RIL Q2 result: Consumer business now contributes one-third of quarterly EBITDA, says CFO

Reliance Industries' (RIL) quarterly revenue from the retail business has hit an all-time high and is growing faster than any other player in India, said Chief Financial Officer Alok Agarwal in a media address following RIL’s Q2FY20 results announcement on October 18.

Agarwal pointed out that the consumer business formed nearly one-third of the Q2 earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), with the segment witnessing a healthy growth.

The company is benefitting from operational efficiencies and seeing strong growth and margin expansion in the fashion and grocery segment, he said, adding, it has also crossed the milestone of Rs 40,000 crore quarterly revenues and hopes to provide wider choices to consumers.

A record 337 new retail stores have been added in this quarter, Agarwal said. A footfall of over 150 million in the company’s stores and increase in loyalty customers to 108 million this quarter was another milestone achievement, he added.

“The company is growing both in geography as well as in terms of products we offer in our stores,” he said.

On the subject of growth seen in its telecom arm, Agarwal said Jio is now the undisputed leader in India, both in terms of the number of subscribers and in revenue.

Also read | Reliance Jio earnings: Q2 net profit rises 45.4% to Rs 990 crore

"It is a matter of great pride to announce that Jio is now the second-largest single country operator in the world,” he said. All this has been achieved in exactly three years from the time it was launched.

Another big step for the company was the recent launch of the Jio Gigafiber across 1,600 cities. It received a tremendous response with a lot of people registering to avail the service.

He emphasised that the company continues to build its consumer businesses which are already world-scale. The move to engage in a strategic partnership with Aramco is another crucial step with respect to its energy business.

Disclaimer: Reliance Industries Ltd, which also owns Jio, is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd.