MOSCOW (MRC) -- The rupee's steep slide, combined with strong petrochem margins, is likely to help energy-to-retail conglomerate Reliance Industries (RIL) offset the weakness in its refining margins and the decline in oil and gas production when it reports results for the July-September quarter, as per Financial Express.
Analysts on an average expect RIL to report a profit of R5,449 crore for the second quarter ended 30 September. In the same quarter last year, RIL earned R5,409 crore.
"We highlight that RIL is likely to benefit from the full impact of customs duty hike in polymers announced during May, as well as INR depreciation, resulting in margin expansion in its petchem business," analysts at Morgan Stanley wrote in a recent client note.
The government in May raised the import duty on polymer products to 7.5% from 5%. This was a major boost for RIL as polymers, which are used as a key input in sectors as diverse as automobiles, mining and steel, contribute 44% to RIL's petrochemicals revenue according to a report by Goldman Sachs. Revenue from the petrochemicals business accounts for around 24% of the company's total revenue.
Meanwhile, a weak rupee is also a major boost for RIL, which is responsible for about 14% of India's total exports according to the company's annual report.
As MRC wrote previously, Reliance Industries posted a better-than-expected net profit that was also its biggest in six quarters, helped by an increase in refining margin. Net profit for the fiscal fourth quarter ended on March 31 rose 32% to 55.89 billion rupees (USD1.03 billion) from 42.36 billion rupees a year earlier. Sales, however, fell 1.2% to 841.98 billion rupees from 851.82 billion rupees due to declining natural-gas production at its block off India's east coast.
Reliance Industries is one of the world's largest producers of polymers. The company's polymer production in 2010-11 (polypropylene, polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride) made 4,094 kilo tonnes. Reliance Industries is one of the world's largest producers of polymers.
MRC