Within nine months of its commercial launch, Jio, the telecom network launched by Mukesh Ambani, turned profitable. A wholly owned subsidiary of Ambani’s Reliance Industries, it reported net profit of ₹504 crore in the December 2017 quarter.
Jio’s operating revenue increased nearly 12 per cent quarter-on-quarter to ₹6,879 crore, the company said in a press release. Its subscriber base, as of December 2017, was 160.1 million, with average revenue per user — a key metric for telecom companies — reported at ₹154 per month.
Petrochem segment
Jio’s profit and highest ever margins in the conglomerate’s petrochemicals business boosted Reliance Industries’ net profit to ₹9,423 crore for the quarter, up 25.1 per cent year-on-year.
The petchem business brought in revenue of ₹33,726 crore this quarter, up 47.6 per cent from the same period last year. This segment’s EBIT was at a record level of ₹5,753 crore supported by strong volume growth, higher margins for polypropylene and downstream polyester products.
The refining and marketing arm recorded revenue of ₹75,865 crore aided by higher Brent crude oil prices, even though the throughput marginally decreased to 17.7 million tonnes. The gross refining margin — the difference between the cost of crude oil and the final average selling price of refined petroleum products — stood at $11.6 a barrel for the quarter, outperforming the benchmark Singapore complex by $4.4.
In the press release, Mukesh Ambani, CMD, RIL, said: “Our refining business has delivered 12 consecutive quarter of double-digit refining margins, demonstrating operating excellence and healthy industry fundamentals.
“Benefits of the large investments in petrochemical business are beginning to show with the segment reporting its highest ever earnings.”
The oil and gas exploration business reported segment revenue of ₹1,631 crore and a loss of ₹291 crore.
The company said that major contracts for field development have been awarded with drilling expected to commence by Q2 FY19 in the R-series cluster.
Also, a field development plan for MJ (D55) and Satellite Cluster (Satellite and Other Satellite discoveries) has been submitted to the Management Committee for approval.
Reliance Retail
Organised retail — the fastest growing business arm at Reliance — reported revenue of ₹18,798 crore for the quarter and profit of ₹606 crore.
At the end of December, Reliance Retail operates 3,751 stores, of which 72 were added this quarter.
The capital expenditure for the quarter ended was ₹17,336 crore, principally on account of digital services, balance of expenditure for projects in the petrochemicals and refining business at Jamnagar and in organised retail.
On Friday, RIL scrip closed up 1.09 per cent at ₹929.35 on the BSE.