RIL Q4 FY18 net up 17.3% at Rs 9,435 cr; Jio records net profit of Rs 723 cr

Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has reported a 17.3 per cent increase in its net profit to Rs 9,435 crore ($1.4 billion) for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2018. 

For the quarter ended March 31, 2018, RIL achieved revenues of Rs 129,120 crore ($19.8 billion), an increase of 39.0 per cent as compared to Rs 92,889 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year. Increase in revenue is primarily on account of volume increase with start-up of petrochemicals projects and oil price related increase in realisations for refining and petrochemical products. The increase in consolidated revenues reflects robust growth of 134 per cent in the Retail business and continuing growth momentum in wireless subscriber additions for the Digital Services business. 

Operating profit before other income and depreciation increased by 51.0 per cent to Rs 18,469 crore ($2.8 billion) from Rs 12,233 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year. Strong operating performance was driven by growth in Petrochemicals, Retail and Digital Services businesses. This was partially offset by reduced contribution from refining due to lower crude throughput, and lower volumes in upstream oil & gas. 

PBDIT was up by 45.9 per cent to Rs 20,664 crore ($3.2 billion) during the quarter. At Rs 13,246 crore ($2.0 billion), Profit Before Tax increased by 29.2 per cent to, while cash profit increased by 30.4 per cent to Rs 15,408 crore ($2.4 billion). 

Media Business 

Network18 Media & Investments Ltd reported Q4 FY18 consolidated revenue of Rs 825 crore as against Rs 388 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year and EBIT at Rs 4 crore as against Rs 5 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year. 

The sharp rise in revenue is led by the impact of subsidiary TV18 acquiring control of entertainment JV Viacom18, partly offset by HomeShop18 ceasing to be a subsidiary due to its share-swap acquisition of ShopCJ during the quarter. 

On a comparable basis (by consolidating Viacom18 and deconsolidating HomeShop18 throughout), revenue jumped 40 per cent in Q4 FY18 and a healthy 16 per cent in FY18. The strong performance was driven by recovery in advertising environment and successes in the film business, further helped by a low-base from last fiscal. 

Calling FY2017-18 a “landmark year” for Reliance, Mukesh D Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director, Reliance Industries Ltd, said, “Reliance has become the first Indian company to record PBDIT of over US$10 billion with each of our key businesses – Refining, Petrochemicals, Retail and Digital Services achieving record earnings performance.” 

He further said, “The growing Indian market provides exciting opportunities to scale-up these businesses and maximise long-term shareholder value in the coming years.” 

Reliance Jio 

Reliance Jio, the premiere mobile and digital business of RIL, reported positive net income in the first year of commercial operations, with net profit for the year at Rs 723 crore. 

Jio reported sustained growth in its subscriber base to 186.6 million as of March 31, 2018. The service provider also saw strong customer traction on digital offerings. Jio continued its strong subscriber growth trend with net addition during the quarter of 26.5 million (as against 21.5 million in the previous quarter). 

Data consumption stood at a record 506 crore GB during the quarter, with a 17.4 per cent Q-o-Q growth in data consumption. Jio subscribers continue to demonstrate high activity level with average data consumption per user per month of 9.7 GB and average voice consumption of 716 minutes per user per month. Video consumption is at over 240 crore hours per month on the network, even as Jio apps continue to be highly popular. 

During the quarter, Jio offered unique content to its subscribers such as Pyeong Chang 2018 Olympic Winter Games, Nidahas Cricket Trophy, Carabao Cup Final, Jio DDD live, Jio Cricket Play Along, etc. JioTV became the first broadcaster to offer multi-channel and multi-lingual feed for cricket matches. 

During the quarter, RIL announced a strategic transaction for combination of JioMusic with Saavn, a leading global music OTT platform, to form India’s largest platform for music, media and artists, wherein the combined entity was valued at over US$1 billion, with JioMusic’s implied valuation at US$ 670 million. RIL also announced an agreement to acquire 72.7 per cent shareholding in Indiavidual Learning, a leading AI-based education platform leveraging data analytics to deliver personalised learning outcomes to each student. RIL also announced a partnership with Eros Media to jointly set-up a Rs 1,000-crore fund for production and acquisition of Indian films and digital originals across all languages. 

Commenting on the results, Mukesh D Ambani said, “The strong financial results of Jio in a competitive market environment demonstrate 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.” 

He added, “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. Jio is offering the ‘power of data’ to each Indian to fulfil every dream and to collectively take India to Global Digital Leadership.”

Read full financial report for Reliance Industries Limited here.

Read full financial report for Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited here. 

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