Brands
Reliance hits record Q1 FY26 EBITDA as Jio and retail fire on all cylinders
MUMBAI: Reliance Industries has kicked off FY26 with a blockbuster first quarter, posting its highest-ever consolidated quarterly EBITDA of Rs 58,024 crore ($ $6.8 billion), a sharp 35.7 per cent leap over last year, fuelled by robust performances across digital, retail and energy verticals.
Group net profit soared 76.5 per cent year-on-year to Rs 30,783 crore ($3.6 billion), aided by operational gains and a Rs 8,924 crore windfall from its stake sale in Asian Paints. Total revenue rose 6 per cent to Rs 2.73 lakh crore ($31.9 billion), with EBITDA margins improving by a stellar 460 basis points to 21.2 per cent.
Reliance Jio continued to dominate the digital landscape, crossing a jaw-dropping 200 million 5G subscriber milestone and 20 million home broadband connections. Jio Platforms’ revenue jumped 19 per cent to Rs 35,032 crore, while EBITDA climbed 24 per cent to Rs 18,135 crore, with margins expanding 210 basis points to a best-in-class 51.8 per cent.
ARPU rose to Rs 208.8, driven by premium subscriber additions and deepening data consumption, which reached 54.7 billion GB this quarter. Jio also unveiled its next-gen tech stack—JioGames Cloud, JioPC, and the proprietary UBR fixed wireless platform—taking a firm aim at India’s AI and home computing future.
Reliance Retail cemented its pole position, clocking Rs 84,171 crore in revenue (up 11.3 per cent), and EBITDA of Rs 6,381 crore (up 12.7 per cent), marking an industry-leading margin of 8.7 per cent. The business added 388 new stores, taking the total footprint to 19,592 outlets spanning 77.6 million sq ft.
JioMart’s hyper-local push paid off with daily order volumes exploding 175 per cent year-on-year. AJIO continued to thrive in the online fashion segment with its new 4-hour delivery service and strong traction for Shein, while the FMCG arm doubled revenue to Rs 4,400 crore.
Reliance’s Oil-to-Chemicals (O2C) segment, despite a 1.5 per cent drop in revenue due to crude price softness and planned shutdowns, posted a solid 10.8 per cent EBITDA gain at Rs 14,511 crore. Jio-bp’s aggressive retail fuel push contributed significantly, with volumes of petrol and diesel up 38.6 per cent and 34.2 per cent respectively.
With net debt remaining flat at Rs 1.17 lakh crore and capital expenditure of Rs 29,875 crore this quarter, the group is doubling down on its “golden decade” growth strategy across tech, consumption, and energy. Chairman Mukesh Ambani said, *“Reliance will continue its stellar track record of doubling value every four to five years.”
From superfast data to doorstep delivery and clean fuels, Reliance is firing on all fronts—and showing no signs of slowing down.
Brands
Faber-Castell India appoints Sunaina Haldar as director – marketing
With stints at Tata, SleepyCat and ADF Foods under her belt, Haldar is primed to redraw Faber-Castell’s brand story
MUMBAI: Faber-Castell India has poached Sunaina Haldar from ADF Foods, appointing her director – marketing as the German stationery brand looks to muscle up in a category that is rapidly reinventing itself around creativity and self-expression.
Haldar hit the ground running. “My first couple of weeks have been incredibly energising, understanding consumers, visiting markets, engaging with retailers and immersing myself into the world of Faber-Castell Group,” she said.
She arrives with considerable firepower. At ADF Foods, Haldar ran marketing across India and international markets for a portfolio spanning Ashoka, Aeroplane, Camel and ADF Soul. Before that, she was vice-president – marketing at direct-to-consumer mattress brand SleepyCat, where she helmed brand, content and performance marketing. Her résumé also includes a stint leading marketing, new product development and CRM for Tata SmartFoodz at Tata Consumer Products, no small proving ground.
Between corporate roles, Haldar also operated as a fractional CMO for early-stage startups, building marketing strategy and operational structures from scratch, a signal that she knows how to move fast with limited resources.
With 18 years straddling FMCG, D2C and the startup world, Haldar now takes the reins at a brand that has long owned the classroom but is clearly hungry for the living room. In a stationery market where the pencil has become a lifestyle statement, Faber-Castell has picked someone who knows exactly how to sell that story.
