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Jio Platforms Ltd (JPL), which runs India’s largest mobile network operator Reliance Jio, on Friday reported a 12 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) increase in net profit at Rs 5,297 crore for the second quarter of 2023-24 (Q2FY24). On a sequential basis, the holding company for Jio and other digital businesses of the Reliance group witnessed its net profit rise by 3.9 per cent.
Revenue from operations grew 10.7 per cent Y-o-Y to Rs 26,875 crore in the September quarter. Growth had stood at 11.2 per cent and 14.4 per cent in the previous two quarters. The operating revenue growth in Q2FY24 was driven by industry-leading subscriber growth across mobility and homes and scale-up of digital platforms, the company said.
Jio Platforms’ earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (Ebitda) for the quarter was a record Rs 13,528 crore, up 12.6 per cent Y-o-Y.
Overall, Jio Platforms gained 11 million subscribers in Q2, up from 9.2 million gained in Q1. Strong subscriber growth across mobility and wireline services and scale-up of digital services platform drove JPL’s consolidated revenue and Ebitda growth, the company said.
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This was the fourth consecutive quarter of growth for the company, after subscribers declined for three straight quarters. The company had earlier blamed SIM consolidation for the decline in its customer base.
The average revenue per user (Arpu) during Q2 was Rs 181.7, as against Rs 180.5 in the previous quarter. The latest Arpu growth was led by a better subscriber mix across mobility and wireline partially offset by the start of 5G services. Jio did not announce any tariff hikes in the September quarter.
During the quarter, JioAirFiber was launched in eight cities (Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, and Pune), with pan-Indian coverage expected in the coming months. It is expected to accelerate Jio’s penetration from 10 million homes currently to over 100 million homes.
The company said its JioBharat phone had gained substantial market share in the non-smartphone segment within the first few months of its launch. In Q1FY24, Jio launched the Jio Bharat V2 phone priced at Rs 999, six years after it first unveiled a 4G-enabled feature phone.
“The platform is now getting extended to multiple SKUs to widen the reach and address demand across various price points. The JioBharat platform continues to allow OEMs and application developers to join the vision of 2G-mukt Bharat," Jio said.
The lowest-priced made-in-India internet-enabled phone with affordable and competitive monthly service plans, it targets 250 million feature phone users across the country.
“JioAirFiber has seen very strong customer interest and is set to transform broadband infrastructure in the country by offering fibre-like digital experience to homes and small enterprises. Ubiquitous 5G, JioBharat and JioAirFiber are three big growth engines for Jio which would accelerate market share gains and profitability,” said Akash Ambani, chairman of Reliance Jio Infocomm.
