Network18 turns in steady operating performance for Q1FY14

The company's Q1FY14 PAT stood at R. 19 crore against a Q1FY13 loss of Rs 90 crore

BestMediaInfo Bureau | Delhi | July 30, 2013

The Network18 Group yesterday announced its results for the quarter ending June 30, 2013, today. Consolidated operating revenues for the quarter stood at Rs 556.6 crore on a reported basis. The company turned in a PAT of Rs 18.9 crore for the quarter.

Reported revenues for the television and motion pictures business (including IndiaCast) stood at Rs 396.2 crore for the quarter. Advertising revenues grew 6 per cent y-o-y. Net distribution income grew 32 per cent sequentially to Rs 34.9 crore this quarter, swinging from a loss of Rs 16 crore during Q1FY14. Reported operating profit for the quarter stood at Rs 23.8 crore, up 57 per cent over previous year. The company turned in a profit of Rs 5.9 crore after tax for the quarter on the back of a significantly deleveraged balance sheet as compared to a loss of Rs. 23.5 crores in the previous year.

The digital content and eCommerce business grew to Rs 106.9 crore, registering a growth of 174 per cent over the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal (adjusted for the sale of Newswire18).

The company entered into an agreement with OCP Asia Ltd to raise growth capital of $30 million in its premier virtual commerce business – HomeShop18. During the quarter, it profitably sold its entire stake in a Capital18 portfolio company, Webchutney.

Raghav Bahl, Managing Director, Network18, said, “The macroeconomic environment continues to be challenging and growth prospects remain uncertain. Despite this backdrop, our core TV and Digital businesses turned in a steady performance. We continued the profitable monetisation of our investments and raised growth capital in HomeShop18. There were pockets of weaknesses in our portfolio and we are committed to improving segments that are not meeting expectations. We have a strong portfolio of media businesses and remain confident of unlocking their value for our stakeholders.”

B Saikumar, Group CEO, said, “The core Television and Digital businesses got off to a stable start in the new fiscal year. Our entertainment broadcasting business showed strength and the ecommerce businesses grew strongly. While our news and infotainment businesses have seen distinct softness in advertising, our entertainment businesses led by Colors have performed well on this front. Motion pictures have seen losses this quarter and the management is confident of stemming them in the immediate term. Net distribution revenues from IndiaCast are on a strong growth trajectory and we continue to be enthused by its growth potential. Our e-commerce businesses continued their stellar growth and the digital content business grew steadily as well. We remain confident of delivering a strong year ahead.”

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