Dish TV posts net profit of Rs 409 million in Q1 FY17

EBITDA of Rs 2,646 million is up 12.2 per cent y-o-y, while EBITDA margin stands at 34 per cent

BestMediaInfo Bureau | Mumbai | July 29, 2016

Dish TV India, the direct-to-home service provider from Zee Network Enterprise, posted a net profit of Rs 409 million in Q1 FY17. The profit before tax stood at Rs 631 million.

EBITDA for the quarter stood at Rs 2,646 million, compared to Rs 2,357 million in the corresponding quarter last fiscal. The EBITDA margin was 34 per cent.

Consolidated subscription revenues stood at Rs 7,282 million, up 6.7 per cent y-o-y. On a like-to-like basis the growth in subscription revenues is 12.3 per cent y-o-y.

The operating revenues stood at Rs 7,786 million. On a like-to-like basis, the growth in operating revenues is 10.9 per cent y-o-y.

The DTH provider had an average revenue per user (ARPU) of Rs 174, on a like-to-like basis.

Dish TV had 402,000 net subscriber additions during the quarter. The closing net subscriber base stands at 14.9 million.

With effect from April 1, 2016, the company harmonised the accounting of entertainment tax in line with industry practice. Prior to such a change, entertainment tax was part of the operating expenditure and is now netted-off against subscription revenues.

Global macro remains cloaked in uncertainties. However, with India getting closer to being the world's fastest growing economy in 2016, its attractiveness from a growth standpoint has become even better. The state of the economy is critical for the success of any business.

Jawahar Goel

Jawahar Goel, Chairman and Managing Director, Dish TV, elaborated, “With the government working on roads, railways, power and other infrastructure and with global energy prices remaining low, the Indian consumer's propensity to consume is definitely on the rise. Add to that normal monsoon conditions, the government's notification of the 7th Pay Commission recommendations and you have all the ingredients needed to boost demand and spending. This is good news for service industries like ours.”

Fiscal 2017 started on an optimistic note for the Indian pay DTH industry. While the Delhi High Court is likely to take up hearing of the digitisation Phase III matter in August this year, cable operators may have no option than to digitise remaining analog cable networks as the Central Government gears up to auction 700 MHz spectrum to telecom operators. The government is also contemplating utilisation of 200 MHz airwaves for mobile telephony.

“Buoyed by digitisation, notwithstanding the relative seasonal weakness in Q1, the industry collectively added around 15 per cent higher subscribers compared to the same quarter last fiscal. Dish TV maintained its lead in incremental subscriber additions during the quarter. Our strengthened distribution in DAS Phase III and IV areas along with the popularity of the Dish TV Insta Care – four-Hour Service Assurance Campaign were instrumental in helping us maintain an edge over competition. Our regional and mass-market offerings continued to remain crowd-pullers in respective geographies,” added Goel.

Discussing the results, Goel said, “Healthy subscriber additions led to a 12.3 per cent y-o-y increase in subscription revenues (on a like-to-like basis). EBITDA margin bounced to 34 per cent from 32 per cent in the corresponding quarter last fiscal. Net profit for the quarter was Rs 409 million leading to FCF generation of Rs 627 million. Churn for the quarter at 0.7 per cent p.m. remained well within manageable limits.”

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