<div>Reliance Industries on Friday (18 April) reported a marginal rise in net profit to Rs 5,631 crore in the fourth quarter ended March 31 from Rs 5,589 crore a year earlier. Turnover rose 13 per cent to Rs 97,807 crore, Reliance said in a stock exchange filing.</div><div> </div><div><span style="line-height: 1.4;">However, this is also Reliance's highest quarterly profit in more than two years as robust petrochemical margins and a surge in export earnings on a drop in rupee value offset weakness in the natural gas business. <br /><br /></span></div><div><div>The company announced a dividend of Rs 9.50 per share.</div><div> </div><div> </div></div><div><div><span style="line-height: 1.4;">Net profit rose 0.8 per cent to Rs 5,631 crore, or Rs 17.4 per share, in the January-March period from Rs 5,589 crore, or Rs 17.3 a share, in the same period a year ago.</span></div><div> </div><div>Earnings from oil refining climbed 12.3 per cent, while those from the petrochemical segment were up 10.6 per cent, offsetting a 17.8 per cent dip in the oil and gas business, the company said in a statement.</div><div> </div><div>RIL, which operates the world's biggest refining complex at Jamnagar in Gujarat, earned USD 9.3 on turning every barrel of crude oil into fuel in the quarter, compared with a gross refining margin of USD 10.1 a barrel a year earlier and USD 7.60 a barrel in the preceding three months.</div><div> </div><div>Earnings got a boost as the rupee declined to Rs 61.8 against the US dollar in Q4 from Rs 54.2 a year earlier.</div><div> </div><div>Sales rose 13 per cent to Rs 97,807 crore in Q4.</div><div> </div><div>For the full financial year, the company reported a record net profit of Rs 21,984 crore, the highest by any private sector firm in the country. Net profit was 4.7 per cent higher than Rs 21,003 crore in 2012-13.</div><div> </div><div>Turnover, too, was at a record high of Rs 401,302 crore, up 8.1 per cent from Rs 371,119 crore previously.</div><div> </div><div>RIL Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh D Ambani said, "FY 2013-14 was a satisfying year for RIL. Refining business delivered the highest ever profits with a sharp recovery in GRMs towards the end of the year. Petrochemical earnings grew sharply with margin expansion across polymers and downstream polyester products.</div><div> </div><div>"While we continue to face technical challenges in growing domestic upstream production, the US shale gas business grew significantly during the year and has become a material contributor to our earnings." </div><div> </div><div>RIL's retail business has turned around and is now India's largest retail chain, he said, adding the company has accelerated efforts to roll out state-of-the-art 4G services across the country. </div></div><div> </div><div>(Agencies)</div>
