Jio profit up 9% as $3bn IPO looms
Reliance Jio's 9% rise in first-quarter profit and steady ARPU growth underscore the telecom's market dominance ahead of what is expected to be India's largest-ever IPO.
Reliance Jio reported a 9% year-on-year increase in net profit to Rs 7,764 crore for the first quarter of fiscal 2027. The earnings release arrives at a critical juncture for the Indian telecom, coming just weeks after it filed its draft prospectus for a blockbuster initial public offering.
Revenue from operations climbed nearly 12% to Rs 39,173 crore, driven by subscriber market share gains and a scale-up in digital services. EBITDA surged more than 15% to Rs 20,865 crore, with margins expanding 150 basis points to 53.3%. For prospective IPO investors, this robust margin trajectory demonstrates the company's pricing power and operating efficiency ahead of the listing.
Average revenue per user (ARPU), a critical metric for telecom valuations, increased to Rs 215.6, up from Rs 208.8 a year earlier and Rs 214 in the previous quarter. Jio attributed this to a favourable subscriber mix, though promotional offers for its fixed broadband customers acted as a partial offset.
Underlying demand remained strong as data traffic surged 26.9% year-on-year to 69.4 billion GB, with per-capita consumption reaching 43.7 GB per month. Jio added 8.9 million net mobile subscribers during the quarter while monthly churn improved to 1.6%.
The company's fixed broadband segment also showed momentum, with the total base reaching 28.6 million and securing a 43% market share. Jio AirFiber, which now boasts over 14 million subscribers, was responsible for more than 75% of those broadband additions over the past twelve months.
However, the bottom line was constrained by higher finance costs and depreciation charges tied to the capitalisation of 5G network assets. These growing costs absorbed a portion of the strong double-digit revenue growth.
The upcoming IPO will consist entirely of a fresh issue of up to 27 crore shares, with no offer-for-sale component. Analysts estimate the deal size at around $3 billion, which would surpass Hyundai Motor India to become India's largest-ever listing, pending the outcome of the National Stock Exchange's own planned offering.
Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani has previously called the listing the most important "value creation milestone" of the year. Jio Platforms Managing Director Akash Ambani echoed this sentiment, stating the company "will continue to maintain our deep tech focus and democratise access to digital connectivity and digital services in India and globally."
