Reliance Jio Q2 Profit Rises 27% to INR 4,729 Cr, ARPU At INR 177.2

Reliance Jio on Friday (October 21) reported a 26.9% year-on-year (YoY) increase in net profit to INR 4,729 Cr in the September quarter of the financial year 2022-23 (FY23) as the company continues to reap the benefits of higher digital penetration and evolving telecommunications system in the country.

Jio Platforms, the subsidiary of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) which houses telecom company Reliance Jio Infocomm, had reported a net profit of INR 3,728 Cr in the same quarter last year. Its Q2 FY23 profit was a 4.4% rise sequentially from INR 4,530 Cr reported in Q1 FY23.

Revenue from operations surged 22.7% YoY to INR 24,275 Cr in Q2 FY23 from INR 19,777 Cr reported in the same quarter of last year. The company said that the growth was driven by an increase in its average revenue per user (ARPU). 

In fact, the company saw a 23.5% growth in its ARPU, which stood at INR 177.2 per subscriber per month during the quarter. However, the growth in ARPU was only 0.8% on a quarterly basis.

Reliance Jio’s customer base witnessed a slight slump as compared to the corresponding quarter last year. The customer base declined to 427.6 Mn at the end of September 30 this year as against 429.5 Mn on September 30, 2021.

The company said that its EBITDA margin expanded 250 basis points to 49.5% during the quarter driven by the ARPU increase in connectivity business. However, the inflationary pressure on operating costs partially offset the gains.

As per the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) report, Reliance Jio added over 32.8 Lakh subscribers in August 2022 alone, maintaining the top position in the country’s telecom market. 

Meanwhile, the company’s total data traffic stood at 28.2 Bn GB during the quarter, up 22.7% YoY from 23 Bn GB during the corresponding quarter last year.

“We saw consistent net subscriber additions and higher engagement in Digital Services segment,” said Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries. 

“Jio is making rapid progress for an ambitious and the fastest ever roll out of True 5G on pan-India basis,” he added.

Following the launch of the 5G network in the country earlier this month, Reliance Jio announced the beta launch of its 5G services in four cities – Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, and Varanasi. 

The company is also collaborating with smartphone manufacturer Nokia as well as telecom equipment and service provider Ericsson to build its 5G radio access network (RAN).

As per Reliance Jio’s statement, the total cost of acquiring the right to use 25,040 MHz 5G spectrum for a period of 20 years is INR 88,078 Cr. As per terms of the spectrum auction, this would result in an annual payment of INR 7,877 Cr. 

Besides its telecom business and after much traction for its JioPhone, Reliance Jio is now reportedly also planning to launch a laptop priced under INR 15,000 for the public in the next three months.

While Reliance’s Jio business seems to have largely kept up with its growth trends, Reliance Industries reported a marginal YoY growth in its consolidated net profit to INR 15,512 Cr In Q2 from INR 15,479 Cr in the corresponding quarter last year.

Its overall gross revenue for the period stood at INR 2,53,497 Cr, up 32.4% YoY.