The Wall Street Journal-20080118-Earnings Digest -- Reliance Industries Ltd-- Results Disappoint Investors As Costs Take Toll on Margins

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Earnings Digest -- Reliance Industries Ltd.: Results Disappoint Investors As Costs Take Toll on Margins

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Reliance Industries Ltd. said net profit for its fiscal third quarter more than doubled, helped by a gain on an asset sale and growth in its refining business, but the results disappointed investors. Overall operating-profit margins contracted because of cost pressures in the petrochemicals business, analysts said. Shares in India's largest company by market capitalization fell 3.3% in Mumbai. For the three months to Dec. 31, Reliance's net profit totaled 80.79 billion rupees ($2.06 billion), up from 30.81 billion rupees a year earlier. Sales rose 21% to 358.8 billion rupees.