Reliance Industries Ltd on Friday reported a record consolidated profit for the September quarter of financial year 2026-27, powered by a sharp improvement in its oil-to-chemicals business and continued growth in its digital services arm, even as its retail business faced margin pressures.
The oil-to-telecom-and-retail conglomerate reported consolidated profit after tax, including the share of profit from associates and joint ventures, of Rs 29,550 crore for the quarter ended September 2026, up 33.8 per cent from Rs 22,092 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. Net profit attributable to the owners of the company rose 40.6 per cent year-on-year to Rs 25,548 crore, from Rs 18,165 crore a year earlier and Rs 20,946 crore in the June quarter.
Consolidated gross revenue surged 27.8 per cent year-on-year to a record Rs 3,62,268 crore, while revenue from operations rose about 28 per cent to a record Rs 3.38 lakh crore. Consolidated earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation rose 23.9 per cent to a record Rs 62,409 crore, against Rs 50,367 crore in the year-ago quarter, although the overall margin moderated slightly to 17.2 per cent from 17.8 per cent.
For the first half of financial year 2026-27, the company's consolidated revenue reached Rs 7,02,525 crore, while profit after tax, including associates and joint ventures, crossed the Rs 50,000-crore milestone to reach Rs 52,746 crore. The company thus became the first Indian company to cross Rs 50,000 crore in half-yearly profit, and its half-yearly revenues crossed the Rs 6 lakh crore mark, also a first for an Indian company.
The standout contributor in the quarter was the oil-to-chemicals division, which includes oil refining and petrochemicals. The division's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation jumped 67.9 per cent year-on-year to Rs 25,203 crore, driven by stronger transportation fuel cracks, improved petrochemical margins and favourable feedstock sourcing opportunities. Revenue from the division rose 44.2 per cent to Rs 2,31,601 crore.
The division accounted for a little over 80 per cent of the incremental growth in the company's consolidated gross revenue and earnings before interest and taxes, and its share of consolidated gross revenue rose to 57.4 per cent from 50.7 per cent a year earlier.
The performance reflected tighter global fuel markets during the quarter, which lifted refining margins. Higher energy prices and stronger demand for transportation fuels supported the division, while petrochemical margins improved from the weaker levels seen in the previous year. For a company of Reliance's scale, even modest movements in fuel cracks translate into large absolute gains, and the September quarter showed that effect clearly.
Digital services was the second major growth engine. Jio Platforms, the company's digital arm, reported a 13.7 per cent year-on-year increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 8,387 crore, from Rs 7,375 crore in the year-ago quarter. Revenue from operations rose 11.4 per cent to Rs 40,475 crore, reflecting sustained growth in the connectivity business and expansion of digital services.
Jio reported operating revenue growth of 10.8 per cent to Rs 35,307 crore, while its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation climbed 14.7 per cent to Rs 20,505 crore.
Subscriber additions and higher average revenue per user supported the digital business. Jio's subscriber base reached 542.4 million, including 300 million users on 5G services, according to reports on the results. The digital arm's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation grew 17.7 per cent to Rs 22,223 crore.
The results came shortly after Jio completed India's largest initial public offering, raising Rs 30,188 crore, which listed at a premium of 26.7 per cent and helped prepay external commercial borrowings.
Retail was the softer part of the portfolio in the quarter. Reliance Retail reported gross revenue growth of 6.4 per cent to Rs 91,716 crore, but its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation declined 8.6 per cent amid investments in digital commerce and cost pressures. Reliance Retail Ventures reported a 24.3 per cent year-on-year decline in net profit to Rs 2,611 crore.
The company's fast-moving consumer goods arm, however, posted gross revenue of Rs 8,266 crore, up 1.6 times from a year earlier, showing the rapid scaling of that business.
JioStar, the entertainment joint venture, reported revenue growth of about 10 per cent to Rs 6,806 crore, but its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation fell 14 per cent to Rs 1,502 crore on a weak advertising environment. The oil and gas segment also remained relatively subdued compared with the refining-led surge in the oil-to-chemicals division.
Capital expenditure during the September quarter stood at Rs 38,153 crore, largely directed towards oil-to-chemicals and new energy projects, as well as expanding infrastructure and distribution networks across consumer businesses. The board also approved a plan to raise as much as Rs 15,000 crore through the private placement of non-convertible debentures in one or more tranches, giving the company additional financial flexibility.
The results beat market expectations. A poll of analysts had pegged net profit at a lower level, and the reported figures came in ahead of estimates on both revenue and profit.
The company's shares and the broader market reaction will be watched in the coming sessions, but the results themselves underline the breadth of Reliance's portfolio: when refining margins are strong, the oil-to-chemicals division can carry the quarter, while digital services provide steady growth and retail builds scale for the longer term.
For the Indian economy, the results matter beyond the company itself. Reliance is the country's largest company by revenue, profit and market capitalisation, and its refining, retail, telecom and digital businesses touch millions of consumers and thousands of suppliers.
Its capital expenditure plans influence investment across sectors, from energy to logistics to consumer goods, and its digital subscriber base makes it a bellwether for data consumption and digital adoption in the country.
The September quarter also illustrated the different cycles at work within the group. Refining is cyclical and benefits from global fuel market tightness, while telecom is steadier and driven by subscriber growth and data usage. Retail is in an investment phase, with spending on digital commerce and store networks weighing on near-term margins even as revenues grow.
The consumer goods business is scaling rapidly from a smaller base. Together, these cycles partly offset each other, which is one reason the group's consolidated results have remained resilient through varied market conditions.
Looking ahead, the key questions will be whether refining margins hold at the stronger levels seen in the September quarter, how quickly the retail business can convert its investments into margin recovery, and how the newly listed Jio Platforms deploys the capital raised in its public offering. The company's new energy projects, which absorbed a significant share of capital expenditure, will also be watched as part of its longer-term transition strategy.
For now, the September quarter stands as a record for the company on multiple measures: record quarterly profit, record revenue and record operating earnings. It is a result that reflects both favourable global fuel markets and the steady expansion of the company's digital business, and it sets a high base for the second half of the financial year.
(Reporting based on The Indian Express, Business Standard and The Economic Times.)