RIL net profit jumped 10,000-fold in 40 years: Ambani

Mumbai, July 21 (IANS) Charting out the long journey by Reliance Industries (RIL) since it was founded by his father Dhirubhai Ambani in 1977, Chairman Mukesh Ambani said on Friday its net profit index had jumped 10,000 times during the period.

Describing how from its beginnings as a textiles start-up, RIL has now created "multiple growth engines", Ambani told shareholders at the 40th annual general meeting (AGM) here that company's "net profit went from Rs 3 crore to Rs 30,000 crore" during the period.

"RIL's market capitalisation has grown from Rs 10 crore in 1977, to over Rs 5 lakh crore now, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 32 per cent," he said.

It has accordingly been good going for shareholders of RIL, for which the major business after textiles turned out to be oil and gas exploration.

"Every Rs 1,000 invested in Reliance Industries' shares in 1977 is now worth Rs 16.5 lakh," Ambani said.

"In simple terms, shareholders' money has doubled every two and a half years over the last 40 years," he added.

RIL, which launched the successful Jio mobile phone network over a year back, has seen its turnover zoom from a modest Rs 70 crore in 1977 to Rs 3.3 lakh crore currently, which represents a 4,700-time growth in revenue, the chairman told shareholders, who responded with thunderous applause to every statistic being rolled out.

From 3,500 employees in 1997, RIL now has a total staff strength of 250,000 worldwide, Ambani added.

At the AGM, RIL also announced a 1:1 bonus issue, implying shareholders will get 1 bonus share for every one share held.

On Thursday, RIL posted a healthy 9 per cent rise in its standalone net profit for the first quarter of 2017 ended June at Rs 8,196 crore on the back of higher margins from its petrochemicals business and a one-time gain from sale of stake in Gulf Africa Petro.

The company had registered a standalone net profit of Rs 7,548 crore during the April-June quarter a year ago. The figures reflect the performance of the company's refining, petrochemicals and hydrocarbon exploration businesses.

The gross refining margin (GRM), derived from conversion of a barrel of crude oil to refined products, was $11.9 in the quarter under consideration, compared to $11.5 in the same period a year ago.

Commenting on the results, Ambani said: "Industry leading portfolio of assets in the refining and petrochemicals business contributed to considerable improvement in earnings for the quarter."

Follwoing the AGM, RIL stock was trading higher at 1.33 p.m. on Friday at Rs 1,572.70, up Rs 44.00 or by 2.88 per cent, over its previous close on the BSE.