Jio hits 533 million users: how Reliance’s telecom arm carried its Q1 earnings

Jio, the telecom and digital services arm of Reliance Industries, had 533 million customers as of June 30, making it the world’s second-largest telecom operator by subscriber count, the company disclosed alongside its Q1 FY27 results on Friday. The unit’s Ebitda rose 16% year-on-year to Rs 21,255 crore, on strong revenue growth and a 150 basis point margin expansion.

Average revenue per user at Jio rose 3% to Rs 216, helped by a better subscriber mix and seasonal gains, though this was partly offset by broadband promotions. Data traffic grew 27% during the quarter, while voice traffic rose 2%, pointing to continued growth in data-heavy usage across the network.

Jio’s performance came as Reliance overall posted a mixed set of numbers: consolidated revenue rose 25% to Rs 3.1 lakh crore and Ebitda climbed 10% to Rs 51,403 crore, but net profit fell 25% to Rs 23,196 crore. The company said the profit decline was mainly due to a one-off gain of Rs 8,924 crore booked a year earlier from a stake sale in Asian Paints — a gain with no equivalent this quarter. Even with the fall, profit beat analysts’ average estimate of Rs 18,550 crore.

The oil-to-chemicals (O2C) business, Reliance’s other major earnings driver, contributed 33% of total operating profit, with Ebitda up 17% to Rs 17,010 crore on stronger transportation fuel and downstream margins and higher crude sourcing from Russia and Latin America, partly offset by higher crude, freight and insurance costs and the reintroduction of a special additional excise duty on fuel.

Chairman Mukesh Ambani pointed to the Jio IPO as a marker of the year ahead: “Reliance has made a steady start to FY27, with all businesses delivering strong operating performance despite continuing geopolitical tensions and volatile commodity markets. This makes me optimistic about the year ahead as we advance our new energy projects and the Jio IPO.”

Elsewhere in the group, retail Ebitda was roughly flat at Rs 6,309 crore even as revenue grew 8%, and entertainment platform JioStar’s Ebitda rose 31% to Rs 933 crore. Reliance closed the quarter with a cash balance of Rs 2.46 lakh crore against net debt of Rs 1.22 lakh crore.

Wikimedia Commons/by World Economic Forum