New Delhi: Reliance Industries shares were among the top gainers on the Nifty index Thursday as a report by global brokerage Goldman Sachs said it can potentially become a $100 billion stock in four years. Reliance, the most valuable Indian firm in terms of market capitalisation, is currently valued at around $47 billion.
The stock traded 2.6 per cent higher at Rs 820.40 on the NSE to hit a 5-month high.
The BSE Sensex and the Nifty index bounced back from the day's low on the back of the outperformance in the stock.
Goldman said Reliance needs to get government approvals on investments and gas prices, restrict its focus to core businesses, and return some of its surplus cash in the form of dividends or buybacks, among other measures.
Reliance's underperformance over the last 18 months has cast a shadow over Indian equity markets. That's because the stock carries a substantial weightage on both the Sensex and Nifty indices. The stock, once a favourite with foreign funds, has seen a slump in investor interest as profits shrunk amid a slowdown in its core energy business and recent forays into consumer-focused segments such as telecom and retail have yet to garner profits.
The stock has been under selling pressure despite a $2.1 billion share buyback announced in January to bolster the stock.
The company posted its third consecutive drop in quarterly profit in the June quarter, but refining margins fell less than expected and treasury gains from its huge cash pile bolstered profits.
In May, the government disallowed a plan by Reliance, under the state policy to promote exploration, to recover costs of about $1 billion invested to develop the offshore gas field.
But, the worst might be over for the stock. Last week, the company received conditional approval from the oil ministry for three of its discoveries. The three discoveries are likely to help RIL-BP-Niko combine, the joint owners of the KG-D6 fields, to arrest the gas production decline in KGD-6.
(With inputs from Thomson Reuters)
The stock traded 2.6 per cent higher at Rs 820.40 on the NSE to hit a 5-month high.
The BSE Sensex and the Nifty index bounced back from the day's low on the back of the outperformance in the stock.
Goldman said Reliance needs to get government approvals on investments and gas prices, restrict its focus to core businesses, and return some of its surplus cash in the form of dividends or buybacks, among other measures.
Reliance's underperformance over the last 18 months has cast a shadow over Indian equity markets. That's because the stock carries a substantial weightage on both the Sensex and Nifty indices. The stock, once a favourite with foreign funds, has seen a slump in investor interest as profits shrunk amid a slowdown in its core energy business and recent forays into consumer-focused segments such as telecom and retail have yet to garner profits.
The stock has been under selling pressure despite a $2.1 billion share buyback announced in January to bolster the stock.
The company posted its third consecutive drop in quarterly profit in the June quarter, but refining margins fell less than expected and treasury gains from its huge cash pile bolstered profits.
In May, the government disallowed a plan by Reliance, under the state policy to promote exploration, to recover costs of about $1 billion invested to develop the offshore gas field.
But, the worst might be over for the stock. Last week, the company received conditional approval from the oil ministry for three of its discoveries. The three discoveries are likely to help RIL-BP-Niko combine, the joint owners of the KG-D6 fields, to arrest the gas production decline in KGD-6.
(With inputs from Thomson Reuters)
