Reliance Industries has kicked off FY26 with a bang. The company’s Q1 net profit jumped a massive 76.5% year-on-year to ₹30,783 crore. This huge jump was mainly because of the one-time gain from selling its stake in Asian Paints and the strong performance in its consumer businesses like retail and telecom.
Even without the Asian Paints deal, Reliance Industries showed strong growth. The recurring profit was up by 25%, which proves the company’s core business is doing well.
Retail and Jio lead the charge
The biggest winners this quarter were Reliance Retail and Jio Platforms. Retail revenue rose 11.3% to ₹84,171 crore. Reliance opened 388 new stores, taking the total to nearly 19,600 across India. The customer base is now at 358 million. Transactions rose 16.5%, showing people are shopping more at Reliance stores.
Jio added 9.9 million new subscribers. Its total subscriber base is now close to 500 million. With strong demand for JioTrue5G and JioAirFiber, Jio is now leading the fixed wireless access market globally. ARPU (average revenue per user) rose to ₹208.8. Data usage also saw a jump, with users consuming 37GB per month.
Entertainment and grocery also shine
JioStar, the media arm, had a solid IPL season. JioHotstar app downloads crossed 1 billion and total viewership hit 1.19 billion. The entertainment unit reported revenue of ₹11,222 crore.
Reliance is also making fast moves in online grocery. JioMart grew daily orders by 68% from last quarter and by 175% compared to last year.
Oil-to-chemicals slows, but margins rise
The traditional oil-to-chemicals business saw a small dip in revenue, down 1.5% to ₹1.55 lakh crore. This was mainly due to lower oil prices and some planned shutdowns. Still, EBITDA grew 11% because of better fuel margins in India.
Oil & gas segment struggles
The oil and gas division had a tough quarter. Revenue fell 1.2% and profit dropped 4.1%. Output from the KG-D6 block was lower, and prices for CBM were down too. But the company is planning new exploration to improve this.
New energy future looks bright
Reliance is building its new energy business for long-term growth. It is investing in clean energy and aims to become self-funded soon. The company believes this segment will drive long-lasting value.
Debt and spending
Capital expenditure was ₹29,887 crore in the quarter. Net debt rose slightly to ₹1.17 lakh crore.
Chairman Mukesh Ambani called it a “robust start to the year,” with growth across businesses despite global economic issues.
Also Read Reliance Retail Acquires Kelvinator to Strengthen Home Appliance Business
