An exceptional item of US$ 1.2 billion (Rs 4,733 crore) represents gains primarily arising out of transactions concerning Reliance Petroleum shares, said an official release. 

The company, including the exceptional item of Rs  4, 733 crore, reported a net profit of Rs 8,079 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2007 as compared to Rs 3,081 crore in the same quarter of the previous fiscal, reflecting an increase of 162 per cent. During the period under review, RIL, flagship of Mukesh Ambani Group, posted a 21 per cent rise in total income to Rs 35,880 crore from the comparable quarter ended December 31, 2006 at Rs 29,753 crore. According to Chairman Mukesh D Ambani the new growth platforms around oil and gas, organised retailing and agro-retail initiatives are gathering momentum and the initial response to these initiatives have been encouraging. 

Cumulatively, turnover for nine months ended December 31, 2007 was Rs 1,00,572 crore — an increase of 13 per cent from Rs 89,078 crore in the third quarter of fiscal 2007. The increase in revenue was due to 8 per cent increase in prices and 5 per cent growth in volumes. Exports were higher by 20 per cent at Rs 59,454 crore during the period under review. Net profit for nine months of current fiscal was Rs 15,546 crore — an increase of 77 per cent from Rs 8,787 crore in third quarter of fiscal year 2007.