Reliance Industries profit rises 9% to Rs 17,265 crore in December quarter

RIL Q3 earnings: Billionaire Mukesh Ambani-backed Reliance Industries on Friday reported net profit of Rs 17,265 crore in quarter ended December 2023, marking an upside of 9.33 per cent from Rs 15,792 crore during the same period last year. The upmove in profit was aided by all segments of the company led by its retail business.

Reliance Industries' revenue from operations advanced 3.5 per cent to Rs 2,27,970 crore from Rs 2,20,165 crore in the year-ago period.

“Reliance has delivered yet another quarter of robust operating and financial performance, thanks to the exceptional efforts put in by teams across its businesses," said Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries.

The country's most valuable company's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) also known as operating profit came in at Rs 40,656 crore, up 16 per cent from the year-ago period. Its operating profit margin improved 163 basis points to 17.83 per cent.

Reliance Jio Infocomm

Reliance Jio Infocomm, the telecom arm of Reliance Industries, on Friday, reported a net profit of Rs 5,208 crore for the quarter ended December 2023. The jump marked an upside of 12.28 per cent from Rs 4,638 crore in the same quarter last year.

Operating revenue (net of GST) growth continued to be driven by robust subscriber growth across mobility and homes, and the benefit of mix improvement in ARPU, the company said.

Jio's average revenue per user (ARPU), a key metric of profitability for a telecom services provider, improved to Rs 181.70 per user per month from Rs 178 in the year-ago period.

“ARPU increased 2.0 per cent Y-o-Y to Rs 181.7 with better subscriber mix partially offset by unlimited data allowance on 5G network, the company said in a release.

Jio rolled out Jio True 5G network across India ahead of schedule. About 90 million subscribers have been migrated to Jio’s 5G network. The Jio True 5G network now carries almost one-fourth of Jio’s mobility data traffic and the entire 5G data is now carried on Jio’s own 5G+4G combo core.

"I am happy to share that Jio has completed in India the fastest rollout of True 5G services anywhere in the world. Every city, town, and village in the country is now equipped with high-speed digital connectivity, which will usher in a new era of unparalleled digital accessibility and technology-led growth. The strong uptake of the JioBharat phone and JioAirFiber services has resulted in the continued expansion of Jio’s subscriber base, contributing to the stellar growth numbers of the digital services business," Ambani said on performance Jio’s business.

Reliance Retail

Reliance Retail delivered a Gross Revenue of Rs 83,063 crore in the third quarter of the current financial year, delivering annual growth of 22.8 per cent led by grocery, fashion & lifestyle and consumer electronics businesses.

Business posted an EBITDA of Rs 6,258 crore which was up by 31.1 per cent on an annual basis.

EBITDA margin from operations on net sales was at 8.1 per cent, up 40 bps driven by operating leverage and continued focus on cost management.

During the quarter Reliance Retail expanded its store network with 252 new store openings taking the total store count at the end of the quarter to 18,774 stores with an area of 72.9 million sq ft.

The quarter recorded footfalls of over 282 million across formats, a growth of 40.3 per cent from the same period last financial year.

The company launched Swadesh, focusing on India’s traditional art forms, and AjioGram, a D2C-focused content-driven platform.

The company acquired Sephora India’s franchise business and entered into an exclusive distribution arrangement with SMCP to launch Sandro and Maje brands in India.

“Reliance Retail has delivered a strong performance during the festive quarter. Our business success is intricately woven into the larger fabric of India's economic growth, and together, we are shaping a compelling story of innovation and world-class possibilities for the future. We remain resolute in our commitment to bring high-quality products at great value to our customers with an engaging shopping experience,” said Isha Ambani, executive director, Reliance Retail Ventures Limited.

Reliance Industries shares ended unchanged at Rs 2,735 ahead of its earnings announcement.