Q4 performance to impact Reliance Industries

The stock of Reliance Industries will be under pressure this week. The company reported its second consecutive quarterly drop in profit, hurt by weak refining margins and declining gas output from its offshore fields. It's net profit fell 21.2 per cent to Rs 4,236 crore for the fourth quarter ended March, from Rs 5,376 crore a year ago, the company said on Friday after market hours. This was below market expectations. The median estimate of 30 analysts compiled by Bloomberg was a profit of Rs 4,280 crore while Thompson Reuters' consensus estimate was Rs 4,330 crore. However, 13 analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires on average expected a net profit of Rs 4,218 crore. The consensus analyst rating for Reliance is the most bearish since January 2011, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. JPMorgan Chase & Co downgraded the stock to underweight this month, Standard Chartered Plc cut it to in-line from outperform last month and Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc reduced to hold from buy in February.