Reliance Jio’s profit grows 15% but new subscribers are the lowest in 7 quarters

• Reliance Jio has reported a profit growth of 15.5%, with net profit of ₹3,489.
• During the December quarter, Jio added over 5 million new subscribers, which is the lowest in the last seven quarters.
• Apart from this, Jio also registered a healthy jump in average revenue per user (ARPU), which jumped by over 4%.

The telecom arm of Reliance Industries has reported a 15.5% jump in profit between October and December to hit ₹3,489 crore. It’s revenue also increased by 5.3%.

The growth in Jio’s profits comes even as the company announced affordable postpaid plans to capture subscribers from its rivals Vodafone Idea and Airtel. However, Jio added the lowest number of subscribers in the last seven quarters. With JioPhone contracts maturing soon, Jio might have a new problem on its hands.

“Given that Vodafone Idea has lagged data subscriber additions vs peers and that network integrations have had limited impact on arresting its market share losses, we believe market share gains for Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio will continue,” said Jefferies in its report ahead of the earnings.

Jio’s average revenue per user (ARPU) grew by over 4%, beating Goldman Sachs’ estimate of a 2% increase.

Betting on 5G

“India is today among the leaders driving the Digital Revolution in the world. In order to maintain this lead, Jio will continue to accelerate the rollout of its digital platforms and indigenously developed next generation 5G stack and make it affordable and available everywhere,” said Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries.

The company has begun testing its 5G network and hardware, reporting that it has achieved 1Gbps throughput.

Apart from 5G, Jio is also banking on its business and internet of things (IoT) offerings. Its JioMeet video conferencing solution crossed 15 million users during the quarter.