Ambani's Jio posts about 14% profit rise in first earnings since blockbuster debut (updated)
UPDATE 2-Ambani's Jio posts about 14% profit rise in first earnings since blockbuster debut Adds details throughout
Oct 30 (Reuters) - Jio Platforms JIOP.NS, billionaire Mukesh Ambani's telecom-and-digital major, posted a 13.7% jump in quarterly net profit on Friday in the first results since a record-breaking debut that made it India's second most-valuable listed firm.
The company, which serves more than 530 million customers, is India's largest telecom operator and the world's second-largest by subscriber base in a single country, behind China Mobile. It is backed by global technology giants Meta Platforms META.O and Alphabet GOOGL.O.
Jio listed earlier this week in the first issue from Ambani's Reliance conglomerate in two decades, propelling the group past Tata as India's top conglomerate by market value.
Managing Director Akash Ambani said Jio would continue investing in next-generation technologies, including satellite communications, 6G intellectual property and AI integrated into its voice and data services.
Reliance, in the spotlight recently after Elon Musk's accusations that Ambani was blocking Starlink's India launch, had said it welcomed competition from Starlink and that its own satellite services were also awaiting clearance.
In India, Jio competes with Bharti Airtel BRTI.NS and the two operators are fousing on expanding 5G networks, growing data consumption and monetising large subscriber bases in the world's most populous country.
For the quarter ended September, Jio's core earnings rose 16.6% year-over-year, driven by revenue growth, operating leverage and a 250-basis-point expansion in margins.
Average revenue per user rose to 218.80 rupees, as the company launched promotional offers for fixed broadband customers while improving its subscriber mix amid higher usage.
Monthly churn remained stable at 1.6% and the company added 9.1 million subscribers on a net basis during the quarter.
Consolidated net profit rose to 83.89 billion rupees ($882.82 million) from 73.79 billion rupees a year earlier. Revenue from operations rose 11.4% to 404.75 billion rupees.
($1 = 95.0250 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Chandini Monnappa in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)
((Chandini.M@thomsonreuters.com; https://www.linkedin.com/in/chandini-monnappa-8a37b013b/;))
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