Eve On Future, RIL Builds On Growth

India's largest private sector company's 'future focus' keeps it at the top of the league.

- NEVIN JOHN

#1 HIGHEST INCOME

RELIANCE INDUSTRIES

IF RELIANCE INDUSTRIES chairman Mukesh Ambani were to paraphrase the late Dhirubhai Ambani's advice over the years on strategy it would probably read "Act big, Act fast, Act ahead. Future is no one's monopoly". Since the day Reliance Industries (RIL) chairman shook, reimagined and rebuilt India's communication industry with the launch of Jio in 2016, the surge of confidence in the group has led to the roll-out of several super capital-intensive projects targeted at the future.

In the last three years, RIL has been focused on building projects which would consolidate future leadership. Sources close to Ambani state that he is building a foundation for what his children will do in future. A bouquet of green projects - manufacturing of solar panels, battery and hydrogen at large scale is one such business. The massive retail expansion with digital support, 5G rollout, innovations for 6G, and building financial services business (outside RIL) with global tie-ups also have Ambani's signature future focus. Moreover, the mainstay fuel business is transitioning to large-scale petrochemicals production.

As the future plays out in everything inside RIL, it's the present that is throwing up the resources to fund it. Despite geo-political conflicts, disruptions in commodity trade flows and economic downturn, the company posted a net profit of ₹66,702 crore in FY23, up 10% year-on-year, while total income increased 25% to ₹9,20,274 crore. "Consumer businesses continued their growth trajectory with rapid expansion of retail store footprint and strong subscriber acquisition in Jio... Oil and gas segment registered strong performance with sustained gas production from KG D6 block," Ambani says in his annual letter to shareholders.