Reliance Industries Ltd.'s standalone results for the quarter ended December may take a hit on account of lower gross refining margin and fall in oil prices.
Crude prices fell in the October-December period over excess supply and tepid demand growth. Concerns over excess supply also lowered the gross refining margin—the amount a company earns for converting a barrel of crude oil into fuel.
Singapore gross refining margin, the Asian benchmark, averaged lower at $4.3 a barrel as of December. This means refiners would earn less, according to data compiled by BloombergQuint.
While lower gross refining margin will weigh on the refining business, the petrochemicals business could be aided by higher volumes. Over the last few quarters, Reliance Industries' petrochemicals business has been gaining more importance over its mainstay refining unit.
Growth of the retail arm of Reliance Industries is expected to get a boost from a strong festive season. Earnings before interest and tax are likely to grow more than 200 percent for the fourth straight quarter, BloombergQuint's calculations showed.
Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. is again expected to benefit from aggressive subscriber addition. The telecom arm of Mukesh Ambani-led company has been adding customers at a rapid pace since its entry in September 2016 when it triggered a tariff war and consolidation in the industry. The revenue growth, however, comes at the cost of average revenue per user.
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