Reliance-backed digital juggernaut Jio Platforms reported a 12% year-on-year (YoY) increase in its consolidated net profit to INR 5,297 Cr in the second quarter (Q2) of the financial year 2023-24 (FY24). The company’s net profit stood at INR 4,729 Cr in the year-ago quarter.
Sequentially, Jio platforms’ net profit jumped nearly 4% from INR 5,098 Cr.
Revenue from operations rose 10.7% to INR 26,875 Cr in Q2 FY24 from INR 24,275 Cr in Q2 FY23. On a quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) basis, operating revenue jumped 2.9% from INR 26,115 Cr.
The company attributed the increase in its top and bottom lines to a healthy growth in subscriber numbers. “Strong subscriber growth across mobility and wireline services and scale up of digital services platform drove Jio Platform’s consolidated revenue and EBITDA growth,” Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) said.
Average revenue per user (ARPU) jumped 2.5% YoY to INR 181.7 per month during the quarter under review, driven largely by a better subscriber mix across mobility and wireline services. ARPU stood at INR 180.5 in the preceding June quarter.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose 12.6% YoY to INR 13,528 Cr due to growth in the number of users and ARPU.
Commenting on the results, RelianceJio Infocomm chairman Akash Ambani said, “… Ubiquitous 5G, JioBharat and JioAirFiber are three big growth engines for Jio which would accelerate market share gains and profitability.”
The company’s subscriber base stood at 459.7 Mn at the end of September 2023, up 7.5% from 427.6 Mn a year ago.
Earlier today, the telecom operator debuted the ‘country’s first’ satellite-based gigabit fibre services at India Mobile Congress 2023. This adds to a flurry of new launches by the company in the past few months.
Jio also said that its newly launched JioBharat feature phone has gained ‘substantial market share’ in the non-smartphone segment since its launch in July this year. The telco now plans to expand the JioBharat platform to multiple SKUs to ‘widen the reach and address demand across various price points’.
On the other hand, the telecom operator’s 5G rollout continues on full scale. Jio claims to have so far deployed more than 10 Lakh 5G cells that cover nearly 8,000 cities and towns. In contrast, Bharti Airtel chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal on Friday said the company’s 5G network now covers 5,000 cities and towns and 20,000 villages.
Jio also introduced the Jio True 5G Developer Platform and Jio 5G Lab in August to foster development of 5G use cases by startups on the telco’s 5G network, edge computing and partner solutions.
In addition, Jio Platforms is also collaborating with semiconductor giant NVIDIA to build cloud-based artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure in the country.
Meanwhile, Reliance Jio Infocomm’s standalone revenue rose 10% YoY to INR 24,750 Cr, while net profit rose nearly 12% to INR 5,058 Cr in Q2 FY24.
Overall, RIL’s net profit rose 29.7% YoY to INR 19,878 Cr in Q2 FY24.
Shares of RIL ended Friday’s session 1.75% higher at INR 2,265.25 on the BSE.
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