Reliance second quarter profit up 16 percent

Energy major Reliance Industries Ltd, India's most valuable company, posted a 15.8 percent rise in quarterly net profit on Saturday on the back of strong refining margins, in line with expectations. The company, controlled by Mukesh Ambani, the world's ninth-richest person according to Forbes, said net profit for the fiscal second quarter ended September rose to 57.03 billion rupees ($1.16 billion) from 49.23 billion a year ago.
A Reuters poll of brokers had forecast net profit of 57.1 billion rupees. Reliance, which operates the world's biggest refining complex in western India, said gross refining margins were at $10.1 per barrel but did not immediately provide year-ago numbers. The margins had been at $10.3 a barrel in the previous quarter. Shares in Reliance, valued at nearly $58 billion, have declined 18 percent so far in 2011, contributing significantly to a 16.7 percent fall in the main stock index, in which the stock has the heaviest weight.