JIO PRE-TAX PROFIT ZOOMS 147%

Ebitda for the June quarter grew 55.4 per cent to ~7,281 crore

Reliance Jio reported a pre-tax profit of ~3,375 crore in the April to June quarter of financial year 2020-21, driven by 33.7 per cent growth in revenue. In the same period last year, the operator had reported pre-tax profit of ~1,369 crore, showing a jump of almost 147 per cent.

Revenue growth was driven by a tariff hike undertaken last December. Limited customer churn and customer recharges during the lockdown also played a part. Jio, which raised over ~1.52 trillion through a series of stake sales from 13 investors in the June quarter, reported operating revenue of ~16,557 crore in the same quarter. At a post-earning investor call, Anshuman Thakur, president, Reliance Jio, said Jio Platforms will retain ~22,981 crore out of the ~1,52,056 crore raised from stake sale to 13 investors and the rest would go to parent Reliance Industries.

The earning before interest tax depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) for the quarter grew 55.4 per cent to ~7,281 crore. Average revenue per user or ARPU was ~140 for the quarter, which was

7 per cent and 14 per cent higher on a sequential and year-on-year basis, respectively.

While the quarter witnessed an increase in data consumption, the lockdown impacted fresh sub

scription additions. During the period, the digital services company added 15 million gross subscribers, while total subscriber additions stood at 9.9 million. During Q4FY20, Jio had added 24 million gross subscribers.

“The monthly churn rate for wireless subscribers was only 0.46 per cent during the quarter. Customer engagement increased in Q1, with the lockdown driving average wireless data consumption per user to 12.1 GB a month (compared to 11.3 GB in Q4FY20) and average voice consumption to 756 minutes per user,” the firm said.

During a post-results interaction, the management had said that the situation was improving and subscription addition was picking up, despite business being affected due to the lockdown.

RIL Chairman Mukesh Ambani said: “Thirteen investors, which include the largest tech firms and investors globally, now share a common vision with us. Jio, with partnerships across promising Indian start-ups and globally renowned technology companies, is set to drive the next leg of hyper growth for digital businesses. Our growth strategy is aimed at meeting the needs of all 1.3 billion Indians. We remain focused on playing a leading role India’s transformation into a digital society.”

Deepak Jasani, head of retail research at HDFC Securities said: “Jio’s performance was broadly in line but the ARPU at 140 sur₹ prised positively.”

“THIRTEEN INVESTORS, WHICH INCLUDE THE LARGEST TECH COMPANIES AND INVESTORS GLOBALLY, NOW SHARE A COMMON VISION WITH US. JIO, WITH PARTNERSHIPS ACROSS INDIAN START-UPS AND GLOBAL FIRMS, IS SET TO DRIVE THE NEXT LEG OF HYPER GROWTH FOR DIGITAL BUSINESSES”

MUKESH AMBANI RIL Chairman