Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), which also includes the retail arm, for the first time had a turnover exceeding Rs 100,000 crore in the nine-month period ended December 31, 2007.
It posted a net profit-after-tax of Rs 8,079 crore (Rs 80.79 billion) for the third quarter ended December 31, 2007, as compared to Rs 3,081 crore (Rs 30.81 billion) for the corresponding quarter in 2006.
The petrochemicals giant registered a total income of Rs 34,831 crore (Rs 348.31billion) for the third quarter ended December 31, 2007, as against 28,315 crore (Rs 283.15 billion) for the same quarter in 2006.
In figures released by the company, it said it had a record quarterly profit of 26 per cent year-on-year, with the turnover increasing by 13 per cent touching Rs 100,572 crore, or US$25.5 billion.
The RIL cash profit increased by 51 per cent to Rs 19,714 crore, or US$5 billion, while the net profit including exceptional items rose by 77 per cent to Rs 15,546 crore, or US$4 billion.
The statement by the company said it had an exceptional income of Rs 4,733 crore, or US$1.2 billion.
The third quarter of FY 2007-08 was an eventful one for Reliance Retail Limited (RRL) as it saw the launch of six new formats, and for the first time, it entered into an alliance with an international brand, Apple Speciality Stores – branded as iStore, with the first outlet opened in Bengaluru in the first quarter.
With these, the company has nine different formats and including Reliance Fresh stores, it now operates 465 retail outlets across India.
Reliance Fresh dealing with fruits and vegetables retail started the quarter with 329 stores and opened another 112 towards end of the quarter, taking it to 441 stores spread over 45 towns and cities – bringing the tally to 453 operational across the country.
Besides, it also launched two additional Reliance Digital stores, in Bengaluru and Navi Mumbai, making it three in all.
The year under review saw RRL launching new formats. These were Reliance Trends, Reliance Footprint, Reliance Wellness, Reliance Timeout, Reliance Jewels and Reliance Super.
In keeping with its expansion plans, the company opened its chain of speciality wellness stores, Reliance Wellness, with three in Hyderabad and one in Bengaluru by the end of the quarter.
The last quarter saw the company launch two Reliance Footprints stores having on offer over 25,000 pairs of formal and sports wear in men, women and children’s footwear, in Hyderabad and Bengaluru, and a third one in the capital.
The quarter under review saw the company foray into fine and branded jewellery under the brand name Reliance Jewels, with Bengaluru again being selected for the launch.
It ended the quarter with the opening of its ninth format of Reliance Super in Amritsar, a smaller version of the hypermarket format, offering over 10,000 products in various categories like grocery, home care, apparel and accessories, FMCG, consumer durables and IT, automotive accessories and lifestyle products.
Summing up the results, Chairman-cum-Managing Director Mukesh Ambani said, “The new growth platforms around oil and gas, organised retailing and agro-retail initiatives are gathering momentum, and the initial response to these initiatives have been very encouraging. Each of these initiatives inherently addresses India’s economic and social imperatives.”
