Jio Platforms (JPL), the digital and telecom arm of Reliance Industries, on Friday posted a sequential rise in net profit for the January–March quarter, on the back of rising average revenue per user (Arpu) and continued growth in data usage. The company’s consolidated net profit at Rs 7,023 crore, was up 2.42% from Rs 6,857 crore in the previous quarter.
Revenue from operations for the quarter stood at Rs 33,986 crore, up 2.76% quarter-on-quarter, largely driven by improved Arpu and the ongoing scale-up of Jio’s home broadband and digital services. The company’s telecom arm, Reliance Jio Infocomm, continued to be the main driver of financials, with net profit rising 2.55% sequentially to Rs 6,642 crore. Revenues for the telecom business touched Rs 30,018 crore, up 2.43%, while Ebitda came in at Rs 16,188 crore, registering a 2.47% rise.
Jio’s performance during the quarter exceeded market expectations across key metrics. Analyst projections had pegged revenue at Rs 29,840 crore, Ebitda at Rs 15,478 crore, and net profit at Rs 6,477 crore.
Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries, attributed the strong performance to steady subscriber growth, an improving customer mix, and increased user engagement. “The strong adoption of our 5G services and home broadband offerings continues to accelerate, reflected in rising subscriber numbers and expanding home connections,” Ambani said.
Jio added 6 million new subscribers during the quarter, double the 3 million additions in the previous three months. The total subscriber base stood at 488.2 million as of March 31. Nearly 40% of Jio’s users, 191 million, are now on 5G, accounting for 45% of the company’s wireless data traffic. Jio’s fixed wireless access service, JioAirFiber, reached 5.6 million households during the quarter, moving the company closer to its target of connecting 100 million homes through its broadband network.
Arpu for the quarter rose to Rs 206.2, up from Rs 203.3 in the preceding quarter. While the shorter duration of the quarter had a marginally negative impact, Arpu growth was supported by better subscriber quality and lingering effects of previous tariff hikes.
Akash Ambani, chairman of Reliance Jio Infocomm, noted that Jio is not only focused on expanding its digital footprint but is also building a large-scale AI infrastructure. “Jio is enabling next-generation technologies that will add intelligence to all our services, ensuring consistent customer engagement,” he said.
Per capita monthly data usage rose to 33.6 GB, up from 32.3 GB, as Jio’s 5G rollout continued to boost consumption. Overall wireless data consumption reached 48.9 billion GB for the quarter, compared to 46.51 billion GB previously. Total voice usage came in at 1.49 trillion minutes, flat sequentially.