BENGALURU: When Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani’s biggest startup in the world Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd (Jio) started operations it had startled the Indian telecom industry ecosystem in the country. Jio had reported a net profit of Rs 723 crore against operating revenue of Rs 20,154 crore and value of services of Rs 23,714 crore for fiscal 2018 (year ended 31 March 2018, FY 2018).

For the first quarter ended 30 June 2018 (Q1 2018, quarter or period under review), the company’s operating revenue increased 14.6 per cent quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) to Rs 9,653 crore from Rs 8,421 crore in the immediate trailing quarter Q4 2018. Net standalone profit for the quarter under review was Rs 612 crore.

Jio’s EBIT increased 14.7 per cent q-o-q n Q1 2019 to Rs 1,715 crore as compared to Rs 1,495 crore in Q4 2018. EBITDA increased 16.8 per cent q-o-q during the period under review to Rs 3,147 crore.

Jio says in its earnings media release that customer activity grew substantially in the quarter under review with average data consumption per user per month of 10.6 GB and average voice consumption of 744 minutes per user per month.  Also, video consumption drove most of the usage, increasing to 340 crore hours per month on the network; average video consumption of 15.4 hours per subscriber per month. For Q4 2018, the company had reported average data consumption per user per month of 9.7 GB and average voice consumption of 716 minutes per user per month. Also video consumption was at over 240 crore hours per month in the immediate trailing quarter.

Jio added 28.7 subscribers Q1 2019 and hence its subscriber base increased to 215.3 million in Q1 2019 from 186.6 million in Q4 2018. Average revenue per user (ARPU) declined slightly q-o-q to Rs 135.50 per month in Q1 2019 from Rs 137.1 per month in Q4 2018. The company reported subscriber churn of 0.3 per cent per month in Q1 2019 as compared to a slightly lower 0.25 per cent per month in Q4 2018.

Reliance Industries numbers for Q1 2019

Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) is the parent company of Jio. RIL consolidated revenue increased by 56.5 per cent to Rs 141,699 crore ($ 20.7 billion) in Q1 2019. Consolidated PBDIT increased by 52.8 per cent to Rs 22,449 crore ($ 3.3 billion). Consolidated Profit Before Tax increased by 30.3 per cent to Rs 13,726 crore ($ 2.0 billion).Consolidated Cash Profit increased by 41.2 per cent to Rs 15,892 crore ($ 2.3 billion). Consolidated Net Profit increased by 17.9 per cent to Rs 9,459 crore ($ 1.4 billion).

Company speak

Commenting on the results, Reliance Industries Ltd, the parent company of Jio, chairman and managing director Mukesh Ambani said: “We continue to focus on strong delivery through operational excellence in our portfolio of businesses. Financial results of Q1 2019 underscore the strength of the petrochemicals we have reinforced over the last investment cycle. Our petrochemicals business generated record EBITDA with strong volumes and an upswing in polyester chain margins. Refining business performance remained steady despite the seasonal weakness in cracks. Continuing strength in global demand for oil products and implementation of more stringent environmental norms for marine fuels augurs well for our refining business. Our consumer businesses continue to scale new highs and now account for nearly 21 per cent of consolidated segment EBITDA. Retail business revenues have more than doubled and EBITDA has trebled on a y-o-y basis. Jio added a record number of subscribers, highlighting the compelling technology and value proposition that Jio offers vis-à-vis other networks. The scalability of our consumer business platforms is driving unprecedented value generation for our customers, our country and our shareholders.”