Lakshmana Venkat Kuchi
Posting more than street estimated results, the Mukesh Ambani owned Reliance Industries on Friday declared a phenomenal 77 percent rise in net profits in the first quarter of current financial year, on the strength of the sale of stake in Asian Paints.
Net profits during the first quarter touched Rs 26,994 crore and revenue rose by 5.3 percent to Rs 2.5 lakh crore, driven by digital and retail revenues.
The Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITA) margin of the company increased to 17.25 per cent from 16.41, according to a company release issued on Friday late evening.
Company Chairman and Managing Director, Mukesh Ambani said in a statement, “The performance of our businesses and growth initiatives gives me confidence that Reliance will continue its stellar track record of doubling every 4-5 years.”
He further explained, “During the quarter, energy markets encountered heightened uncertainty, with sharp fluctuations in crude prices. Our O2C business delivered strong growth, with thrust on domestic demand fulfillment and offering value-added solutions through the Jio-bp network. Performance was supported by improvement in fuel and downstream product margins. Natural decline in KGD6 gas production resulted in marginally lower EBITDA for the Oil & Gas segment.”
“Reliance has begun FY26 with a robust, all-round operational and financial performance. Consolidated EBITDA for 1Q FY26 improved strongly from a year-ago period, despite significant volatility in global macros,” the company CMD Mukesh Ambani said.
Jio Platforms
When it came to the company’s telecom division, Jio Platforms, its onward march continues with its PAT rising by 24.8 percent YoY to Rs 7110 crore from Rs 5,698 crore in Quarter 1 of last financial year 2025. Revenue from operations too registered a 19 percent year-on-year jump to come at Rs 35,032 crore from Rs 29,449 crore in the same quarter of the previous financial year, the company press statement said.
Elaborating the reasons for this strong show the company said that it was aided by strong subscriber growth momentum across mobility and homes, increased customer engagement and growth in the digital services business. Jio added 9.9 million subscribers taking the total to 498.1 million end June ’25. JioTrue5G user base at 212 million; Crossed the 200-million milestone and JioAirFiber emerged as the world’s largest FWA service with a subscriber base of ~7.4 million. And Jio also launched the JioGames Cloud with 500+ titles.
“Jio has scaled newer heights during the quarter, including crossing 200 million 5G subscribers and 20 million home connects. Jio AirFiber is now the largest FWA service provider in the world, with a base of 7.4 million subscribers,” Mukesh Ambani said, and added, “Through its differentiated offerings across mobility, broadband, enterprise connectivity, cloud and smart homes, Jio has positioned itself as the technology partner of choice for Indian consumers.”
Mr. Akash M Ambani, Chairman of Reliance Jio Infocomm, said, Jio continues to bring next generation services for its users with the launch of the JioGames Cloud and the JioPC bundle at affordable prices to drive adoption of digital services in India. Jio continues to create unparalleled technology infrastructure and is extending its leadership in 5G and fixed broadband. This will be pivotal in driving AI adoption in the country”.
Retail Roar
In retail too the behemoth continued its impressive performance. It said in its statement that, “Reliance Retail expanded its store network with 388 new store openings, taking the total store count to 19,592, with area under operation at 77.6 million sq. ft. JioMart continues to expand quick hyper local deliveries, registering 68 per cent QoQ growth and 175 per cent YoY growth of daily orders. Reliance retail remained India’s one of the most preferred retailers with registered customer base growing to 358 million. JioMart’s quick delivery daily orders grow 68% Q-o-Q 175% Y-o-Y.
Reliance Retail too exhibited resilient performance for the quarter, with PAT jumping 28.3 per cent YoY to ₹3,271 crore and revenue from operations climbing 11.3 per cent YoY to ₹73,720 crore.
“We are focusing on strengthening the portfolio of own FMCG brands, which resonate with the tastes of Indian consumers. Our Retail business continues to enhance its ability to fulfil everyday as well as specialised needs of all customer cohorts, through a multi-channel approach,” said Mukesh Ambani.
Isha M. Ambani, Executive Director, Reliance Retail Ventures Limited, said “Reliance Retail delivered resilient performance during this quarter driven by our relentless focus on operational excellence, geographical expansion and sharper product portfolio. Our continued investments in cutting-edge technologies and differentiated product offerings have enabled us to serve our customers better and scale with agility”.
O2C Delivers Strong Growth
In O2C (oils to chemicals) businesses, favourable margins improve EBITA, despite fluctuating crude oil prices.
The company said a decline in crude oil prices and lower volumes due to a planned shutdown impacted the segment’s revenue. EBITDA improved due to favourable margins on domestic fuel retail and improvements in transportation fuel cracks, and PP and PVC deltas.
“Our O2C business delivered strong growth, with a thrust on domestic demand fulfillment and offering value-added solutions through the Jio-bp network. Performance was supported by improvement in fuel and downstream product margins. Natural decline in KGD6 gas production resulted in marginally lower EBITDA for the oil and gas segment,” said the Reliance Chairman.
But revenue of the Oil & Gas segment decreased 1.2 per cent YoY to ₹6,103 crore, mainly on account of lower sales volume of KGD6 gas in line with natural decline in production, said the company. This segment was impacted by lower gasprice and lower crude price realisation, the company said. EBITDA declined 4.1 per cent YoY to ₹4,996 crore due to lower revenues and higher operating costs led by maintenance activity. Which resulted in EBITDA margin’s decline to 81.9 percent.
Media Matters
But on the television front, JioStar performed significantly well, earning record revenues of Rs 11,222 crore with EBITDA of ₹1,017 crore for Q1FY26. This was possible due to the successful IPL that drove strong growth in TV and digital platforms.
The company attributed this remarkable growth, achieving a subscriber base of 28.7 crore during IPL on JioHotstar and reaching over 80 crore people on TV during the quarter. With key launches, sustained leadership across markets, and a strategic entry into the FTA Hindi GEC space, the network further consolidated its position with a 35.5 per cent Entertainment TV share, the company said.
Ahead In The New Energy Race
Racing ahead in the field of New Energy projects, the company is on track to achieve its targeted capacity of 55 CBG plants by the end of this year.
“This will be the world’s most advanced in technology and most integrated manufacturing ecosystem and largest at scale outside China,” the company said, and added that it was setting up a dedicated transmission line from Kutch to Jamnagar.
