Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Set For Record As Red Sea Crisis Proves A Boon

(Bloomberg) -- Billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd. is heading for a record high as a confluence of bullish factors including the ongoing Red Sea crisis help the stock break out of a tight trading range that lasted well over two years.

The shares climbed as much as 5.8%, the most since May 2022, putting India’s largest company by market value on course for a record close. The stock also got a boost from a likely decline in valuation of Walt Disney Inc.’s India unit, a target of a potential merger for the Mumbai-based conglomerate.

“Definitely, there is optimism around refining margins picking up further for the energy business” because of the Red Sea tensions, said Hemang Khanna, vice president at Nomura Financial Advisory and Securities India Pvt. The impact of the crisis on product margins will “flow immediately into Reliance’s earnings” during the quarter ending in March, he said.  

Read more: Asia’s Richest Person Re-Joins $100 Billion Club as Stock Surges

With Russian oil supplies to India still largely unaffected by the Houthi attacks on cargo vessels in the Red Sea, Reliance, one of the biggest buyers of Russian crude, is gaining from the widening diesel margins. Refinery margins for producing gasoil over Dubai crude in Asia have risen to $25.53 per barrel from $20 per barrel a month ago, according to third party data compiled by Bloomberg.

The rally has pushed up Reliance’s valuation to 23.8 times one-year forward earnings. That’s more than one standard deviation above the five-year average and could pose a hurdle to further gains over the short term.

--With assistance from Elizabeth Low.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.