Reliance Jio Q4 FY23 Profit Grows 15.6% To INR 4,984 Cr, ARPU Rises To INR 178.8

India’s largest telecom operator Reliance Jio’s net profit rose 15.6% year-on-year (YoY) to INR 4,984 Cr in the fourth quarter of the financial year 2022-23 (Q4 FY23). However, profit grew about 2% on a quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) basis.

Revenue from operations of Jio Platforms, the subsidiary of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) which houses telecom company Reliance Jio Infocomm, grew 2.3% on a sequential basis to INR 25,465 Cr. On a YoY basis, operating revenue rose 14.4%.

“Healthy growth in revenue from operations was led by the full impact of the tariff hike, ramp-up of wireline services and continued subscriber addition for mobility services,” the company said in a release.

The Akash Ambani-led telco’s customer base stood at 439.3 Mn at the end of March 2023 quarter, a jump of 7.1% YoY. While it added nearly 29 Mn users in FY23, the telco managed to keep the churn low at around 2%.

Meanwhile, Reliance Jio saw its average revenue per user (ARPU) increase marginally to INR 178.8 per month in Q4 FY23 from INR 178.2 in Q3 FY23. However, ARPU rose 6.7% from INR 167.6 in the year-ago quarter.

The boost in the number of users and ARPU saw Jio’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) reach INR 12,767 Cr during the quarter ended March 31, 2023, a growth of 16.9% compared to the year-ago period.

For FY23, Jio’s net profit rose 15.6% YoY to INR 19,124 Cr.

Jio said that it has extended its 5G services to more than 2,300 cities and towns across India, having deployed more than 60,000 5G sites across 700 MHz and 3500 MHz bands. The telco claimed that it is on track to complete a pan-India rollout by December 2023.

Jio also mentioned the digital streaming of the Indian Premier League (IPL) on JioCinema in the Q4 FY23 results. “Jio’s technology capability and distribution scale is now enabling seamless streaming of the 16th edition of the Indian Premier League which has seen unprecedented viewership to date,” the telco said.

It added that the Women’s Premier League also attracted a monthly active user base of around 45 Mn during the season on JioCinema.

Commenting on the results, Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director of RIL, said, “Jio continues to digitally empower millions of citizens across the nation, extending True 5G reach to 2,300+ cities and towns in a short span of 6 months.”

“With steady growth in mobility and FTTH subscriber base and an expanding bouquet of content and digital services, the Jio business continues to deliver impressive growth in operating profits,” he added.

Overall, RIL’s net profit rose 18.3% YoY to INR 21,327 Cr in Q4 FY23, while gross revenue grew 2.8% to INR 2.39 Lakh Cr.