(ET)
Reliance Industries Ltd.’s third-quarter net profit of a record Rs 9,423 crore exceeded street estimates by 12% and may reinforce investor confidence in earnings growth, which is being driven by the commissioning of new plants.
RIL invested close to $20 billion in hydrocarbon projects, which started commissioning in phases in the previous financial year. The latest earnings could translate into an upward revision in the consensus earnings per share (EPS) for the current year. This could rekindle investor interest in the stock as returns in the past three months were lower than that of the benchmark stock index. The consensus EPS for FY18 stood at Rs 54.41 before the quarterly results, while the nine-month EPS of RIL in the current financial year is Rs 45. This indicates room for upward revision.
