India's Reliance Q3 net up, in line with forecasts

MUMBAI, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Reliance Industries posted a 14.5 percent rise in third-quarter profit, its first rise in five quarters, as higher gas production from fields off India's east coast helped offset weak refining margins.

Reliance, India's largest conglomerate with interests in petrochemicals, refining, oil and gas exploration, and retail, reported a net profit of 40.08 billion rupees for the quarter ended Dec. 31, up from 35.01 billion a year earlier.

Reliance, controlled by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, said the results had been reworked and restated to include figures from Reliance Petroleum, which it absorbed last year.

A Reuters poll had forecast a net profit of 39.6 billion rupees.

Shares in Reliance, India's biggest listed firm with a market value of about $79 billion, rose more than 1 percent on the news, after being down more than 2 percent earlier, in a Mumbai market that was down 1.1 percent.

The company's shares fell 1 percent in October-December, underperforming a 2 percent rise in the broader index.

(Reporting by Pratish Narayanan; Editing by Valerie Lee and John Mair)

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