India's Reliance Jio posts smallest profit rise in seven quarters

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

Jio, the telecom arm of Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambanis Reliance Industries (RELI.NS), said net profit rose 12% to 50.58 billion rupees ($608 million) in the second quarter.

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

Reliance Industries is scheduled to report its results later in the day.

($1 = 83.2150 Indian rupees)