Reliance Industries share price at record high ahead of Q4 FY18 results; stock crosses Rs 1000 mark

Reliance Industries share price surged over 3 per cent to hit its record high of Rs 1010.70 ahead of its March quarter results scheduled for later in the day. Although the energy-to-telecom conglomerate may report net profit 13 quarters in a row, overall the quarter is expected to remain modest. Reliance Industries' gross refining margin (GRM) may slip in Q4 FY18. 

Reliance Industries share price rallied as much as 3.62 per cent to hit its lifetime high of Rs 1010.70 on the BSE. The company could possibly be the next Indian firm to hit the $100 billion mark after Tata Consultancy Services achieved this fiat on Monday. RIL needs just 3 per cent gains from from its lifetime high to hit the $100 billion mark in terms of market capitalisation again.

Reliance Industries, led by the country's richest man Mukesh Ambani, earlier breached the $100 billion mark way back in 2007, when the rupee was stronger at around 40 per dollar

Of the 38 analysts covering Reliance Industries, 28 recommends ‘buy’ or higher ratings with median target price of Rs 1,053, according to Thomson Reuters Eikon data, while 19 out of 45 analysts have ‘buy’ or higher rating for TCS with median target price of Rs 3,215.  

Meanwhile, Kotak Securities expects modest quarter-on-quarter increase in standalone net income for RIL led by (1) steady refining margins at $11.6/bbl and (2) increase in petchem volumes, which will be partially offset by moderation in margins.

"Consolidated net income will be boosted by an increase in Reliance Jio's EBITDA due to an increase in revenues; we expect Jio to report modest profits of Rs 8.1 bn as compared to Rs 5 bn in 3QFY18," the brokerage said. 
 

Edelweiss Securities expects Reliance Industries to report 2 per cent sequential growth in standalone PAT at ~86.5 bn. The brokerage expects 5 per cent lower refining EBIT QoQ with GRM of $11.1/bbl. 

"Petchem earnings will likely improve 11 per cent as new capacities ramp-up in addition to robust cracker and polymer margins. We expect continued benefit from US ethane imports and recently commissioned off-gas cracker," Edelweiss said in Q4 preview report.