Jio Profit At Rs 990 Crore In September Quarter, User Base Crosses 35 Crore

Reliance Jio Infocomm - the telecom arm of Reliance Industries - on Friday reported a net profit of Rs 990 crore for the second quarter of current financial year. Reliance Jio's net profit rose 45.37 per cent compared to the corresponding period a year ago, according to a statement from the company. Reliance Jio's revenue from operations came in at Rs 12,354 crore for the quarter ended September 30, marking an increase of 33.70 per cent compared with the year-ago period.

Reliance Jio said its ARPU or average revenue per user stood at Rs 120 per month in the July-September period, as against Rs 122 per month in the previous quarter.

“Jio crossed the 350 million subscriber mark to remain the world's fastest growing digital services company, and we are still adding more than 10 million new customers every month,” said Mukesh D Ambani, chairman and managing director, Reliance Industries. 

The telecom company said it net added 24 million subscribers to its network during the quarter, and 103 million in the past twelve months.

“Jio is not only India's largest telecom enterprise in terms of subscribers and revenues but has also become the Digital Gateway of India,” Mr Ambani added.

Reliance Jio's operating profit - or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) - jumped 44.6 per cent to Rs 5,166 crore.

EBITDA margin improved to Rs 41.8 per cent in the second quarter of 2019-20, from 40.1 per cent in the previous quarter and 38.7 per cent in the quarter ended September 30, 2018, the telecom operator said.

Earlier this month, Reliance Jio said it would charge its customers 6 paise per minute for calls made to other networks till the telecom sector regulator TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) moves to a zero termination-charge regime.

Shares in Reliance Industries ended 1.37 per cent higher at Rs 1,415.30 apiece on the BSE ahead of the earnings announcement, outperforming the benchmark Sensex index which rose 0.63 per cent to a three-month closing high. 

During the session, Reliance Industries shares jumped to a record high of Rs 1,428, pushing the company's market capitalisation above Rs 9 lakh crore. At the closing price, RIL's market capitalisation stood at Rs 8.97 lakh crore, still making the conglomerate the most valuable company of the country.