The number on the ticker board told the story before the conference call even started: Net Profit, ₹29,550 crore. That is a 34% jump year-on-year. And it isn't just a beat; it’s a stomp on the consensus. Wall Street and domestic brokers were penciling in ₹21,419 crore. Reliance Industries, India’s market-cap king, didn’t just clear that bar; it vaulted over it by nearly 38%. For traders watching the NSE, this confirms the narrative that the conglomerate’s margin expansion is real, not just a one-off accounting trick.
Where did the money come from? The Oil-to-Chemicals (O2C) division was the engine. Its EBITDA skyrocketed 68% to ₹25,203 crore, accounting for 41% of the group’s total operating profit. Tight fuel markets and improved petrochemical margins did the heavy lifting. But the real narrative shift is in Jio. The digital arm, which just had a record-breaking IPO this week, posted an 18% rise in EBITDA to ₹22,223 crore. Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) ticked up almost 4% to ₹219. That’s not just growth; that’s pricing power.
Not every pillar is shining equally. Retail EBITDA dipped 10% to ₹6,120 crore, a drag caused by the festive calendar shifting into Q3. Oil and Gas EBITDA also slipped 2% to ₹4,901 crore due to higher government levies. Yet, the balance sheet remains a fortress. With cash reserves over ₹2.6 lakh crore against net debt of ₹1.2 lakh crore, RIL has the breathing room to deploy capital where the returns are highest. Total capex for the quarter hit ₹38,153 crore, heavily weighted toward O2C and new energy projects.
Mukesh Ambani, in a statement to the board, framed the quarter as a "historic moment," specifically citing the Jio listing as proof of investor confidence in the group’s growth visibility. He even drew a parallel to the 1977 IPO, calling it a rejuvenation of the "equity cult." The board also greenlit a fresh ₹15,000 crore raise via listed, redeemable non-convertible debentures. For long-term holders, the signal is clear: Reliance is leveraging its cash pile and new capital access to accelerate its transition into new energy, betting that the next decade’s alpha will come from green hydrogen and renewable infrastructure, not just refining.