UPDATE 1 — India's Jio Financial posts higher adjusted profit on lending growth

(Adds details throughout) Oct 15 (Reuters) — Jio Financial Services reported a surge in adjusted operating profit for the second quarter on Thursday, as the Indian firm benefited from growth in its lending operations. The company, which listed in 2023 after a demerger from Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries, said its operating profit before provisions and excluding dividend income rose 85% year-on-year to 5.74 billion rupees ($60.39 million). Profit after tax, however, fell 51% to 3.40 billion rupees as the year-ago quarter included dividend income of 2.69 billion rupees. Credit demand in India has remained strong, supported by household borrowing for consumption, corporate borrowing for business needs and lenders' expansion of small-business lending. Jio Financial Services has been expanding its lending, payments, insurance distribution and asset management businesses since its demerger, leveraging its backing from the Reliance group and access to the wider Jio ecosystem. The company's total revenue from operations rose 73% to 16.99 billion rupees in the September quarter from 9.81 billion rupees a year earlier. In August, Bank of America agreed to invest up to