Reliance Industries says Jio makes profit for second quarter in a row

(Reuters) - Indian oil-to-retail conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd said on Friday its telecoms business Jio reported its second straight quarterly net profit since its launch nearly two years ago, as its cut-price plans continue to attract subscribers.

Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd, which sparked a price war and pushed the telecom sector into consolidation by launching its services in September 2016, made a profit of 5.10 billion rupees ($76.43 million) in the quarter ended March 31, compared to a profit of 5.04 billion rupees in the previous quarter.

Reliance Industries' profit on a standalone basis - which includes the company's refining, petrochemicals and oil and gas exploration and production businesses - stood at 86.97 billion rupees in the quarter, up from 81.51 billion rupees a year earlier.

 

That compared with an average estimate of 86.88 billion rupees drawn from 15 analysts, according to Thomson Reuters data.

($1 = 66.7250 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Jessica Kuruthukulangara in Bengaluru. Editing by Jane Merriman)