Jio’s Growth Slows Down, But Investment And Hiring Remain Strong

Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries has been doing well, reporting a 39 per cent increase in revenue and a 17 per cent growth in profits, but it’s telecom subsidiary Jio’s performance has left many disappointed, reports Mint. While other segments reported steady growth and profits – 87 per cent year-on-year for the petrochemicals business and 291 per cent in retail – Jio’s growth in the last quarter has slowed down from 11.9 per cent in December to 3.6 per cent.

Jio had a capital expenditure (capex) of Rs 14,000 crore in the fiscal ending March 2018, double that of its previous two quarters of Rs 7,000 crore. Jio’s capex over the last three months has been Rs 28,000 crore while its revenues have been Rs 20,154 crore. However, Jio remains far ahead of its competition in 4G data services primarily because other providers such as Idea have shown balance sheet constraints.

While analysts have anticipated growth, Jio’s tariff cuts in January have hit its revenue hard.

However, sluggish growth doesn’t seem to deter the 4G-only provider at all. PTI reports that Jio plans to hire around 75,000 to 80,000 people during the incumbent financial year. The company currently employs 1,57,000 people with an attrition rate of 32 per cent, mostly in the sales and technical roles.

Jio has also partnered with 6,000 colleges, offering embedded courses that keep students ‘Reliance ready’ according to the company’s human resources head.

Jio’s capex is expected to remain high as it increases its revenue through Jio Prime subscriptions and increases the number of base stations to increase signal strength. The addition of Anil Ambani-led Reliance Communications’ assets will only strengthen its presence.