iWorld
Jio reports maiden annual profit
BENGALURU: Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani’s biggest start-up in the world Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd, or simply Jio, had started returning profits a couple of quarters ago. For the year ended 31 March 2018 (FY 2017-18, the year under review), this Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) subsidiary reported profit of Rs 723 crore against operating revenue of Rs 20,154 crore and value of services of Rs 23,714 crore.
Jio statement said that it has continued its strong subscriber growth trend with net addition during the quarter ended 31 March 2018 (Q4 2017-18) of 26.5 million (as against 21.5 million in the previous quarter) and a churn of 0.25 percent per month. Jio’s subscriber base as on 31 March 2018 was 186.6 million (18.66 crore). Average revenue per user (ARPU) during the quarter was Rs 137.1 per subscriber per month. A Jio earnings release said that Jio subscribers continue to demonstrate high activity levels with average data consumption per user per month of 9.7 GB and average voice consumption of 716 minutes per user per month. Also, video consumption is at over 240 crore hours per month on the network while Jio apps continue to be highly popular.
Commenting on the results, RIL chairman and managing director Ambani said, “A full-blown social, mobile and digital revolution is underway across the world, and I am glad that India is not being left behind in any way with the advent of Jio. Everyone at Jio is today proud to have played a pivotal role in transforming the digital landscape of this country and empowering millions of Indians with all the leading digital tools and skills. Jio is offering the ‘power of data’ to each Indian to fulfil every dream and to collectively take India to global digital leadership. The strong financial results of Jio in a competitive market environment demonstrates the robustness of the Jio business model and ability to offer the most value to our customers and partners. Jio has demonstrated that it can scale and sustain its strong financial performance.”
RIL numbers
For FY 2017-18, RIL achieved consolidated revenue of Rs 430,731 crore, an increase of 30.5 percent, as compared with Rs 330,180 crore in the previous year. The company’s profit after tax was higher by 20.6 percent at Rs 36,075 crore as against Rs 29,901 crore in the previous year.
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iWorld
Jio IPO faces delay as India yet to clear listing rule changes
Proposed rule change allows mega IPOs to float just 2.5 per cent
MUMBAI: The Indian government’s delay in formalising changes to listing rules may derail the targeted timeline for the initial public offering (IPO) of Jio Platforms, the digital arm of Reliance Industries controlled by billionaire Mukesh Ambani.
According to media reports, Reliance is awaiting formal notification of regulatory amendments before appointing investment bankers and filing a draft IPO prospectus. The company is now aiming to submit the draft prospectus before April, depending on when the government issues the notification.
Jio, which owns India’s largest wireless operator, is widely seen as one of the crown jewels of Ambani’s business empire. Its listing, the first public offering of a major Reliance unit in nearly two decades, could become the country’s biggest ever IPO.
Investment bankers have proposed a valuation of as much as $170 billion for the company. Even the minimum stake sale could raise roughly $4.3 billion, potentially placing Jio among India’s most valuable listed companies.
Ambani had earlier said that Reliance was targeting a listing of Jio in the first half of 2026, a plan first outlined in 2019 with a five-year timeline. In 2020, global technology groups Meta Platforms and Alphabet invested more than $10 billion combined in the company.
The delay stems from pending regulatory changes approved by the Securities and Exchange Board of India in September. The amendments allow companies with a post-issue market capitalisation exceeding Rs 5 trillion (about $55 billion) to float as little as 2.5 per cent of equity in an IPO, compared with the current 5 per cent minimum.
Such changes are expected to enable mega listings, including potential offerings by Jio and the National Stock Exchange of India. However, the reforms still require formal notification from the government.
Meanwhile, the National Stock Exchange is moving ahead with plans to raise as much as $2.5 billion through its own IPO and has recently invited banks to pitch for roles in the offering.
