Jio Financial Q1 revenue triples on NBFC, payments growth
Jio Financial Services shares rose 6% after the Indian fintech group reported a 227% surge in first-quarter revenue, driven by rapid expansion in its lending and payments businesses despite rising operating costs.
Jio Financial Services shares gained 6% following a first-quarter report that showed operating revenue surging 227% year-on-year to Rs 2,004 crore, up from Rs 612 crore in the prior year. Profit before tax more than doubled, rising 131% to Rs 970 crore. This bottom-line growth was supported by a Rs 509 crore dividend income contribution during the quarter, while broader group interest income climbed 165% to Rs 962 crore.
The primary growth driver was Jio Credit, the company's non-banking financial company arm. Gross assets under management rocketed 163% year-on-year to Rs 30,667 crore. Quarterly disbursements climbed 173% to Rs 11,252 crore. The loan book is diversified, with mortgages accounting for 45.4% of assets and corporate and SME loans making up 44.2%, while retail loans against securities contributed the remaining 10.4%.
This rapid lending expansion translated into significant profitability improvements for the credit division. Net interest income jumped 118% to Rs 257 crore. That pushed pre-provision operating profit up 128% to Rs 154 crore, while profit after tax for the unit climbed 113% to Rs 96 crore.
The firm's broader payments infrastructure also scaled aggressively. Jio Payments Bank's total income climbed to Rs 83 crore from just Rs 11 crore a year earlier. Customer deposits grew 72% year-on-year to Rs 617 crore across 3.9 million current account savings account customers, supported by a business correspondent network exceeding 5.27 lakh touchpoints.
Jio Payment Solutions posted similar momentum. The division processed Rs 19,208 crore in total payment value, 2.5 times the prior year's volume. This activity lifted gross fee and commission income to Rs 176 crore from Rs 27 crore, helping drive total group fee and commission income to Rs 325 crore.
For market participants, the critical tension in these results is the balance between top-line expansion and the capital required to build out these businesses. Group-wide pre-provision operating profit grew a more modest 38% year-on-year to Rs 505 crore because operating expenses remained elevated. Management attributed this to continued investments in incubating new operations across payments, insurance, and asset management.
Analysts are adjusting models to reflect these near-term cost pressures. Motilal Oswal cut its FY27 and FY28 earnings per share estimates by 4% and 6%, respectively. However, the brokerage emphasized that the underlying trajectory remains intact, projecting consolidated profit after tax will grow at a 46% compound annual growth rate between FY26 and FY28.
