Q1 results: Reliance Jio net profit rises 45% to Rs 3,651 crore

Adds 14.4 mllion users in quarter, taking total to 440.6 million

Reliance Jio Platform’s net profit rose 44.9 per cent to Rs 3,651 crore in the first quarter of financial year 2021-22 (Q1FY22) on a year-on-year (YoY) basis, driven by growth in subscribers and an increase in data consumption.

In the corresponding quarter last year, the company had posted a net profit of Rs 2,519 crore. Revenue from operations grew 9.8 per cent YoY to Rs 18,952 crore, while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (Ebitda) rose 21.3 per cent to Rs 8,892 crore. On a sequential basis, however, this represented a tepid show, with 4 per cent and 3.6 per cent growth in revenue and net profit, respectively. Average revenue per user (ARPU) was flat sequentially at Rs 138.4.

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The sequential performance was affected by the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, the impact of which was also seen in a sluggish growth in smartphone sales and free recharges offered by telecom companies. Customer additions, however, remained  strong. During the quarter, Jio added 14.4 million subscribers, taking its total customer base to 440.6 million. Over the past 12 months, the company has added 42.3 million customers. In February, Jio launched a new bundled offer providing customers a handset, up to two years of unlimited free calls, and 2 GB of data per month. This helped the company add more users than rival Airtel in March and April.

Churn reduced further during the quarter to 0.95 per cent on the back of customer focused initiatives, the company said. During the first quarter, average data consumption per user increased to 15.6 GB, while average voice consumption was 818 minutes per user per month, it said.

The Jio management said it has witnessed 38 per cent YoY growth in data traffic, but acknowledged challenges in ramping up customer additions due to the second wave. Overall demand remains intact and the company is confident of better traction in the coming quarters, the management said in a post-results presentation. “Jio has posted yet another record quarterly performance with industry leading operating metrics,” Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani said.