Reliance tops IOC in sales

Reliance Industries has toppled state-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) to become the country’s biggest company by revenue.

In 2018-19, Reliance has reported a turnover of Rs 6.23 lakh crore. In comparison, IOC posted a turnover of Rs 6.17 lakh crore for the fiscal, according to regulatory filings by the two companies.

RIL was also the most profitable company in the country with a net profit of more than double that of IOC in 2018-19.

Reliance was about half the size of IOC till about a decade back. However, its bet on the burgeoning consumer base and a foray into areas such as telecom, retail, and digital services vastly expanded its business. The company clocked a net profit of Rs 39,588 crore in 2018-19.

IOC, on the other hand, ended the year with a net profit of Rs 17,274 crore.

Till 2017-18, IOC was the most profitable PSU but may have lost this position to the Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) in 2018-19.

ONGC is yet to declare its 2018-19 earnings but it had clocked a net profit of Rs 22,671 crore in the first nine months of the financial year.

Net profit of IOC, which depends on oil refining, petrochemicals and gas business for its revenue, had in 2018-19 declined 23.6 per cent over the Rs 22,189.45 crore net profit it had earned in 2017-18.

Reliance posted a 13 per cent rise in profits over Rs 34,988 crore recorded in 2017-18. ONGC had a net profit of Rs 19,945.26 crore in 2017-18, lagging behind IOC.

With this milestone, Reliance has achieved the numero uno position in terms of all three parameters — revenue, profit, and market capitalisation.

With strong refining margin and a robust retail business, Reliance clocked a 44 per cent rise in revenue in 2018-19 over the previous year and posted a compounded annual growth rate of over 14 per cent between 2009-10 and 2018-19.

In contrast, IOC’s turnover rose 20 per cent in 2018-19 and 6.3 per cent between 2009-10 and 2018-19.

At Tuesday’s trading price of Rs 1,345, Reliance boasts of a market capitalisation of Rs 8.52 lakh crore.

Interestingly, Reliance, which boasts of the highest cash reserves of Rs 1.33 lakh crore on the book, also has the highest gross debt of Rs 2.87 lakh crore at the end of March 2019.

In contrast, IOC had short and long-term loans totaling Rs 92,700 crore.

Reliance Industries Limited (RIL)

Indian Oil Corporation