crore.

The Mukesh Ambani-led company is slated to release its September quarter results later in the day where it is expected to report a strong quarter for the July-September period. Analysts expect refining to offset weakness in petrochemicals (petchem) and a lower tax rate benefit for the retail and telecom businesses.
In a Bloomberg poll, 10 analysts estimated RIL’s consolidated net profit at Rs 11,256 crore and nine analysts estimated revenue at Rs 1.5 trillion. Brokerages like Centrum see the highest-ever consolidated earnings prospect for the company. In the September 2018 quarter, RIL reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 9,516 crore. READ MORE
“We expect September quarter GRMs at $9.5 per barrel, up from $8.1 per barrel during the June quarter, on the back of higher key product margins of diesel, gasoline, and jet fuel. The attack on Saudi Aramco oil processing facilities pushed gasoline margins to its highest level since 2018,” said analysts with BNP Paribas in their note. Analysts expect refining strength to offset petchem weakness.
In its recent report, Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BofA-ML) said RIL can in the next 24 months become the first Indian company to achieve a market capitalisation of $200 billion.
That would come on the back of its new commerce venture and fixed broadband business, BofAML said. The brokerage said the key drivers necessary for Reliance to breach $200 billion m-cap in 24 months are new commerce initiative of empowering Kiranas in unorganised retail market by offering MPoS (mobile point-of-sale), entry into SME enterprise space with Microsoft, Jio's fiber broadband business and digital initiatives like advertising. CLICK TO READ FULL REPORT
At the bourses, shares of Reliance Industries (RIL) have outperformed the market by surging around 27 per cent in the calendar year 2019 (CY19) as against nearly 7 per cent rise in the Nifty50 index.

Q2 preview: Refining boost seen for Reliance Industries earnings

With an improvement in refining margins, Reliance Industries (RIL) is expected to report a strong quarter for the July-September 2019 period. Analysts expect refining to offset weakness in petrochemicals (petchem) and a lower tax rate benefit for the retail and telecom businesses.
RIL will report its financial performance for the September 2019 quarter on Friday.

In a Bloomberg poll, 10 analysts estimated RIL’s consolidated net profit at Rs 11,256 crore and nine analysts estimated revenue at Rs 1.5 trillion. Brokerages like Centrum see the highest-ever consolidated earnings prospect for the company. In the September 2018 quarter, RIL reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 9,516 crore.
RIL’s refining business is expected to make a comeback in the September quarter, owing to higher margins. Analysts have pegged estimated gross refining margins (GRMs) in the range of $9.5 per barrel and $10.5 per barrel. This would be a turnaround from the $8.1 per barrel GRM reported in the June quarter, which was the lowest since October-December 2014.
“We expect September quarter GRMs at $9.5 per barrel, up from $8.1 per barrel during the June quarter, on the back of higher key product margins of diesel, gasoline, and jet fuel. The attack on Saudi Aramco oil processing facilities pushed gasoline margins to its highest level since 2018,” said analysts with BNP Paribas in their note. Analysts expect refining strength to offset petchem weakness.
While the petchem segment is expected to be weak, other businesses like retail and telecom are expected to show steady results. “ While the petchem environment has weakened, we believe RIL’s ability to switch feedstock to gas for as much as 60-70 per cent of its requirement should limit the petchem margin decline quarter-on-quarter (QoQ),” said analysts with JPMorgan. They added, “Retail should be another strong quarter, though year-on-year (YoY) growth rates should come off essentially on a higher base. We forecast Reliance Jio’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation at Rs 5,010 crore, up 7 per cent QoQ, driven by continued strong subscriber growth.”
The telecom and retail business is also expected to benefit from lower tax rates, according to analysts with Nomura. At the consolidated level, in the Bloomberg poll, only one brokerage shared a pre-tax profit estimate for RIL, which was at Rs 15,560 crore for the September 2019 quarter. In a Kotak brokerage report, analysts pegged estimated profit before tax at Rs 14,918 crore for the September quarter, compared to Rs 13,197 crore in the same quarter a year ago.
Analysts with Bank of Baroda expect RIL’s retail earnings growth to witness slowdown, in line with macro trends across India. The brokerage estimated earnings before interest and tax at Rs 1,500 crore, a rise of 18 per cent YoY, but down 17 per cent sequentially.
In the post-results management guidance, analysts will look for further update on the company’s deleveraging plans. At RIL’s annual general meeting (AGM) in August, Group Chairman Mukesh Ambani announced plans to become zero net-debt company in 18 months. At the same AGM, Ambani also announced a proposed investment by Saudi Aramco in RIL’s oil-to-chemicals division.
Analysts on Friday will look for more details on this proposed deal and a commentary on expectations with regard to the Indian Maritime Organization (IMO) regulations. The new IMO regulations require ships to use cleaner fuel starting January 2020, which are expected to improve the refining prospects for RIL.

Eight of top 10 most-valued companies add Rs 80,943 cr in m-cap, RIL leads

Eight of top-10 firms add Rs 80,943 cr in m-cap; RIL leads New Delhi, Oct 13 (PTI) Eight of the 10 most valued domestic companies together added Rs 80,943.32 crore in market capitalisation last week, with RIL taking the pole position.
Only Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and ITC from the top-10 pack suffered losses in their market capitalisation (m-cap) for the week ended Friday.
The m-cap of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) zoomed Rs 28,494.36 crore to Rs 8,57,303.03 crore, the most among the frontline entities. The valuation of Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) jumped Rs 13,216.18 crore to Rs 4,33,990.70 crore and that of Infosys climbed Rs 9,642.37 crore to Rs 3,50,346.61 crore.
The market cap of ICICI Bank advanced Rs 9,471.91 crore to Rs 2,76,737.23 crore and that of HDFC rose by Rs 5,723.98 crore to Rs 3,47,073.31 crore. Likewise, HDFC Bank added Rs 5,251.94 crore to its valuation to reach Rs 6,55,698.41 crore, while Kotak Mahindra Bank's m-cap soared Rs 4,918.32 crore to Rs 3,03,331.59 crore.
Bajaj Finance's valuation went up by Rs 4,224.26 crore to Rs 2,30,533.63 crore. In contrast, the m-cap of TCS dropped Rs 34,371.9 crore to Rs 7,45,617.60 crore and that of ITC tumbled Rs 16,156.7 crore to Rs 2,99,913.23 crore.
In the top-10 ranking, RIL was placed at the numero uno position, followed by TCS, HDFC Bank, HUL, Infosys, HDFC, Kotak Mahindra Bank , ITC, ICICI Bank and Bajaj Finance. During the last week, the BSE Sensex advanced 453.77 points or 1.20 per cent.

RIL has built foundation for next decade in FY19, says Mukesh Ambani

The last financial year, which saw Reliance Industries’ (RIL) consumer business grow, has built a strong foundation for the next decade, said Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani, in a letter to shareholders. The company will hold its 42nd annual general meeting (AGM) on August 12.
The agenda for approvals at the AGM includes the re-appointment of Nita Ambani as non-executive director, and P M S Prasad as whole-time director on the board.

The 42nd AGM comes in the backdrop of a busy year, during which RIL witnessed refinancing of debt and the transfer of certain liabilities to the infrastructure investment trust (InvIT). In addition, the group’s consumer business is now growing significantly, while its core business faces macro headwinds.
In his letter to the shareholders in the FY19 annual report, Ambani had said: “Consumer businesses witnessed phenomenal growth in terms of revenues and profitability, with Reliance Retail and Jio now collectively contributing nearly 25 per cent earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) of the consolidated segment.”
This share has risen further, with the consumer business now contributing 32 per cent to the same, in the June quarter.
As part of the company’s liability management during FY19, the company also saw long-term financing of $2.7 billion syndicated term loan refinancing exercise. "This was the most widely syndicated loan by Reliance till date, with participation from 44 banks and a total amount of $1 billion syndicated," the company said in its annual report. In addition, Reliance Jio also tied up ¥53.5 billion, through the largest Samurai loan for an Asian corporate, and also for a telecom company.
Ambani added in the letter: “The year has set a robust foundation for the golden decade.” In a volatile hydrocarbon chain environment, RIL recorded its highest-ever consolidated net profit of Rs 39,588 crore ($5.7 billion) during the year, registering a growth of 13.1 per cent YoY.”
Further, he said: “The strong financial performance also reflected the increasing contribution of consumer businesses in Reliance’s earnings.”
According to the annual report, Ambani's salary remained capped at Rs 15 crore, in line with the 2009 decision to cap his remuneration.
“Reflecting his desire to continue to set a personal example for moderation in managerial compensation levels,” the annual report stated.

RIL Q1 net up 7% at Rs 10,104 crore; Jio, retail boost revenues by 22%

Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) on Friday reported a 6.8 per cent increase in its net profit at Rs 10,104 crore for the quarter ended June this year on the back of a record 22 per cent jump in revenue at Rs 1.72 trillion.
Consumer businesses contribute 32 per cent of the consolidated segment gross earnings (or earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation, and amortisation, or Ebitda) for the quarter.

For the same quarter last quarter, the company reported a net profit of Rs 9,459 crore.
Revenue was 22.1 per cent higher than the Rs 1.41 trillion in the corresponding period a year ago.
Consolidated debt as of June 2019 was at Rs 2.88 trillion compared to Rs 2.87 trillion as of March 2019.
Debt reduction on account of moving tower assets to the infrastructure investment trust was accounted for the March quarter. The company beat street expectations, which estimated net profit to be lower.
In a Bloomberg poll, 10 analysts estimated consolidated net profit at Rs 9,697 crore and a revenue of Rs 1.46 trillion.
The Mukesh Ambani-controlled company’s retail quarterly earnings reached Rs 2,049 crore, with a revenue growth rate of 48 per cent over the April-June quarter last year and Ebitda growth of 70 per cent.
“This was a resilient quarter. There were fluctuations on crude oil prices, macro headwinds, and US-China trade tensions. Integration between refining and petchem has helped absorb the volatility,” said V Srikanth, joint chief financial officer, RIL.
Capital expenditure in the June quarter was Rs 22,627 crore. Ebitda in petrochemicals, at Rs 8,810 crore, was marginally reduced, with 5.4 per cent lower volumes on planned turnarounds.
RIL Q1 net up 7% at Rs 10,104 crore; Jio, retail boost revenues by 22%
Reliance Jio made a gross addition of 33.8 million subscribers during the quarter. This translated into revenue and Ebitda growth of 44 per cent and 49 per cent, respectively. Its net profit rose by 45.6 per cent at Rs 891 crore.
RIL’s standalone net profit increased 2.4 per cent to Rs 9,036 crore. The gross refining margin (GRM) for the quarter was at $8.1 a barrel, a $4.6 increase over the Singapore complex margins.
The GRM is the lowest since October-December 2014, when it was at $7.3 per barrel. The company in its statement said commissioning its petcoke gasifiers had been completed, and this is expected to add $2-3 to its GRM. Srikanth said: “We are expecting the GRM to be stable, with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) regulations being a positive.”
The new IMO regulations, starting January next year, will require ships to use cleaner bunker fuel. Exports (including deemed exports) were lower by 4.5 per cent at Rs 50,158 crore as against the Rs 52,501 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year.
Lower price realisation across petrochemicals and refining products, led by a 7.4 per cent fall in the Brent oil price over the same quarter last year, and lower volumes of fibre intermediates contributed to the decline in exports, said the company.

RIL-BP wins first block under OALP rounds, Oil India, Vedanta bag the most

Global major BP Plc and its partner Reliance Industries (RIL) have jointly emerged as winners of a block under the fresh round of auction under the open acreage licensing policy. This would mark the re-entry of RIL into domestic exploration and production business after it stopped bidding for acreages in India.
The block that BP and RIL has won is said to be on the east coast. RIL had last won a block during the seventh round of auctions under NELP (New Exploration Licensing Policy) in 2008. At present, RIL is operating in only four blocks in India.
According to multiple sources, state-run Oil India (OIL) with 12 blocks has got the maximum number on offer -– six each in the second and third OALP rounds. The government is likely to clear the allotment of the blocks to successful bidders this week. The two rounds were initially estimated to attract investment worth Rs 80,000-90,000 crore.
Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta group, which had reportedly put in 30 bids, is expected to get five blocks each in OALP-II and OALP-III. During OALP-I, Vedanta was the most aggressive bidder, winning 41 of a total 555 blocks on offer. An industry source confirmed that the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) has already shortlisted the list of winning bidders after evaluation and is waiting for the final clearance from the government, likely this week, to sign the contracts.
The country’s largest producer Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) too won a total of eight blocks – seven under OALP-II and a single block under OALP-I. The only other company that won a block during the OALP-II and III rounds was Indian Oil Corporation (IOC).
Based on the data available with the DGH website, a total of 37 blocks were on offer during the two rounds – 14 under OALP-II and 23 under OALP III. Out of this, 32 areas will now be allotted to winners for exploration. “The government has not received any bids for the remaining five areas,” a source added.
Out of 14 Blocks under OALP-II, eight are in onland, five in shallow water and one is in ultra-deep water. Out of 23 blocks that were on offer under OALP-III, 19 are in Onland (including five CBM), three in Shallow Water and one is in deep water. The current round had adopted all the features of the Hydrocarbon Exploration Licensing Policy (HELP) that ensures reduced royalty rates, no oil cess, uniform licensing system, marketing and pricing freedom, revenue sharing model and exploration rights on all retained area for full contract life for bidders.
After taking charge in his second term, petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan had said increasing domestic oil and gas production was his top priority. The first round of OALP was expected to bring in around Rs 60,000 crore of investment to the sector.
With the current two rounds also going on stream, the OALP regime has so far seen committed investments to the tune of around Rs 1.4 trillion. Under OALP regime, blocks are awarded to companies that offer the highest share to the government in a given block.
Total number of blocks on offer under OALP-II & III: 37

Number of blocks allotted: 32
Areas on offer
OALP-II -- 29,233 sq km
OALP-III -- 31,722 sq km31,722 Sq Km of area

Who won the blocks?
Company Number of blocks
Oil India 12
Vedanta 10
ONGC 8
RIL-BP 1
IOC 1

MARKET WRAP: Sensex dips 495 pts; Nifty below 11,600; RIL, financials drag

The market made a faltering start to the week ahead of the expiry of futures and options contracts for April series due Thursday with Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) and financial stocks dragging the indices down on Monday. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) slipped 3 per cent on Monday after the company announced its March 2018 quarter results on Thursday. At the current levels, the stock factors in most positives, said leading brokerages. READ MORE ON RIL HERE
The headline index, S&P BSE Sensex lost 495 points or 1.26 per cent to settle at 38,645, with YES Bank being the biggest loser and Bharti Airtel the top gainer. Out of 31 components, 25 scrips ended in the red and rest five in the green.
The broader Nifty50 index of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) lost 158 points or 1.35 per cent to end at 11,594.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Midcap index slipped 235 points or nearly 1.53 per cent to close at 15,148 while the S&P BSE Smallcap index ended at 14,804, down around 217 points or 1.44 per cent.
A 3 per cent jump in oil prices amid weak global cues also dented sentiment. Asian shares slipped on Monday, weighed down by underperforming Chinese stocks, while oil prices rallied on news the United States is likely to ask all importers of Iranian oil to end their purchases or face sanctions. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan lost 0.3 percent, edging away from a nine-month peak scaled last week. The Shanghai Composite Index was down 1.3 percent, South Korea’s KOSPI edged down 0.2 percent and Japan’s Nikkei was little changed.
BUZZING STOCKS
Dewan Housing Finance Corporation (DHFL) shares plunged 11 per cent to end the day at Rs 140, extending its Thursday’s 8 per cent decline after rating agency CRISIL downgraded credit rating of the company's commercial paper and continued on watch negative. READ MORE

Shares of state-owned oil marketing companies (OMCs) such as Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) and Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) dipped almost 6 per cent after a steep rise in the crude oil prices. READ MORE
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04:03 PM
MARKET COMMENT :: Jagannadham Thunuguntla, senior vice president, head research (wealth), Centrum Broking
Indian markets had a rough day today, on the back of sharp rise in crude oil price above US$74 per barrel. As a significant importer of crude oil, the high oil price is not good for Indian macros. Further, after breath-taking rally of past two months, a correction was due in the Indian markets; and crude oil has triggered it. Further, ongoing results season has provided mixed performance till date. For the markets to sustain at elevated levels, it’s very important for Indian corporate earnings to remain robust
03:47 PM
Sectoral indices at close
03:44 PM
Top losers of the day
COMPANY PRICE(RS) CHG(RS) CHG(%) VOLUME
PC JEWELLER 128.00 -17.20 -11.85 5276643
DEWAN HSG. FIN. 139.05 -18.15 -11.55 2691416
RELIANCE CAPITAL 137.20 -14.55 -9.59 3198681
INDIABULLS HOUS. 728.10 -72.15 -9.02 627751
SPICEJET 125.25 -11.00 -8.07 9121684
» More on Top Losers
03:40 PM
Market check
03:38 PM
Nifty at close
03:36 PM
Market at close
03:34 PM
Market at close | NSE Nifty sheds 161 points to close at 11,591
03:33 PM
Market at close | BSE Sensex closes 495 lower at 38,645
03:31 PM
Jet Airways sees sharp recovery, up 0.6%
03:26 PM
Market at Day's low | Nifty loses 166 points, or 1.41%, to trade at 11,587
03:25 PM
Market at Day's low | Sensex sheds 504, or 1.29%, to trade at 38,635.90
03:04 PM
MARKET CHECK
02:55 PM
Nifty Private Bank index is trading almost 1.8% lower
02:42 PM
NEWS ALERT | Gruh Finance to consider raising fund on April 30
02:37 PM
Mahindra Life Q4 results: Revenue up 44.8% at Rs 234.3 crore YoY
02:37 PM
Mahindra Life Q4 results: Net profit down 34.5% at Rs 31.3 crore YoY
02:36 PM
Mahindra Life Q4 results: EBITDA margin at 3.5% vs 14.1% YoY
02:36 PM
Mahindra Life Q4 results: EBITDA down 64.4% at 8.1 cr YoY
02:27 PM
Trump administration to eliminate Iran oil waivers after May 2 expiration
The Trump administration won’t renew the waivers that let countries buy Iranian crude oil without facing U.S. sanctions, according to four people familiar with the matter, a move that could roil energy markets and risks upsetting major importers such as India and China. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo will announce the decision on Monday morning along with announcing commitments from other suppliers, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, that will offset the loss of Iranian crude on the market, according to two of the people. READ MORE
02:18 PM
Stock Alert | KPR MIlls up nearly 5% after Co is likely to consider buyback
02:13 PM
Rupee check | Domestic currency trades at day's high, appreciates to Rs 69.5 per Dollar
rupee dollar
One of the reasons why the rupee is appreciating against the dollar is because the RBI has minimised its intervention in the currency markets
02:01 PM
ICICI Securities on Wipro
Continued strength in digital and healthy deal pipeline commentary would act as the main growth drivers for Wipro. Additionally, room for margin revision, healthy capital allocation policy and reasonable valuation prompt us to recommend BUY on Wipro. Hence, we revise target price to Rs 315 per share (~16x FY21E EPS).
01:59 PM
Dun and Bradstreet Business Optimism Index Report
Key Highlights:

1. Dun & Bradstreet Composite Business Optimism Index stands at 78.4 during Q2 2019, an increase of 6.3% as compared to Q1 2019.

2. Optimism for net profits stands at 69% - an increase of 6 percentage points as compared to Q1 2019

3. Optimism for new orders stands at 63% - the same level as in Q1 2019

4. Optimism for volume of sales stands at 74% - an increase of 3 percentage points as compared to Q1 2019

5. Optimism for selling prices stands at 23% - an increase of 4 percentage points as compared to Q1 2019.
01:57 PM
DHFL plunges 19% in two days after CRISIL's credit rating downgrade
Dewan Housing Finance Corporation (DHFL) shares plunged 11 per cent to Rs 139 on BSE in intra-day trade on Monday, extending its Thursday’s 8 per cent decline after rating agency CRISIL downgraded credit rating of the company's commercial paper and continued on watch negative. At 01:28 pm, the stock was top loser among S&P BSE 500 index constituents. In comparison, the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex was down 0.88 per cent at 38,795 points. READ MORE

DHFL
01:46 PM
NEWS ALERT | Piccadily Agro Industries said Haryana State Pollution Control Board has ordered closure of its distillery unit for making the compliance of certain pollution norms.

01:33 PM
Market check | Nifty IT gains on back of depreciated rupee, all other indices fall over 1%
01:18 PM
DHFL tumbles almost 9%
01:09 PM
HPCL falls more than 6%
01:01 PM
BSE Sensex gainers and losers
12:57 PM
Market check | Sensex sheds over 300 points

RIL to take on Amazon, Flipkart; Mukesh Ambani bats for data localisation

Reliance Industries (RIL) is ready to unleash its e-commerce dark horse to take on the likes of Amazon India and Walmart-owned Flipkart. Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani on Friday said Reliance Retail and Reliance Jio Infocomm were set to jointly launch their new e-commerce platform in the country.
At the inauguration of the three-day Vibrant Gujarat summit, Ambani said Gujarat was where the company would start operations while apprising Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the global conglomerate’s online marketplace plans.

“Jio and Reliance Retail will launch a unique new commerce platform to empower and enrich our 1.2 million small retailers and shopkeepers in Gujarat, which are part of the over 30-million (retail) community in India,” he said.
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Ambani added the e-commerce business would empower 1.2 million shopkeepers in Gujarat. It was during RIL’s 41st annual general meeting last year that Ambani had given a gist of his e-commerce plans.
RIL to take on Amazon, Flipkart; Mukesh Ambani bats for data localisation According to sources, with as many as 50 brand new warehouses specifically for e-commerce operations, 3 million small merchants hooked to cloud-based services, a new set of small format fashion stores called Trend Express and an inventory-based online marketplace model, Reliance is set to be the biggest player after Amazon India and Flipkart. The firm has 7,500 stores, 350 million customers, 215 million Reliance Jio users, a well-oiled backend machinery of a telecom network, digital money wallet JioMoney, and a taxation and inventory management solution JioGST.
Sources said the company had been working on its e-commerce plans for more than three years.
The company has been adding a slew of private labels, acquiring controlling stakes in various fashion brands, and is in discussion with several fashion retail brands in the country to create a separate line of co-branded only for Reliance-made products, which it would be selling via a new chain of small format retail stores called “Trend Express”.
Reliance, which is calling its online marketplace an extension of its brick and mortar outreach, will not have any sellers or vendors on the platform and follow an inventory-based model.
"Reliance wants to be the sole supplier of inventory to its merchants, mom and pop stores and retailers all over the country. It will sell inventory through its B2B arm, which would be then sold by its merchants offline as well as on Jio's online marketplace,” said a senior consultant advising Reliance on logistics and supply chain.
Launching the digital wallet JioMoney, tax solution JioGST and its Payments Bank have been key developments in the run-up to the launch of its online marketplace.
Ambani also reiterated his stand on data localisation. He urged Modi for migration of control and ownership of data to India. Ambani called for a “movement against data colonisation”, a move seen as against global tech majors like Google, Facebook and Apple owning and storing abroad data belonging to Indians.
"The entire world has come to recognise you (Modi) as a man of action. I therefore conclude with a suggestion for your kind consideration...India's data must be controlled and owned by Indian people and not by corporates, especially global corporations. For India to succeed in this data-driven revolution, we will have to migrate the control and ownership of Indian data back to India. I am sure you will make this one of the principal goals of your Digital India mission,” Ambani said.