<div><p>Indian refining and energy giant Reliance Industries announced its first profit rise in over a year as its performance was boosted by higher natural gas production.</p><p>Reliance, India's largest private sector company, said net profit rose 15.8 percent to 40.08 billion rupees (878 million dollars) in the fiscal third quarter to December from 34.62 billion rupees a year earlier.</p><p>It marked the company's first profit increase since October 2008 when earnings were hit by the global economic slowdown.</p><p>Income for the third quarter jumped 80 percent to 568.56 billion rupees, the company controlled by billionaire Mukesh Ambani said in a statement.</p><p>The profit was broadly in line with market expectations.</p><p>"Reliance is well poised to benefit from the improving global economic environment and domestic markets opportunities," said Ambani who is company chairman.</p><p>The company said the year-ago quarterly results had been restated to include earnings from subsidiary Reliance Petroleum, which was amalgamated with the parent last year.</p><p>After the earnings announcement, Reliance shares recovered to trade up 0.67 percent or 7.1 rupees at 1,060.9 after hitting an intraday low of 1,029.7.</p><p>Reliance's gross refining margins fell to 5.9 dollars a barrel in the quarter from 10 dollars a barrel in the same period a year earlier.</p><p>Reliance operates the world?s largest oil-processing complex in Jamnagar, western India, where two adjacent refineries have a combined capacity to process 1.24 million barrels of oil a day.</p><p>Gas production from the KG D6 field off the eastern Indian coast has ramped up to 60 million metric standard cubic meters a day in nine months from its start last April.</p><p>"This reaffirms our belief in our ability to create truly world class assets in the integrated energy value chain," Ambani said.</p><p>Reliance has generated two billion dollars through stock sales since last September and is expected to keep raising cash to boost its reserves and fund acquisitions.</p><p>The company, India's largest by market capitalisation, already has bankrupt Netherlands-based chemicals group LyondellBasell in its sights.</p><p>Reliance has declined to comment on a media report earlier this month that said the company had sweetened its bid for LyondellBasell to 13.5 billion dollars from the 12 billion dollars initially put forward in November.</p><p>The Indian firm said local demand for most of its petrochemical products remained strong.</p><p>Exports of refined products grew 14 percent to 14.3 billion dollars in the quarter from a year earlier.</p><p>Reliance added it was still expanding its retail operations and that the company now had more than 950 stores in more than 85 cities in India.</p><p>The results announcement came as Reliance awaits a ruling by India?s Supreme Court in a lawsuit over the sale price for gas from the KG D6 field that has pitted Mukesh Ambani against his estranged brother Anil Ambani.</p><img src="http://admatch-syndication.mochila.com/images/ad.gif?aid=67511736&bid=informcom" /></div><div id="copyright"><div>

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