iWorld
Telcos power past Rs 1 lakh crore in December quarter
Sector revenues surge year on year, with Reliance Jio in the lead and government levies swelling alongside
NEW DELHI: India’s telecom giants have punched through a psychological barrier. In the December 2025 quarter, their combined gross revenue vaulted past Rs 1 lakh crore, underlining the sector’s pricing muscle and data-driven momentum.
According to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), cumulative gross revenue of telecom service providers rose to Rs 1.02 lakh crore in the quarter, up from Rs 99,828 crore in September and Rs 96,390 crore a year earlier. The climb is steady. The signal is clear.
Adjusted gross revenue (AGR) — the metric that matters most because it fattens both company coffers and government levies — grew 8.13 per cent year on year to Rs 84,270 crore, up from Rs 77,934 crore in the same quarter last year. AGR includes revenue from telecom services as well as licence fees and spectrum usage charges paid to the exchequer. When telcos earn more, so does the state.
Access service providers such as Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea accounted for 84.54 per cent of total AGR in the December quarter, reaffirming the dominance of the mobile heavyweights in an increasingly consolidated market.
Data published earlier by TRAI for the September 2025 quarter showed Reliance Jio topping the revenue charts with Rs 31,767.11 crore, ahead of its rivals. The December numbers suggest the pecking order is unlikely to have shifted dramatically.
For a sector once mired in bruising price wars and AGR litigation, the rebound is striking. Tariff repairs, premium data plans and relentless subscriber upgrades are doing the heavy lifting. Revenues are rising, government collections are firming and balance-sheets are breathing easier.
India’s telecom story, long defined by survival, is now tilting towards scale and cash. The quarter’s message: the industry is no longer merely connected — it is charging ahead.
Gaming
Bluestone FY26 revenue rises to Rs 2,436 crore, turns profitable
Q4 profit at Rs 31 crore, full-year profit at Rs 13 crore vs loss last year.
MUMBAI: From sparkle to numbers, Bluestone seems to be polishing more than just jewellery this year. Bluestone Jewellery and Lifestyle Limited reported a sharp turnaround in FY26, with revenue from operations rising to Rs 2,436 crore (Rs 24,364 million), up from Rs 1,770 crore (Rs 17,700 million) in FY25. The company posted a full-year profit of Rs 13 crore (Rs 131.79 million), a significant recovery from a loss of Rs 222 crore (Rs 2,218 million) a year ago.
Total income for the year stood at Rs 2,486 crore (Rs 24,860 million), compared to Rs 1,830 crore (Rs 18,300 million) in the previous year, reflecting both topline growth and improved operational momentum.
The March quarter, however, told a more nuanced story. Revenue from operations came in at Rs 681 crore (Rs 6,814 million), down from Rs 748 crore (Rs 7,486 million) in the year-ago period, though higher than Rs 461 crore (Rs 4,613 million) in the preceding December quarter. Net profit for Q4 stood at Rs 31 crore (Rs 311.81 million), compared to Rs 68 crore (Rs 688 million) a year earlier, but a clear reversal from a loss of Rs 51 crore (Rs 512 million) in Q3.
Margins were shaped by higher input costs, with raw material consumption rising to Rs 2,204 crore (Rs 22,043 million) for the full year, alongside employee benefit expenses of Rs 282 crore (Rs 2,824 million) and finance costs of Rs 210 crore (Rs 2,104 million). Other expenses came in at Rs 371 crore (Rs 3,715 million), slightly lower than Rs 393 crore (Rs 3,938 million) in FY25.
On the balance sheet front, total assets expanded to Rs 4,961 crore (Rs 49,610 million) as of March 31, 2026, from Rs 3,532 crore (Rs 35,322 million) a year earlier, driven largely by a surge in inventories to Rs 2,672 crore (Rs 26,718 million). Equity also strengthened to Rs 1,803 crore (Rs 18,030 million), nearly doubling from Rs 911 crore (Rs 9,107 million).
Cash flows reflected the cost of growth. Net cash used in operating activities stood at Rs 199 crore (Rs 1,990 million), while investing activities saw an outflow of Rs 239 crore (Rs 2,392 million). Financing activities, however, generated Rs 497 crore (Rs 4,971 million), helping the company end the year with cash and cash equivalents of Rs 108 crore (Rs 1,075 million), up from Rs 49 crore (Rs 487 million).
Earnings per share for FY26 came in at Rs 1.10, a sharp improvement from a negative Rs 79.74 in FY25, underlining the shift from losses to profitability.
With revenue scaling up, costs still glittering on the higher side, and profitability finally back in the black, BlueStone’s FY26 performance suggests a business mid-transition less about shine alone, and more about sustaining it.
