INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
a day after conglomerate reported record quarterly numbers that showed strategy to diversify beyond refining and petrochemicals was
beginning to yield results.The company's gross refining margins - a measure of its core profitability - took a hit amid volatility in oil
prices and slowing demand globally, but its fast-growing telecom and retail businesses drove profit to new highs.Analysts expect that while
outlook in short term for core business is challenged, it is consumer business growth that will continue and support earnings momentum.The
"consumer business now contributes more than 25 per cent of our EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation or
operating profit)", said V Srikanth, joint chief financial officer of Reliance Industries, on Thursday.Reliance Industries' consumer
business should see earnings growth of 18 per cent over next two years, Morgan Stanley said in a report.The strong earnings growth and
outlook for consumer arm drove shares in Reliance Industries up more than 4.2 per cent on Friday.Reliance Industries has two segments to its
consumer business - retail and telecom
While its relatively new telecom start-up named Jio has grown rapidly via offering cut-price data plans, its retail business that has been
around for over a decade has now begun to grow quickly too.Organised retail turned a profit in fiscal year 2014 but its contribution to
overall pie was tiny at time.On Thursday, Reliance Industries said its retail business saw revenue doubling to Rs 35,600 crore ($5 billion)
in last quarter, while earnings before interest and taxes more than tripled from year-ago period to Rs 1,500 crore.The "kind of growth and
sales we are seeing clearly point to a major growth phase in retail for Reliance", said Abneesh Roy, a senior retail analyst at domestic
broking firm Edelweiss.Meanwhile, billionaire Mukesh Ambani-controlled company saw EBIT from its telecom business more than doubling to Rs
2,369 crore in quarter.Jio has won over 28 crore subscribers since launching in September 2016, while Reliance Industries said it now
operates close to 10,000 retail stores across country.($1 = Rs 71.1510)
