Reliance Industries has emerged as the first Indian private sector company and the only Indian chemical company to cross the one billion US dollar operating profit mark for the fiscal year ended March 2000. According to the latest annual survey published in international industry magazine Chemical, Reliance recorded chemical sales of US $ 4823 million and a chemical operating profit increase of 43 per cent to Rs 47.5 billion. Operating profit rose by 50 per cent to Rs 40.6 billion. Reliance, over just one year, has jumped 21 places to rank 41st this year, the report said.
The weekly has listed 154 of the world's largest chemical companies in terms of chemical sales. This year, the magazine widened the scope of its survey to include rankings for chemical profitability, innovation and investment. Reliance Industries was the most profitable of the 41 Asia/Pacific companies in the club and eighth overall, with chemical operating profit representing 23 cent of its chemical sales. Its chemical operating profits grew 43 per cent to $ 1.1 billion, on chemical sales up 38 per cent, to $ 4.8 billion - among the largest overall increases in both chemical sales and chemical operating profits.
Reliance had, as a result, one of the largest chemical sales rank increases, climbing 21 notches to 41, The Week wrote. Bureau Report