Jio Q2 profit jumps 28% to ₹4,512 crore

Net profit rose to ₹4,512 crore for the quarter ended September from ₹3,528 crore in the year earlier.

Revenue rose 20% to ₹22,521 crore from ₹18,735 crore, the telecom arm of Reliance Industries Ltd said in a statement to the exchanges on Friday. Revenue increased by 3% from the preceding June quarter.

The average revenue per user (Arpu), a key profitability metric, rose 23.5% to ₹177.2 during the quarter and 0.8% from the preceding June quarter, on increased usage and better subscriber quality. Arpu for the June quarter was at ₹1,75.7, and ₹143.6 for the quarter ended September 2021.

“The 5G rollout that is underway will substantially improve work consumption as well as subscriber base, and this is expected to improve both per capita usage as well as on a looking forward basis,” said Kiran Thomas, director of Jio Platforms. The No 1 carrier has launched 5G in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Varanasi through an invite model, and plans to expand it across India by March 2024.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) for the quarter ended September rose 4.7% to ₹11,489 crore from the preceding three months, driven by strong revenue growth. Ebitda margin was at 51.01%.

Performance, though, missed estimates. Analysts at Emkay estimated revenue growth of 5.3% from the preceding quarter, with a 5.6% growth in Ebitda. Analysts at ICICI Securities expected Ebitda to grow by 5.4% from the preceding quarter to ₹12,000 crore, benefitting from lower spectrum usage charges.

Arpu too was lower than market expectations of ₹178. Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea are yet to release their quarterly financial numbers.

“We saw consistent net subscriber additions and higher engagement in digital services. Jio has announced beta trial for its industry-leading standalone 5G services and is making rapid progress for an ambitious and the fastest ever rollout of True 5G on a pan-India basis,” said Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries.

The telco said its parent Jio Platforms’ gross revenue for the quarter rose 23% to ₹28,506 crore from a year ago, while profit rose 27% to ₹4,729 crore. Q2 Ebitda for Jio Platforms rose 29% to ₹12,011 crore. “Ebitda margin at 49.5%, increased 250 basis points year-on-year due to Arpu increase in connectivity business, partly offset by inflationary pressure on operating costs,” the company said in a statement.