RIL Q1 net profit up nearly 14 percent

Mumbai, July 19 (IANS) Reliance Industries (RIL) Saturday posted a 13.7 percent jump in consolidated net profit for the first quarter of the current fiscal flowing from higher refining margins.

RIL's consolidated net profit in the quarter stood at Rs.5,957 crore over the Rs.5,237 crore reported for the same period a year back, the company said in a filing to the BSE.

Total income increased from Rs.99,895 crore for the quarter April-June 2013 to Rs.106,614 crore in the quarter ended June 30 2014.

Gross refining margin for the quarter in question improved to $8.7 per barrel over the $6.7 a barrel in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.

RIL revenues in the first quarter of this fiscal increased by 7.2 percent to Rs.107,905 crore, the company said.

Among the quarter's highlights, it mentioned the controlling acquisition in Network 18 Media & Investments Ltd, including the latter's subsidiary, TV18.

In June, Reliance Jio Infocomm (RJIL) has signed a telecom tower-sharing agreement with Ascend Telecom Infrastructure under which RJIL will utilize the pan-India tower infrastructure of Ascend to launch its 4G services, RIL said.

Commenting on the results, chairman Mukesh Ambani said: "RIL has delivered a record level of consolidated net profit, this quarter. This was achieved despite weak regional refining margins and a planned turnaround in our refinery."