MUMBAI, India—Reliance Industries Ltd. reported significant drops in prices for its synthetic rubber materials for the quarter ending June 30.
Prices for polybutadiene rubber and styrene butadiene rubber dropped by 36 percent and 30 percent, respectively, compared to the previous three months, RIL said in its financial report on July 20.
The Indian group linked the declines in the first quarter of its fiscal 2018 to a drop in natural rubber price and butadiene feedstock prices
On a quarterly basis, butadiene prices decreased by 59 percent because of a decline in natural rubber prices and rise in inventories in China, according to the Indian petrochemicals major.
RIL's synthetic rubber operations are part of the group's Petrochemicals Business unit, which also produces a wide range of polyolefins, PVC, polyester and related feedstocks and chemicals.
The rubber pricing comments accompanied RIL's unaudited results, showing sales up 26.7 percent to $14 and net profit excluding exceptional items 12.8 percent higher at $1.2 billion, compared to the same three months of last year.
Commenting on the results for the refining and petrochemicals group as a whole, chairman and managing director Mukesh Ambani said the portfolio of assets in the refining and petrochemicals business contributed to considerable improvement in the firm's earnings for the quarter.