iWorld
Jio and organised retail add to RIL’s growth in second quarter
BENGALURU: Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani’s largest startup in the world in the form of Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd or Jio has only gone from strength to strength since its inception. The mobile and broadband subsidiary of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), which is already the largest mobile data carrier in the world with more than 25 crore subscribers, reported EBITDA growth of nearly 2.5 times for the quarter ended 30 September 2018 (Q2 2019, quarter under review) as compared to the corresponding year ago quarter. Jio’s operating revenue for Q2 2019 grew by a healthy 50.3 percent year-on- year (y-o-y).
Some of the highlights of Jio’s performance in Q2 2019 include:
Standalone revenue from operations for Q2 2019 was Rs 9,240 crore with a 13.9 per cent q-o-q growth as compared to Rs 8,109 crore in the previous quarter Q1 2019.
Jio’s standalone EBITDA of Rs 3,573 crore for Q2 209 was 13.5 per cent higher q-o-q with EBITDA margin of 38.7 per cent as compared to Rs 3,147 crore and an EBITDA margin of 38.8 per cent in Q1 2019.
Jio’s standalone Net Profit was Rs 681 crore.
The company says that it closed Q2 2019 with a subscriber base of 25.23 crore. Jio says in a press release that it had the lowest churn in the industry at 0.66 per cent per month. ARPU during the quarter was Rs 131.7 per subscriber per month.
RIL’s organised retail arm’s revenue for Q2 FY19 grew by 121.5 per cent y-o-y to Rs 32,436 crore from Rs 14,646 crore. The segment’s EBIT rose by an unprecedented 272.5 per cent y-o-y to Rs 1,244 crore from Rs 334 crore.
RIL chairman Amabani said in a press release, “Jio was conceived with a mission to connect everyone and everything, everywhere – always at the highest quality and the most affordable price. We, at Jio, are glad with our progress towards our mission with more than 250 million subscribers on our network within 25 months of commencement of services. We have enabled our customers to adopt the digital life, with record consumption of data and use of digital services. Our next generation FTTH and enterprise services are now being made available to our customers to further enhance our value proposition to our customers.”
“We are making rapid progress on the growth of our digital platforms, across new commerce, media and entertainment, agriculture, education, healthcare and financial services, which will further enhance the quality of life and productivity of the people of India, ” added Ambani.
In an RIL earnings release, Ambani said, “Our commitment to create consumer value is gathering momentum, with the robust scale-up of India- centric consumer facing businesses. The financial performance of both Retail and Jio reflect the benefits of scale, technology and operational efficiencies. Retail business EBITDA has grown three fold on y-o-y basis whereas Reliance Jio EBITDA has grown nearly 2.5 times. Jio has now crossed 250 million subscriber milestone and continues to be the largest mobile data carrier in the world.”
RIL achieved revenue of Rs 156,291 crore ($ 21.6 billion), an increase of 54.5 per cent as compared to Rs 101,169 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year. RILs’ Profit after tax (PAT) was higher by 17.4 per cent at Rs 9,516 crore ($ 1.3 billion) as against Rs 8,109 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year. Operating profit before other income and depreciation increased by 35.6 per cent to Rs 21,108 crore ($ 2.9 billion) from Rs 15,565 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year.
iWorld
Subedaar puts Indian original cinema on the global map with record-breaking Prime Video debut
MUMBAI: Prime Video has a runaway hit on its hands. Subedaar, the gritty action drama starring Anil Kapoor, has stormed to become the most-watched Indian original movie on the platform in its opening weekend, cracking the Top 10 across 31 countries and landing in 91 per cent of India’s pin codes within days of its March 5 premiere.
The film, a visceral, emotionally-charged story of a retired soldier, Subedaar Arjun Maurya, wrestling with civilian life amid crime and corruption, has struck a nerve. Directed by Suresh Triveni and co-starring Radhikka Madan, Mona Singh, Saurabh Shukla, Aditya Rawal, Faisal Malik, and Khushboo Sundar, the film is already being hailed as a showcase for what Indian original storytelling can achieve on the world stage.
“Subedaar’s success is a reflection of the growing scale and global resonance of Indian storytelling,” said Nikhil Madhok, director and head of originals at Prime Video India. “The film’s emotional narrative, its rooted portrayal of a soldier confronting his toughest battles beyond the battlefield, has struck a chord. Anil Kapoor delivers an acting masterclass, while Suresh Triveni’s solid direction and great performances from the ensemble cast have resulted in love and appreciation from customers across the world.”
Kapoor, 62, has been here before, but rarely at this altitude. Written by Triveni and Prajwal Chandrashekar, with dialogues by Triveni, Saurabh Dwivedi, and Chandrashekar, the film is a production by Opening Image Films in association with Anil Kapoor Film & Communication Network (AKFCN), produced by Vikram Malhotra, Kapoor, and Triveni.
Subedaar streams exclusively on Prime Video in Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu across India, and in over 240 countries and territories worldwide.
For Prime Video, the numbers tell the real story: one weekend, one film, a global footprint, and a very loud signal that Indian original cinema is no longer just travelling well. It’s arriving.
