In its annual report issued on Thursday, the group that contributed ₹2.16 trillion to the national exchequer in FY26, said that global oil demand growth was likely to be tepid due to higher oil prices and an economic slowdown.
“Global oil demand growth is expected to be sluggish due to higher oil prices and economic slowdown in FY27 amid the (West Asia) conflict. Refinery and oil infrastructure damages which caused product supply losses are likely to take a longer period to recover, resulting in continual volatility in the market,” RIL said in its communiqué to shareholders in the annual report.
“The FY27 outlook remains extremely vulnerable to geopolitical, macro-economic and policy risks,” the group flagged.
Supply disruptions from West Asia, volatile product prices, the Indian government’s directives on Special Additional Excise Duty (SAED) and duty exemption on key petrochemical products, might weigh on domestic oil and gas demand and the company’s margins during the current financial year (FY27), it said.
During FY26, demand momentum remained strong through first three quarters but was sharply disrupted in March 2026 due to the Iran conflict. The global oil market was shaped by rising supplies from Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies (commonly known as Opec+), evolving sanctions on Iran and Russia, escalating trade-tariff pressures, and the outbreak of the West Asia conflict, which together dampened demand growth and intensified price volatility, the company noted.
Meanwhile, India’s petroleum demand, it said, is experiencing sustained growth as consumption rose 1.7 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to 243 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) in FY26. The growth was on the back of the government’s infrastructure push for greenfield access-controlled highways, rising vehicle population, increased industrial activity, as well as passenger and freight travel on roads and airways.
RIL also underscored the critical role of natural gas in India’s energy transition, with its share in the energy mix targeted to rise from around 6 per cent to 15 per cent by 2030.
“RIL’s gas portfolio remains well-positioned to support this structural shift, contributing nearly 30 per cent of the country’s domestic gas production. Continued development of deepwater and coal bed methane (CBM) assets, supported by existing infrastructure and operational efficiencies, is expected to further augment supplies and cater to India’s growing gas demand in FY27 and beyond,” it said.
Addressing shareholders in the annual report, RIL Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani said that the group was taking “deliberate steps” to strengthen its digital arm without giving any update on the imminent public listing of Jio Platforms Ltd (JPL), that was expected by July this year.
Estimated to be the largest public listing till date, the share sale may peg JPL’s valuation at $135-145 billion, various brokerages have said. Jio has global investors includes Meta Platforms, Google, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and Mubadala Investment Co, that picked up a stake back in 2020.
“We will continue to evaluate strategic pathways that can broaden stakeholder participation and support Jio’s long-term growth,” Ambani said, but did not provide any comment on the timeline of the IPO.
Jio Platforms is the parent company of Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd., the country’s largest wireless services operator with over 524 million customers. Jio has undertaken large-scale development of 5G and FWA stack in India.
The annual report added that the carrier, as a managed services provider, would provide its proprietary network technologies in select international markets in partnership with local operators. “This will include cloud-native RAN, 5G core, OSS/BSS platforms, UBR-based FWA, JioBharat, JioTV+ and Jio Set-top-box,” the report said.
Talking about Reliance Intelligence, Ambani said the group was investing into artificial intelligence (AI) such that it should be democratised.
“We aspire to create sovereign AI capabilities that are designed in India, scaled in India, and made accessible to every Indian — individuals, enterprises, and institutions alike,” he said in his address to shareholders. The annual report notes AI, cloud infrastructure and data centres, as key pillars of the group’s future growth roadmap.
In its annual report on the retail sector, Reliance Industries said that near-term demand may remain sensitive to macro conditions while it expects the medium-term to stay positive for organised retail.
“Reliance Retail expects to continue focusing on expansion, operational efficiency, and customer-centric innovation, while strengthening its integrated ecosystem across stores and digital platforms with prudent investments and disciplined risk management,” it said in its outlook.
In its strengths, it highlighted that it is positioned across value, mid-market and premium segments to serve diverse customer cohorts, and is adopting AI and advanced analytics across the value chain to drive efficiency and smarter decision-making.
As its growth opportunities, it listed the growing share of organised retail and evolving consumer preferences, growth of its own brands in fashion & lifestyle and consumer electronics and exclusive partnerships to strengthen differentiation and margin resilience.
For its fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) business, Reliance Consumer Products Ltd. (RCPL), a subsidiary of Reliance Industries, will continue to focus on driving multi-fold revenue growth by 2030 and aspires to be one of the leading global branded consumer products companies. Its beverage brand, Campa, achieved gross sales of over Rs 4,700 crore in FY 2025-26.
In March 2026, it became India’s fourth-largest carbonated soft drinks brand, capturing double-digit market share in key markets, it said.
On its strategy for mergers and acquisitions, the firm informed that “RCPL intends to outpace industry growth through accelerated organic expansion, supplemented by targeted strategic partnerships and acquisitions”, before adding that global expansion remains a strategic priority for the company.
Source link
#Reliance #Industries #flags #extreme #volatility #risks #West #Asia #crisis
