Reliance's initiatives in digital connectivity driving greater efficiencies in the economy: Mukesh Ambani

New Delhi, April 21 (IANS) Mukesh D. Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director, Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has said that Reliance's initiatives in digital connectivity and organised retail are driving greater efficiencies in the economy and contributing to India's emergence as one of the fastest growing economies in the world.

Commenting on the results, Ambani said Jio continues to digitally empower millions of citizens across the nation, extending True 5G reach to 2,300+ cities and towns in a short span of 6 months.

With steady growth in mobility and FTTH subscriber base and an expanding bouquet of content and digital services, the Jio business continues to deliver impressive growth in operating profits.

"Retail business registered excellent growth numbers backed by expansion of physical and digital footprint and a significant increase in footfall. We continue to expand our product base across consumption baskets, ensuring our customers get world-class products at affordable prices. Our retail team has an unwavering focus on enhancing consumer experience and ease of shopping," Ambani said.

Ambani said O2C segment posted its highest-ever operating profit despite global uncertainties and disruptions in commodity trade flows.

"Our oil and gas segment also delivered very strong growth and is now poised to contribute nearly 30 per cent of India's domestic gas production," Ambani said.

"This year we have proposed to demerge our financial services arm and list the new entity 'Jio Financial Services Ltd'. This gives our shareholders an opportunity to participate in an exciting new growth platform from inception," Ambani said.

"Implementation of our New Energy giga factories at Jamnagar is making significant progress. This puts us on track to achieve our goals of transitioning to cleaner energy and enabling sustainable growth. I believe Reliance's significant investments and strategic partnerships in the renewable energy vertical will help transform the energy landscape of India and the world, in the coming years," he said.

Isha M. Ambani, Executive Director, Reliance Retail Ventures Limited, said: "Reliance Retail continues on the path of registering industry leading growth year after year at a scale unmatched in India. At Reliance Retail we remain committed to delivering exceptional value to our customers while driving sustainable growth for our business and various stakeholders in the ecosystem. Our focus on customer-centricity backed by investments in technology, innovation and new business segments have helped us create operational excellence and steer the transformation of India's retail sector."

Reliance Retail delivered robust performance with another year of strong revenue growth and profit performance.

The business recorded Gross Revenue of Rs 2.60 lakh crore for FY23, a growth of 30 per cent over last year driven by broad based growth across consumption baskets.

The business continues its strong track record of profit growth registering an EBITDA of Rs 17,928 crore, higher by 45 per cent Y-o-Y. EBITDA before Investment Income was at Rs 17,609 crore, higher by 61 per cent Y-o-Y.

The business delivered robust LFL growth across consumption baskets on the back of high footfalls and conversions.

With focus on store network expansion, the business grew its store footprint across consumption baskets. This year the business opened over 3,300 stores, taking total count to 18,040 stores with a total area of 65.6 million sq. ft.

The year reflects an unprecedented growth of retail footprint as business has added 25 million sq ft store area representing more than 50 per cent growth of retail space Y-o-Y.

Investments in boosting supply chain infrastructure remained a priority to deepen warehousing and fulfillment capabilities with addition of 12.6 million sq. ft. of warehouse space during the year.

The business continued to innovate, launch and scale up new retail formats to serve diverse customer segments. The year witnessed number of such new format launches including Smart Bazaar, Azorte, Centro, Fashion Factory and Portico.

Leveraging omni channel capabilities, digital commerce platforms led by JioMart and AJIO sustained growth momentum and continued to serve customers far and wide.

New Commerce business continued to grow rapidly with expansion of its merchant partner network across geographies. The business crossed a milestone of 3 million merchant partners during the period.

Digital Commerce and New Commerce businesses contributed to 18 per cent of the revenue.

The business continued to attract and serve millions of customers across the country. The registered customer base grew to 249 million, a growth of 29 per cent Y-o-Y. The Total transactions crossed a milestone of 1 billion transactions, up 42 per cent Y-o-Y. Stores recorded footfalls of over 780 million, which were up 50 per cent Y-o-Y.

The business added new growth initiatives to its portfolio by foraying into FMCG and Beauty businesses.

The FMCG business launched several products during the year including 'Independence' brand and the iconic beverage brand, 'Campa'. The beauty business launched digital commerce platform 'Tira' and opened its flagship store in Mumbai. These businesses would be ramped up progressively in the coming period.