Reliance Industries Share Price

Introduction

Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) is India's largest private sector company and a diversified conglomerate led by Mukesh Ambani. RIL has evolved from being a small textile company in the 1960s to a $100 billion behemoth with interests spanning energy, materials, retail, digital services, media and other sectors.

RIL operates the world's largest single-location oil refinery and is a leading petrochemicals manufacturer globally. It has spearheaded organised retail in India through chains like Reliance Retail, Reliance Fresh etc. RIL's telecom venture Jio has fueled the digital revolution in India through affordable data services.

RIL also has presence in areas like renewable energy, financial services, media, sports and infrastructure services. Key RIL subsidiaries include Jio Platforms, Reliance Retail, Network18, Reliance BP Mobility etc. The company reported consolidated revenues of Rs 9.14 lakh crore and net profit of Rs 79,000 crore in FY2024.

Company overview

• Founding and history

Reliance Group was founded in 1966 by Dhirubhai Ambani as a small textile manufacturing company in Mumbai. It was originally incorporated as Reliance Textiles Industries Pvt Ltd and started with a synthetic fabric mill in Gujarat. Over the next few decades, Reliance diversified into petrochemicals, oil refining, and gas exploration. In 1977, it built its first petrochemical plant and by the 1980s, it had become a leading petrochemical company globally. Reliance went public in 1977, when it also issued its first IPO. In the 1990s and 2000s, Reliance continued to diversify into telecom, retail, media and other sectors. Key milestones include backward integration, public listing, petrochemicals foray, retail entry, and launch of Jio telecom business.

• Business segments

Reliance Industries Limited (core energy, petrochemicals, oil & gas businesses) Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) houses the company's core businesses in energy and petrochemicals sectors. RIL operates the world's largest single-location oil refining complex in Jamnagar, Gujarat, with a capacity of 1.24 million barrels per day. It accounts for over 25% of India's total refining capacity and exports refined products to over 100 countries. RIL is also the largest petrochemicals producer in India with manufacturing facilities in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. It produces materials like polyethylene, polypropylene, PVC, polyester polymers, elastomers, aromatics, linear alkyl benzene and other petrochem products. On the oil and gas exploration and production front, RIL has presence across India and internationally. It is involved in exploration, development and production of crude oil, natural gas and hydrocarbon resources.

Reliance Retail Reliance Retail is the retail arm of Reliance Industries and is the largest retailer in India with over 15,000 stores across grocery, consumer electronics, fashion, lifestyle and other segments. Reliance Retail operates popular retail chains like Reliance Fresh, Reliance Smart, Reliance Digital, Reliance Trends, Reliance Footprint, Reliance Jewels, AJIO and several others that span across different retail categories. Reliance Retail provides an omni-channel shopping experience through its brick-and-mortar stores as well as e-commerce platforms like JioMart. The company has introduced several innovations in organised retailing in India including farm-to-fork supply chain, development of specialty store concepts and use of technology to enhance customer experience. Reliance Retail reported a revenue of Rs.1.99 lakh crore and EBITDA of Rs.12,423 crore in FY2024.

Jio Platforms (telecom business) Jio Platforms houses Reliance Industries' digital businesses including its telecom initiatives. It comprises primarily of Reliance Jio Infocomm, which provides wireless telecom services, broadband connectivity and a suite of digital apps and platforms. Jio has become one of the largest telecom operators in India within a few years of its launch, offering affordable 4G data services and fuelling the growth of mobile internet. Jio Platforms also comprises of other digital properties like Jio's broadband service JioFiber, digital payments app JioPay, online grocery delivery platform JioMart, and investments in several technology startups like Embibe, Haptik and more. Jio Platforms raised over Rs.1.5 lakh crore from major technology investors like Facebook, Google, Intel, Qualcomm etc.

Reliance Strategic Investments (financial services) The Reliance Strategic Investments division manages Reliance Industries' investments in financial services, infrastructure, media, sports and other strategic sectors. It provides growth capital and early-stage investments to ventures aligned with RIL's focus areas. RIL's key strategic investments are held through subsidiaries like Reliance Industrial Investments and Holdings Limited (RIIHL), Reliance Ventures Limited (RVL) etc. RIIHL holds stakes in companies like Network18, Den Networks, Hathway Cable etc. RVL has invested in startups like Fynd, Embibe, Netmeds and others. The financial services investments help RIL create a presence across asset management, insurance, commercial finance and other areas.

Reliance Industrial Infrastructure (infrastructure assets) Reliance Industrial Infrastructure Limited (RIIL) develops, operates and maintains infrastructure facilities to support the operational requirements of Reliance Industries' core energy and petrochemicals business. RIIL provides infrastructure and services related to transportation, handling, processing and storage of petroleum, petrochemicals, hydrocarbons and other products. It owns assets like pipelines, tankages, cargo handling infrastructure and loading/unloading facilities located in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and other states. RIIL also provides infrastructure maintenance services and infrastructure rental services to RIL and other third-party clients.

Other businesses (media, sports etc.) Some of Reliance's other major businesses are in areas like media & entertainment and sports. Network18 Media & Investments is one of India's largest media conglomerates under Reliance's ownership. It comprises of TV channels, digital portals, print publications, production houses and other media assets. Reliance also owns Mumbai Indians, one of the most valuable teams in the Indian Premier League cricket tournament. Reliance Foundation, led by Nita Ambani, is involved in philanthropic initiatives in areas like rural transformation, education, sports, arts, urban renewal and disaster response. Reliance also has presence in sectors like healthcare, defence manufacturing etc. through other entities.

Leadership

Reliance Industries is currently led by Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani. The other key executives include Executive Directors Hital R. Meswani, Nikhil R. Meswani and P.M.S Prasad who lead various business divisions. Isha Ambani and Akash Ambani, children of Mukesh Ambani, serve on the board as Non-Executive Directors. Independent directors include eminent personalities like former SBI Chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya, former RBI Governor K.V. Kamath, among others.

Financial performance

Reliance Industries Limited reported consolidated revenue from operations of Rs 2,40,715 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2024, a growth of 10.8% over the same quarter last year. Annual consolidated revenue came in at Rs 9,14,472 crore, up 2.6% compared to previous year. Quarterly consolidated EBITDA was Rs 47,150 crore, up 14.3% year-on-year. Annual EBITDA stood at Rs 1,78,677 crore, registering a growth of 16.1%.

Consolidated profit after tax for the quarter was Rs 21,243 crore, nearly flat compared to previous year. Annual consolidated net profit grew by 7.3% to Rs 79,020 crore. The company's core O2C (oil-to-chemicals) segment revenue declined 5% annually due to lower product price realisations, although quarterly revenue was up 10.9% driven by higher volumes. Retail and digital services businesses continued to exhibit strong growth momentum. Reliance Retail delivered 17.8% revenue growth for the year while Jio Platforms grew revenue by 11.7% annually.

Business segment deep dive

• Reliance Industries Limited (RIL):

  • Refining and marketing: RIL has formed a JV - Reliance BP Mobility Limited (RBML) - with BP for transportation fuels marketing in India under the Jio-BP brand. RBML has over 1,700 fuel retail outlets across the country.
  • Petrochemicals: RIL’s petrochemicals business provides inputs and derivatives for sectors like packaging, agriculture, infrastructure, healthcare, automotive etc. RIL has formed JVs with global majors like SIBUR for petrochemicals projects in India.
  • Exploration and production: RIL has presence in oil and gas exploration and production both in India and internationally. RIL-BP are developing three deepwater gas projects in block KG-D6 - R Cluster, Satellite Cluster and MJ. RIL also has coal-bed methane blocks and shale gas acreages in India for exploration. Internationally, RIL has stakes in hydrocarbon blocks in countries like Yemen, Brazil, Iraq etc. through various partnerships.
  • Major projects, acquisitions, JVs etc.: Some of RIL's major investments, JVs and acquisitions in recent years include: Strategic Partnership with Saudi Aramco for Oil-to-Chemicals business; Acquisition of polyester business of Invista, US; Partnership with BP for fuel retailing under Jio-BP brand; JV with SIBUR for Butyl rubber project in Jamnagar; Partnership with ADNOC for Ethylene Dichloride facility in Ruwais; Stake acquisition in Embibe EdTech startup; Induction of Saudi Aramco Chairman on RIL Board; Facebook investment in Jio Platforms; Acquisition of Future Group's retail assets.

• Reliance retail: In recent years, Reliance Retail has undertaken major acquisitions and investments such as Future Group's retail assets, Just Dial, Netmeds, UrbanLadder etc. to bolster its presence across consumer segments. Reliance Retail reported annual revenues of Rs.1,99,000 crore in FY2024, a growth of 17.8% over last year. Its EBITDA stood at Rs.22,196 crore, up 28.5% reflecting strong profitability growth.

• Jio Platforms: Jio has witnessed phenomenal growth since launch, amassing over 400 million subscribers and making affordable 4G data services accessible for millions of Indians. Jio Platforms has raised over ₹1.5 lakh crore from marquee tech investors like Facebook, Google, Intel etc. at record valuations.

• Others: RIL is building an ecosystem for new energy business including solar, wind, hydrogen fuel cells, biofuels and battery storage. It aims to achieve net carbon zero status by 2035. RIL is establishing giga factories, hydrogen production hubs and fuel cell manufacturing to enable the transition.

RIL has presence across financial services including digital payments (JioPay), insurance (Reliance General Insurance), asset management (Reliance Nippon AMC) and commercial finance (Reliance Commercial Finance). These businesses cater to retail, institutional and corporate clients.

RIL owns Network18 group which houses TV channels, digital platforms, print publications and other media assets spanning news, entertainment and sports. Flagship brands include Colors TV, MTV, Voot, MoneyControl, Firstpost among others.

RIL owns Mumbai Indians, one of the most popular IPL cricket franchises with five title wins. It also has presence across football, basketball leagues in India.

Recent developments

Over the past year, RIL has undertaken major new investments and partnerships in clean energy, materials and digital space. It announced $80 billion capex towards new energy and materials over the next decade. RIL partnered with companies like ADNOC, TA'ZIZ for chemicals projects. Despite commodity cycle downturn, RIL delivered record revenues in FY2024 driven by consumer businesses while net profit was up 7%. With new growth engines, RIL is transitioning from an oil & gas company towards sustainable energy, materials and consumer tech conglomerate.

Industry outlook and competitive landscape

RIL has leading presence across high-growth sectors like retail, telecom, renewable energy and materials, which have strong tailwinds in India. With urbanisation, rising incomes and shift towards organised retail, Reliance Retail is well positioned to capitalise on consumption demand. Telecom will continue to grow with increasing digital penetration and 5G rollout. As energy transition gathers pace, RIL's investments in renewables, hydrogen and carbon materials place it at the forefront. RIL faces competition from public sector companies in refining and petrochemicals while Jio disrupted telecom industry dynamics with its aggressive pricing and rapid rollout. RIL's scale, execution and partnerships with global leaders provide competitive edge across its business portfolio.