At the helm: Mukesh Ambani
Reliance bottom line takes a hit
Indian giant Reliance Industries reported a drop of almost 10% in net profit for the third quarter of the financial year, compared with the previous quarter.
The company booked RIL net profit for the quarter ended December 2008, stood at 35.01 billion Indian rupees ($707 million).
Reliance said the global economic slowdown and softening crude prices have hit its bottom line.
"This was one of the most challenging quarters for Reliance with volatility in prices and margins. Producers and consumers are coming to terms with slower global trade and economic outlook,” Reliance boss Mukesh Ambani said.
Reliance also announced that production from the D1 and D3 gas fields in the Krishna-Godavari basin will start in the current financial quarter, after a string of delays.
Initially, the fields will be producing between 10 million to 15 million cubic metre of gas per day.
Oil production from the D6 Block started in September, but the Aker Smart 1 floating production, storage and offloading vessel is facing a shutdown for more that a month, due to technical problems.