Jio, Reliance Industries’ telecom arm, on Thursday reported 64.7 per cent increase in its net profit to Rs 840 crore in the March quarter of 2018-19 on a year-on-year (YoY) basis.
However, Jio missed the Street estimates for the fourth quarter, sequentially posting flat growth after its average revenue per user (ARPU) fell by 3 per cent sequentially to Rs 126.2.
Standalone revenues from operations came in at Rs 11,106 crore, up 7 per cent quarter-on-quarter (QoQ). The subscriber base, however, crossed 300 million with a net addition of 26.6 million during the quarter
Revenues were up 55.8 per cent while net profits were up 64.7 per cent on YoY. The standalone Ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) for Jio grew by 6.8 per cent QoQ to Rs 4,329 crore; on a YoY basis, however, it was a 60.7 per cent rise.
The Street had estimated 10 per cent growth in revenue. This is due to the growing base of JioPhone users, who join the Rs 501 Monsoon Hungama Plan. This works out Rs 99 per month per user, and, as Anshuman Thakur, head of strategy and planning at Reliance Jio, pointed out, it comes to Rs 86 per consumer per month after the goods and services tax.
Jio’s ARPU has been slipping consistently — it was Rs 134.5 in the first quarter of the financial year.
During the quarter, Jio transferred the fibre and tower undertaking to separate companies through a National Companies Law Tribunal-approved scheme of arrangement, which was completed with effect from March 31.
Liabilities of Rs 1.07 trillion (which includes bank loans, capex creditors, etc) were transferred to these two companies, along with the tower and fibre assets, which deleverages the Jio balance sheet.
