MUMBAI: Zee Group-promoted multi-system operator (MSO) Siti Cable continues to be in the red with the fiscal third quarter consolidated net loss widening 47 per cent to Rs 185.7 million from Rs 126.5 million a quarter earlier on rise in expenses due to digitisation.
Siti Cable’s consolidated operating profit for the quarter, however, increased 7 per cent to Rs 202.5 million from Rs. 189.3 million a quarter earlier.
The consolidated operating revenues for the third quarter rose 33 per cent to Rs 1.24 billion from Rs 935.3 million a quarter earlier.
Operating revenue is primarily generated from subscriber related income, income from bandwidth charges, income from advertisements and set-top-box (STB) activation.
Total consolidated operating expenses for the quarter stood at Rs 1.04 billion, a 23 per cent increase from Rs 850.6 million a quarter earlier.
The company’s main operating expenses include cost of goods and services, employee costs and selling & distribution expenses.
Major cost item was cost of goods & services recorded as Rs 768 million during the third quarter, representing 62 per cent of the total revenue. It increased 24 per cent from Rs 621.5 million a quarter earlier, when it was 60 per cent of the total revenue then.
Siti Cable COO Anil Malhotra commented, “Siti gained further momentum in the third quarter of fiscal 2013. We were able to maintain our margins through operational efficiency improvements despite increased operating expenses."
Malhotra said that the company had seeded 1.5 million set top boxes (STBs) during Phase-1 of digitisation in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata and had added approximately 700,000 STBs during the third quarter.
The STB seeding done by the company is under the paid scheme and the payments were realised on upfront basis, Malhotra said.
“We are now in exciting phase of our journey as we strengthen our existing operations and expand our digital subscriber base in phase-2 cities as well. We believe that experiences gathered from Phase 1 will form the basis for phase-2 switch-over to digital, helping to speed up the exercise eventually,” he said.
