Jio Platforms Ltd reports a 23.6% growth in net profit in FY22, at USD 2 billion

Reliance Industries Limited has announced its consolidated results for the year FY22 and quarterly results for Q4FY22.  

Commenting on the results, Mukesh D. Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director, Reliance Industries Limited said: “Despite the ongoing challenges of the pandemic and heightened geo-political uncertainties, Reliance has delivered a robust performance in FY2021-22. I am pleased to report strong growth in our Digital Services and Retail segments. Our O2C business has proven its resilience and has demonstrated strong recovery despite volatility in the energy markets. JioFiber is now the largest broadband provider in India within two years of launch.”  

Jio Platforms Ltd –Consolidated results- FY22  

• Gross Revenue for the year was ₹ 95,804 crore ($ 12.6 billion), higher by 17.1% (adjusted for Interconnect Usage Charges (IUC))  
• EBITDA for the year was ₹ 39,112 crore ($ 5.2 billion), increase of 20.9%  
• Net Profit for the year was ₹ 15,487 crore ($ 2.0 billion), growth of 23.6%  
• Cash Profit for the quarter was ₹ 34,639 crore ($ 4.6 billion), growth of 21.6%  
• Total data traffic was 91.4 billion GB during the year; 46.3% growth YoY  
• Total voice traffic was 4.51 trillion minutes during the year; 17.9% growth YoY  

Quarterly Performance for the quarter 4Q FY22 

• Gross Revenue for the quarter was ₹ 26,139 crore ($ 3.4 billion), higher by 20.7% YoY  
• Quarterly operating revenue (net of GST) was ₹ 22,261 crore ($ 2.9 billion), growth of 21.7%, driven by higher ARPUs and ramp-up of wireline services 
• Gross revenue for the quarter was ₹ 26,139 crore ($ 3.4 billion), higher by 20.7% YoY  
• Quarterly operating revenue (net of GST) was ₹ 22,261 crore ($ 2.9 billion), growth of 21.7%, driven by higher ARPUs and ramp-up of wireline services  
• EBITDA at ₹ 10,918 crore ($ 1.4 billion), higher by 27.4% YoY driven by strong revenue growth and margin improvement  
• EBITDA Margin at 49.0%, increased 210 bps YoY led by ARPU increase in connectivity business  
• ARPU during the quarter of ₹ 167.6 per subscriber per month saw a healthy 21.3% growth on YoY basis and 10.5% growth on QoQ basis  
• Net Profit for the quarter was ₹ 4,313 crore ($ 569 million), higher by 22.9% YoY 
• Cash Profit for the quarter was ₹ 9,623 crore ($ 1.3 billion), higher by 24.0% YoY  
• Total data traffic was 24.6 billion GB during the quarter; 47.5% growth YoY  
• Total voice traffic was 1.2 trillion minutes during the quarter; 16.8% growth YoY  

Business Update

• Viacom18 announced a partnership with Reliance and Bodhi Tree Systems (a platform of James Murdoch’s Lupa Systems and Uday Shankar) on April 27, 2022 to accelerate its growth journey to become one of the largest TV and digital streaming companies in India.
•  TV entertainment network exited the year with 11.0% viewership share in the non-news genre. Colors was the #2 prime-time Hindi channel during the year, and Kids and English portfolio were leaders in their genres. Entertainment business delivered its highest ever operating profit and strong EBITDA margins in FY 22.
• Despite news channel ratings unavailable for 11 months, TV News portfolio delivered strong performance with ad revenue growth and continued cost controls driving significant improvement in profitability. The business also delivered its highest annual operating profit and margins.
• Network18 was among the top 3 digital news/information publishers in India, reaching more than 40% of India’s internet audience. Ad revenues of Digital News business saw a significant uptick during the year, helped by increasing reach of the network and tailwinds favouring digital adoption. From just
  break-even last year, the business delivered a sharp improvement in profitability.
• Subscription based digital platforms, Voot Select and Moneycontrol Pro, continued to gain traction and grew their subscriber base.

Connectivity Business 

• ARPU improved to ₹ 167.6 led by tariff hike, better subscriber mix and ramp-up of FTTH services.  
• Jio is now the #1 FTTH services provider in the country with over 6 million connected premises. Jio consumers have over five hours of average daily engagement on the set-top-box.  
• During the quarter, JPL and SES announced a joint venture to deliver high-performance satellite-based broadband services across India. The JV will use multi-orbit space networks capable of delivering multi- gigabit links and capacity to enterprises, mobile backhaul and retail customers.  
• During the quarter, Jio also announced the launch of next generation multi-terabit subsea cable project India-Asia-Xpress (IAX) to connect the Maldives directly to India & Singapore. The IAX system originates in Mumbai in the west and connects directly to Singapore, with branches including additional landings in India, Malaysia and Thailand. IAX is expected to be ready for service by end-2023.  

Digital Platforms 

• In February 2022, JPL announced an investment of US$ 15 million for a 25% equity stake in TWO Platforms Inc., an Artificial Reality (AR) company. TWO’s AR platform enables real-time AI voice and video calls, digital humans, immersive spaces and lifelike gaming. TWO will work with Jio to build disruptive technologies such as AI, metaverse and mixed realities. 

Strategic Updates-Q4FY22

• Viacom18 (a step-down subsidiary) and the Company, announced a strategic partnership with Bodhi Tree Systems, to transform Viacom18 into one of the largest TV and digital streaming companies in India. Bodhi Tree Systems will invest ₹ 13,500 crore and Reliance Projects & Property Management Services Limited (RPPMSL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, will invest ₹ 1,645 crore in Viacom18. In addition, the popular JioCinema OTT app will be transferred to Viacom18. Paramount Global (formerly known as ViacomCBS), the joint venture partner in Viacom18, will continue as a shareholder of Viacom18 and will continue to supply Viacom18 its premium global content. This partnership will help to jointly build India’s leading entertainment platform and pioneer the Indian media landscape’s transformation to a “streaming-first” approach.
• Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. (RJIL), will land the next generation multi-terabit India-Asia-Xpress (IAX) undersea cable system in Hulhumale, Maldives in collaboration with Ocean Connect Maldives (OCM), a legal entity 100% owned by the Government of Maldives. The high capacity and high-speed IAX system will connect Hulhumale’ directly with World’s major internet hubs in India and Singapore. 
• Jio Platforms Limited (JPL), a subsidiary of the Company and SES, a leading global satellite-based content connectivity solutions provider, announced the formation of a Joint Venture – Jio Space Technology Limited, to deliver the next generation scalable and affordable broadband services in India leveraging satellite technology. JPL and SES will own 51% and 49% equity stake in the joint venture respectively. The joint venture will use multi-orbit space networks that is a combination of Geostationary (GEO) and Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellite constellations capable of delivering multi-gigabit links and capacity to enterprises, mobile backhaul and retail customers across the length and breadth of India and neighbouring regions.  

BCS Bureau