Margin pressures drag down RIL’s profit to 4-qtr low

Retail, oil & gas divisions remain laggards

- KRISHNA KANT

Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) in Q3FY26 clocked consolidated revenues that were ahead of market expectations but its profits, on lower margins, were slightly lower than what the street anticipated.

The company’s consolidated net sales were up 10.4 per cent year-on-year (Yo-Y) to a record high of ₹2.65 trillion in October-December, up from around ₹2.4 trillion in Q3FY25 and around ₹2.55 trillion in Q2FY26.

Analysts' average estimate was around ₹2.61 trillion as compiled by Business Standard in the earnings preview of Nifty 50 companies earlier this year.

The company’s consolidated net profit (attributable to owners or shareholders) was up just 0.6 per cent Yo-Y to ₹18,645 crore from ₹18,540 crore in Q3FY25 and ₹18,165 crore in Q2FY26. This was RIL’s lowest quarterly net profit in the last four quarters, including Q3FY26. The company’s consolidated net profit has now moved in a range of ₹17,000 crore-20,000 in the last 12 quarters, beginning Q4FY23.

Its reported consolidated net profit is around 8 per cent lower than the analysts' average estimate of ₹20,169.6 crore as compiled by Business Standard earlier this week.

The company's standalone net sales (largely reflecting its oil refining and petrochemical production business) were around 1.21 trillion from 1.24 trillion in Q3FY25 and around 1.26 trillion in Q2FY26. Its standalone net profit was up 7.7 per cent Y-oY to ₹9,396 crore from ₹8,721 crore in Q3FY25 and ₹9,129 crore in Q2FY26.