RIL profit drops 21% in first quarter, beats forecast

Reliance Industries on Friday said its June quarter profit fell 21 per cent from a year ago on declining oil and gas production and a sharp contraction in core petrochemical earnings. This is the third quarter in a row of shrinking profits at the oil & gas major.

Net profit in the April to June quarter was Rs 4,473 crore, slightly better than estimates, down from Rs 5,661 crore.

Refining margins came in at $7.6 a barrel, which were better than expected. Investment income from the company's huge pile of cash again boosted profits. Its other income almost doubled to Rs 1,904 crore.

Profit was however higher than Rs 4,236 crore in the fourth quarter, January-March, of last fiscal.  RIL's first quarter revenue was up nearly 8 per cent at Rs 91,875 crore. (With Agency Inputs)