Reliance Jio Infocomm, India’s biggest telecom carrier by subscribers, reported its slowest profit growth in seven quarters on Friday (Oct 27), hurt by higher expenses and a lack of recent tariff hikes.

Jio, the telecom arm of Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries, said net profit rose 12 per cent to 50.58 billion rupees (S$833 million) in the second quarter.

The company said revenue from operations climbed 9.9 per cent to 247.5 billion rupees. However, expenses jumped 9 per cent to 180.63 billion rupees.

Jio did not announce any tariff hikes in the quarter.

It is looking to further boost user growth with the recent launch of a 4G budget-friendly phone and wireless broadband Jio AirFiber. REUTERS