Mukesh Ambani-promoted Reliance Industries (RIL) reported a 33 per cent decline in its profit before tax (PBT) at Rs 9,223 crore for the March quarter due to higher expenses. The company’s board also approved a proposal to raise funds through a rights issue.

RIL’s PBT for the March quarter was 33 per cent lower than Rs 13,858 crore reported in the same period a year ago. The company's net profit after exceptional items, was at Rs 6,546 crore, 37 per cent lower than Rs 10,427 crore reported a year ago. RIL's revenue for the quarter under review was Rs 1.51 Trillion, down 2.5 per cent from Rs 1.55 Trillion in the year-ago quarter.

In a statement to BSE, RIL said its board had approved a rights issue at a price of Rs 1,257 per fully paid-up equity share and an entitlement ratio of one equity share for every 15 held by eligible shareholders as on the record date. The company looks to raise Rs 53,125 crore through this rights issue, which will be the first by RIL in three decades.

In its press statement, RIL said in spite of the Covid-19 crisis and the lockdowns, due-diligence by Saudi Aramco for the planned investment in the oil-to-chemicals (O2C) business is on track as both parties are committed and actively engaged. The company will approach the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to carve out the O2C business.

Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director, RIL, said in a statement, "I am pleased to announce that despite the daunting challenges arising from the fallout of the global pandemic, our company has once again delivered a resilient performance for FY 2019-20.” He added, “Our O2C business delivered sustained earnings due to its integrated portfolio, cost-competitiveness, feedstock flexibility and product placement capabilities. We continue to operate all our major facilities at near normal utilisation levels.”

Segment-wise, RIL reported a gross refining margin (GRM) of $8.9 per barrel, higher than analyst expectations. This compares with $8.2 per barrel in the same period a year ago. The company said revenue from the refining and marketing segment declined by 3.4 per cent Y-o-Y to Rs 84,854 while Segment EBIT was up 28.2 per cen YoY to Rs 5,706 crore with higher throughput and better GRMs.

Revenue from the petrochemicals segment decreased by 24.1 per cent YoY to Rs 32,206 crore due to lower price realizations along with disruptions in local and regional markets. Petrochemicals segment Earnings before Interest and Taxation (EBIT) was at Rs 4,553 crore, down 42.8 per cent, with significant decline in margins.

Revenue from the retail business grew by 4.2 per cent Y-o-Y to Rs 38,211 crore, while EBITDA for the same quarter grew by 32.9 per cent to Rs 2,556 crore.