The board of Reliance Industries has approved the issue of bonus shares in the ratio one each for every share held, it said in an exchange filing. It also approved the increase in the authorised share capital to ₹50,000 crore from ₹15,000 crore now. The paid-up capital will increase to ₹13,532.46 crore from ₹6,766.23 crore at present.
“This will be the largest ever issuance of bonus equity shares in Indian equity market. The issuance and listing of bonus shares will coincide with the upcoming festive season in India and will be an early Diwali Gift to all our esteemed shareholders,” the company said in a release.
It said this would be the the sixth bonus issue from RIL since its IPO and the “second in this Golden Decade”.
“The bonus issue is a testimony to Reliance’s continued commitment towards rewarding shareholders during the Golden Decade from 2017 to 2027,” it said, adding that in 2017 it had issued bonus shares in the ratio of 1-for-1, followed by a rights issue in 2020 and in July 2023 it demerged Jio Financial Services, which was now valued 35 per cent higher from its listing.
The bonus shares will be issued by capitalising the securities premium, general reserves or retained earnings. As on March 31, 2024, the company’s securities premium account was at ₹99,802 crore, balance in general reserves was ₹2.57 lakh crore while retained earnings was at over ₹1 lakh crore.
The bonus shares will be credited by November 1 this year. The record date for determining the eligible shareholders to whom the bonus shares will be issued, will be notified separately, it said.
The company had made the bonus issue announcement on August 29, just prior to its annual general meeting. Since then its shares have fallen about 1.7 per cent, but in 2024, so far its shares have appreciated 15.6 per cent. It hit a 52-week high of ₹3,217.60 on July 8 this year.