RIL Q4: Jio Platforms Net Profit Jumps 12% YoY To INR 5,583 Cr

Reliance Industries Ltd’s (RIL’s) digital giant Jio Platforms posted a 12% year-on-year (YoY) increase in its consolidated net profit to INR 5,583 Cr in the fourth quarter of the financial year 2023-24 (FY24). 

However, net profit grew a meagre 2.5% from INR 5,445 Cr in Q3 FY24.

Operating revenue grew 13.4% to INR 28,871 Cr during the quarter under review from INR 25,465 Cr in Q4 FY23. Meanwhile, it grew 4.2% on a quarter-on-quarter basis.

The digital giant attributed the increase in its operating revenue to a “robust” subscriber growth across mobility and homes, and the benefit of mix improvement in  average revenue per user (ARPU).

Jio Platforms’ ARPU stood at INR 181.7 per month in Q4 FY24 as against INR 178.8 in the year-ago quarter. However, ARPU was unchanged from INR 181.7 in the preceding December quarter of FY24. 

Customer base stood at 48.18 Cr at the end of the March quarter, an increase of 9.7% from 43.93 Cr a year ago. The number stood at 47.09 Cr at the end of Q3 FY24.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose 12.5% YoY to INR 14,360 Cr during the quarter, while EBITDA margin contracted 40 basis points YoY to 49.7%.

Besides telecom company Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd, Jio Platforms houses the digital businesses of RIL.

On a standalone basis, Reliance Jio Infocomm’s net profit rose over 13% YoY and 2.5% QoQ to INR 5,337 Cr during the quarter under review.

In a statement, Jio Platforms said that the double-digit EBITDA growth during the quarter was primarily led by healthy revenue growth and operating leverage. 

It attributed the YoY increase in ARPU to better subscriber mix, but said it was “partially offset by increasing mix of promotional 5G traffic, offered unlimited to subscribers and not yet charged separately”.

The company claimed it was able to outpace competition by adding 1.09 Cr net subscribers with a monthly churn of 1.5% during the quarter.

Jio Platforms said its True5G network has been rolled out across India and over 10.8 Cr subscribers have migrated to the 5G network. The network also carries about 28% of Jio’s wireless data traffic.  

Meanwhile, the company said that its fixed wireless broadband service JioAirFiber has expanded its presence to about 5,900 Indian cities. The company is working on pan-India coverage for the service. 

Commenting on the performance, Reliance Jio Infocomm chairman Akash Ambani said, “Jio continues to maintain its network leadership and offer innovative digital solutions to multiple customer cohorts. This is driving consistent outperformance in terms of subscriber additions and engagement levels. Continued acceleration in growth of the JioAirFiber subscriber base and ramp-up of digital services will sustain industry-leading growth for Jio.” 

For the financial year FY24, Jio Platforms’ operating revenue grew 10.4% YoY to INR 1.09 Lakh Cr. Net profit rose 12% to INR 21,423 Cr.

Meanwhile, parent RIL’s consolidated operating revenue rose 2.6% YoY to INR 9.14 Lakh Cr in FY24 and net profit rose 7.3% to INR 79,020 Cr.