However, in this quarter the main emphasis of Reliance Industries was on new business and increasing the value of Reliance. The company is moving forward rapidly in AI and new energy business. On the other hand, Reliance Industries is also going to enter a new phase on the value generation front. Jio’s IPO is also coming up from the beginning of the second half of the current year. In such a situation, Reliance Industries is moving forward with a different thinking. Due to which there has been a marginal increase in profit. Let us also tell you what kind of master plan of Mukesh Ambani is being seen in the quarterly results of the company.
Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has increased its net profit by a nominal 0.56 percent in the third quarter, which stood at Rs 18,645 crore. This profit is payable to the shareholders of the company. During the same period, there was an increase of 11 percent in operational revenue and the figure stood at Rs 2.69 lakh crore. On a quarterly basis, the profit is 3% higher than Rs 18,165 crore recorded in the September quarter. There has been a growth of 4 percent in revenue on quarterly basis.
The company, which is engaged in business ranging from oil to telecom, recorded an EBITDA of Rs 50,932 crore, which is a growth of 6 percent due to the strong operational performance of Jio and O2C business. Reliance Industries Chairman and MD Mukesh Ambani said that with its initiatives in AI and new energy sectors, Reliance is entering a new phase of value generation. I am confident that Reliance will play a leading role in the growth of defining technology in this era and will provide permanent solutions on a large scale for India and the world.
During the quarter, depreciation increased by 11 per cent year-on-year and stood at Rs 14,622 crore. Finance cost increased by 7 percent on an annual basis and stood at Rs 6,613 crore, mainly due to the start of operation of 5G spectrum assets. At the same time, on tax expense basis, it increased by 10 percent to Rs 7,530 crore.
Capex for the quarter ended December stood at Rs 33,826 crore ($3.8 billion), which was spent on investing in ongoing growth projects in the O2C and new energy businesses and strengthening and expanding Jio and retail networks and infrastructure.
O2C segment business
The company’s core oil-to-chemicals business recorded 8 percent growth on the revenue front, which increased to Rs 1.69 lakh crore. The EBITDA of this segment increased by 15 percent on annual basis to Rs 16,507 crore. This increase was partially offset by weakness in downstream capital and increases in feedstock freight rates due to rapid growth in transport fuel cracking and higher sulfur recoveries.
The company said that favorable ethane cracking economy and better conditions in the domestic market contributed to maintaining profitability. Fuel retail sale through Jio-BP expanded its network by 14% YoY to 2,125 outlets, leading to volume growth of 24.7% for HSD and 20.8% for MS.
Ambani said the strong growth in O2C business was mainly due to favorable demand-supply conditions and operational flexibility along with significant increase in fuel margins. I am pleased to share that our fuel retail business has also seen strong growth, driven by the continued expansion of the Jio-BP network. EBITDA of the upstream segment was impacted by lower volumes and prices. The company said accelerated sourcing of crude helped maintain production despite procurement challenges during the quarter. Total production increased by 200 bps year-on-year to 20.6 million metric tons.
Tremendous increase in profit of Reliance Jio
The company’s digital and telecom venture Reliance Jio registered an 11 percent increase in its net profit in the third quarter, earning a profit of Rs 7,629 crore. Revenue grew 13 per cent year-on-year to Rs 43,683 crore, driven by strong growth in subscriber base, growth in average revenue per month (ARPU) and expansion of digital services. The segment’s EBITDA grew 16 percent year-on-year to Rs 19,303 crore, while margins improved by 170 bps.
ARPU (average revenue per user per month) increased by 213.7 per cent for the quarter, mainly due to increased customer engagement, although this increase was somewhat offset by promotional offers for unlimited 5G and fixed broadband services. By the end of the December quarter, the number of customers of the company increased to 515 million. The total number of 5G subscribers to reach 253 million by December 2025. Due to the continuous increase in customer engagement, 5G now accounts for 53% of total wireless traffic.
Reliance Jio Chairman Akash Ambani said Jio’s customer base, deep understanding of customers and all India distribution network will enable Reliance Intelligence to achieve its goal of making India not only AI-enabled but AI-empowered – where every citizen and venture can create, innovate and grow using AI tools. This will lead to sustained value creation for all stakeholders in the years to come.
How was the performance of Reliance Retail?
The December quarter net profit of Reliance Retail Ventures Limited (RRVL), the retail unit of Reliance Industries, increased by 2.7 percent to Rs 3,551 crore. At the same time, the total revenue of the company increased by 8.1 percent to Rs 97,605 crore. According to the information given to the stock market by Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), in the same quarter a year ago, the company’s net profit was Rs 3,458 crore and total income was Rs 90,333 crore. The company’s operating revenue increased by 9.2 percent to Rs 86,951 crore in the December quarter, which was Rs 79,595 crore in the same quarter last year.
During the period under review, the company’s EBITDA stood at Rs 6,915 crore with a slight increase of 1.3 percent. The country’s largest retailer continued its expansion process by opening 431 new stores in the December quarter. With this, the total number of stores of the company has increased to 19,979. The total registered customer base of the company has also increased to 37.8 crores. The total number of transactions during the quarter increased by 47 percent on an annual basis and crossed 524 million.
During the same quarter, the company also completed the process of divestment of its FMCG business ‘Reliance Consumer Products Limited’ (RCPL), after which it has now become a direct subsidiary of RIL. Commenting on the results, Reliance Industries Chairman and MD Mukesh Ambani said that this quarter was very important for our retail business. It has been further strengthened by the addition of new brands and products to the portfolio. He said that with the separation of the FMCG business, the sector is now on the path to rapid growth with a focused institutional structure.
According to the company, due to the festive season, performance in the grocery and consumer electronics sectors was better. In the electronics category, there was a 46 percent increase in laptop sales, 38 percent increase in mobile sales and 25 percent increase in TV sales. E-commerce platforms ‘Ajio’ and ‘Shin’ also achieved continuous growth during this period. Isha M Ambani, Executive Director, RRVL, said that the company remains firm on its vision of changing the landscape of the Indian retail market through innovation and excellence.
Oil and Gas
The business’s third quarter revenue was down 8 per cent year-on-year due to lower volumes of KGD6 gas and condensate and lower price realisations. The average price of KGD6 gas in the third quarter of FY 2026 was $ 9.65/MMBTU, whereas in the same quarter last year it was $ 9.74/MMBTU. The average price of CBM gas in the third quarter of FY 2026 was $ 9.29/MMBTU, whereas a year ago it was $ 10.58/MMBTU. EBITDA declined by 13 per cent to Rs 4,857 crore compared to the previous year due to lower revenue due to maintenance and higher operational costs.
How did Jio Star earn?
JioStar recorded strong revenue of Rs 8,010 crore and EBITDA of Rs 1,303 crore in the December quarter. The television network reached more than 830 million viewers and provided more than 60 billion hours of watch time. JioHotstar has an average of 45 crore monthly active users, which is almost equal to an IPL quarter.
JioHotstar recorded the highest ever activity for entertainment content in Q3FY26 due to the telecast of Bigg Boss in different languages, the launch of blockbuster series, hit films like Lokah and Mirai and the continuous increase in consumption of international content. On Friday, ahead of the results announcement, RIL shares closed 0.15 per cent higher at Rs 1,461 on the NSE.