BENGALURU: Last fiscal and quarter (year and quarter ended 31 March, 2015, Q4-2015), the Subhash Chandra led Essel groups DTH operator Dish TV Limited (Dish TV) turned the corner with a consolidated PAT of Rs 3.14 crore and Rs 34.94 crore (margin 4.8 per cent) respectively.
Dish TV was probably the first among listed DTH companies in the country in FY-2015 and Q4-2015 to report a profit after tax as opposed to the operating profits reported by a segment of the other goliaths for whom DTH services is just another small segment.
This quarter (quarter ended 30 June, 2015, Q1-2016), the company has reported 55.2 per cent higher PAT at Rs 54.21 (margin 7.4 per cent) as compared to the above mentioned PAT in Q4-2015. The company had reported a loss of Rs 14.97 crore in Q1-2015.
Note: (1)100,00,000 = 100 Lakh = 10 million = 1 crore
(2) With effect from April 1, 2015, Dish TV says that it has started netting-off certain collection fees paid to its trade partners from its topline. This has resulted in the company’s topline getting shrunk by around 4 percent, with a similar number being decreased from the middle line. The values for the prior comparative periods have also been recast to reflect the same.
(3) Dish TV recently transferred its non-core business (including set-top boxes, dish antenna and related services) to its wholly owned subsidiary Dish Infra Services Private Limited (formerly known as Xingmedia Distribution Private Limited) on April 1, 2015 on a going concern basis. The Company today reported its maiden consolidated quarterly numbers.
The company reported addition of 3,90,000 net subscribers in Q1-2016, taking its total subscriber base to 1.33 crore as on 30 June, 2015. Post consolidation, Dish TV says that Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) was Rs 173 versus Rs 172 (q-o-q) in Q4-2015. ARPU however would have been Rs 180, as compared to Rs 179 in Q4-2015, without the effect of consolidation. The company reported consolidated subscription revenues at Rs. 628.88 crore, up 20.6 percent y-o-y.
The company reported 0.9 per cent higher consolidated net total Income from Operations (TIO) in the current quarter at Rs 736.68 crore as compared to the Rs 729.93 crore in the immediate trailing quarter and was 19.2 per cent more than the Rs 618.04 crore in Q1-2015.
Dish TV chairman Subhash Chandra said, “Dish TV has been actively contributing to the ‘Digital India’ movement by digitizing analog TV homes in DAS phase 3 and 4 markets and remains optimistic about its prospects to acquire a substantial share in these markets. Continuing its focus on growth with profitability, the company delivered another quarter of encouraging financial results.”
Let us look at the other numbers reported by Dish TV
Dish TV total expenditure in Q1-2016 at Rs 659.69 crore (89.5 per cent of TIO) was 0.7 percent lower than the Rs 664.08 crore (91 per cent of TIO) in Q4-2015 and was 8.7 per cent more than the Rs 606.80 crore (98.2 per cent of TIO) in Q1-2015.
A major expense head is programming /content and other costs (content costs). In Q1-2016 content cost at Rs 212.01 crore (28.8 per cent of TIO) was 2.1 per cent more than the Rs 207.62 crore (28.4 per cent of TIO) and was 5.3 per cent more than the Rs 201.39 crore (32.6 per cent of TIO) in Q1-2015.
Employee Benefit Expense (EBE) in Q1-2016 at Rs 34.67 crore (4.7 per cent of TIO) was 39.7 per cent more than the Rs 24.81 crore (3.4 per cent of TIO) an was 34.8 per cent more than the Rs 25.72 crore (4.2 per cent of TIO) in the corresponding year ago quarter.
Dish TV managing director Jawahar Goel said, “Our first quarter results are in line with the success of our regional and high definition (HD) strategy. Our regional offering, Zing, would soon be launched in Kerala and would carry the largest cache of vernacular channels offered in that market. Zing cemented Dish TV’s supremacy in the DAS Phase 3 and 4 markets with custom-made content, hardware and service packages for the regional audience. High definition continues to be a value driver and a key differentiator for us compared to other DTH offerings in India. Dish TV’s industry leading bandwidth capacity supports 42 HD channels, the largest on offer by any distribution platform so far.”
“Led by robust subscriber additions and an improving ARPU, subscription revenues for the quarter increased 20.6 per cent over the corresponding quarter last fiscal. EBITDA of Rs 2,368 million recorded a significant 51.3 per cent jump over the corresponding quarter. Net Profit for the quarter was Rs 54.2 crore compared to a loss of Rs 15 crore in the first quarter last fiscal. The resultant free cash flow was Rs 68.9 crore. Amid improving financial performance, churn for the quarter remained steady at 0.7 per cent per month,” added Goel.
