Reliance Q3 Results Highlights: Net profit rises 9% to ₹17,265 crore, Retail revenue crosses ₹80,000 crore

We will now wrap the blog. Good night, folks!

The company said its outstanding debt rose to ₹3.11 lakh crore from ₹2.95 lakh crore in September-end.

Profits from the retail business climbed 40% to ₹3,165 crore as store count rose to 18,774 from 18,650. Store footfalls surged to 282 million from 260 million in July-September 2023 and 201 million in October-December 2022. Grocery delivered 1% growth while festival sales led to robust demand across categories.

Jio Platforms reported an 11.6% year-on-year rise in consolidated net profit for the December quarter at ₹5,445 crore. The gross revenue of Jio Platforms climbed 11.4% to ₹32,510 crore for the just-ended quarter. Jio’s Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) increased 2% year-on-year to ₹181.7 with a better subscriber mix partially offset by unlimited data allowance on the 5G network.

“Even the Jio numbers tell you that close to 15% plus of the overall revenue is coming from 5G which has yet not been priced as per market if you ask me. So there’s enough room for an ARPU hike, a price hike which could lead to some improvement in ARPUs, which has not yet happened. It could probably be in the second half, but then that’s more driven by competitive pressures.”

Network18’s TV News bouquet was the highest-reach news network in the country, connecting with 175 million people on a weekly basis. The network had an all-India viewership share of 10.6%1 with leading channels in the biggest markets – News18 India (Hindi primetime) and CNN News18 (English) and CNBC TV18 (English Business).

TV network share increased by 30 bps Q-o-Q to 10.8%, driven by the strong performance of Hindi GEC and Movie channels. Colors continued on the upward trajectory, exiting the year with 207 GRPs (U15+), the highest viewership since FY21. With leadership in 3 primetime slots, #1 non-fiction show (Bigg Boss S17), and 6 of India’s Top15 most-viewed shows, Colors has been the fastest-growing channel in the genre during the year.

Colors Cineplex saw a 160bps Q-o-Q growth in viewership, helping it climb to #4 position in the Hindi movie genre, driven by the premier of popular movies as well as the airing of the T20 cricket series (India vs Australia). Colors Kannada continued to be a strong #2 player, delivering a 350 bps Q-o-Q growth in viewership.

Entertainment business operating revenue declined 12% due to the movie and sports segments. Sports revenue was lower as the base quarter had FIFA World Cup 2022.

Digital ad revenue saw strong growth driven by impact properties like Bigg Boss and Temptation Island. TV Entertainment advertising revenue was flat despite having lower non-fiction content than last year.

TV news business revenue was up 23% Y-o-Y, driven by the strong growth in advertising revenue across clusters. Digital News business delivered 20% growth in revenue, driven by IP events and video monetization across digital platforms

The business delivered strong operating performance across verticals, however, revenue from operations was down by 4.1% Y-o-Y to ₹1,774 crore, primarily due to lower Movie Studio revenue.

Reliance BP Mobility Ltd (RBML) (operating under brand Jio-bp), running 1,698 country-wide networks, is serves high-performance HSD & MS powered by bespoke developed active technology at prevailing market price across the network.

RBML has launched the country’s only loyalty program focused on truck drivers under Reward Meter. Sales volume grew significantly for HSD and MS on a Y-o-Y basis.

“Interestingly, the O2C business, while it might have the maintenance shutdown in this quarter which has had this impact and was anticipated and of course, refining margins have also contributed to that softness, it’s actually on a year-on-year basis very impressive. So what it tells you is that gas which was not such a big piece has started contributing to that apart from the softness in margins getting offset with this. So I think it’s a wonderful performance.”

“Look at the kind of trend that is getting very well established and well seated, the consumer-facing businesses about seven years back were just is about 15% of contribution to EBITDA, which is now almost 50%. Now that means that you know, if you go back to the last year’s AGM, where Mukesh Ambani said that retail is going to be the fastest growing piece in this whole business conglomerate, you will see retail actually march ahead in spite of all the weakness in mass consumption and you could keep on arguing about how things are seriously not yet come back in terms of demand.”

The valuation of Reliance Industries’ retail was ₹8.28 lakh crore, about $100 billion, chairman Mukesh Ambani said in August 2023. In the financial year ending March 2023, the retail revenue for Reliance was ₹2.6 lakh crore. Read More here

“Reliance Retail has delivered a strong performance during the festive quarter. Our business success is intricately woven into the larger fabric of India’s economic growth, and together, we are shaping a compelling story of innovation and world-class possibilities for the future. We remain resolute in our commitment to bring high-quality products at great value to our customers with an engaging shopping experience.”

JioMart Digital business continued its growth journey and expanded its merchant partner base by 34% Y-o-Y.

Own brands or PBG business further scales up with its merchant count up 2.6x Y-o-Y. The business launched several new products across UHD television, refrigerator, and small domestic appliance categories.

The consumer electronics business delivered 19% Y-o-Y growth over last year on the back of higher basket value and improved conversions.

Fashion & lifestyle business delivers 28% Y-o-Y growth led by higher footfalls and conversions, as customers shopped for the festive season.

Consumer brands delivered 3x Y-o-Y growth in revenues and distribution reach, with categories like beverages, general merchandise and staples driving the growth momentum.

JioMart also strengthened its catalogue with option count scaling up 84% Y-o-Y and seller base expanding by more than 3x over last year.

JioMart delivers steady growth led by an increase in traffic and average order value as customers continue to shop across categories on the platform, with F&L and CDIT outperforming.

Grocery delivered 41% Y-o-Y growth with an uptick led by festive demand.

Digital commerce and new commerce businesses continued to grow and contributed to 19% of revenue.

The quarter recorded footfalls of over 282 million across formats, a growth of 40.3% Y-o-Y.

The business expanded its store network with 252 new store openings taking the total store count at the end of the quarter to 18,774 stores with an area of 72.9 million sq ft.