Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries on Friday said that its profit soared 12.5 percent during the last quarter of 2020 despite sharp revenue fall in its dominant oil-to-chemicals business.

The Mumbai-based oil-to-telecom behemoth -- which is owned by Asia's richest man, Mukesh Ambani -- said its consolidated profit rose to over 131 billion rupees ($1.79 billion) in the last three months of 2020 from around 117 billion rupees a year earlier.

The 12.5 percent growth figure was in line with the market estimates after a 15 percent fall in its quarterly profits during the quarter ending September 2020.

The company said its operating revenues fell 22 percent to 1.23 trillion rupees for the quarter, while oil-to-chemical revenues plunged over 28 percent despite witnessing some improvement in the sector.

"At a time when the Indian economy is poised for a confident recovery, we at Reliance are humbled that we have been able to contribute to it with our Company's impressive performance in the third quarter of FY21," Ambani said in a statement.

The company recorded a strong growth in its telecom arm Jio, with profits soaring 15.5 per cent during the October-December 2020 period.

Its retail business was showing recovery following the reopening of thousands of stores that remained nonoperational due to the pandemic.

Shares of Reliance were down by 2.30 percent on Friday ahead of the earnings announcement.

ja/st