Direct-to-home service provider Dish TV's loss widened to Rs 32.32 crore for the first quarter ended June 30 due to sluggish growth in subscriber numbers and foreign exchange losses.
The company's net loss stood at Rs 18.32 crore in the same quarter last year.
"The loss of Rs 32.3 crore was adversely impacted by foreign exchange loss of Rs 13.8 crore...The first quarter witnessed a partial comeback post the sluggishness before that," Dish TV Managing Director Jawahar Goel said in a statement.
"However, enhanced consumer demand owing to digitisation is yet to fully reflect in acquisition numbers," Goel added.
On sequential basis, the net loss is lower as it stood at Rs 49.02 crore in the January-March 2012 quarter.
DTH companies import set top boxes, which are essential for offering services. With rupee nosediving to 57 per dollar from 45 level last year, the cost of importing STBs went up for service providers.
Dish TV's total income from operations rose 12 per cent to Rs 519.96 crore for the quarter as compared to Rs 463.44 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.
Subscription revenues for the quarter stood at Rs 455.6 crore, a growth of 16.2 per cent as compared to the corresponding period last fiscal, the company said.
Dish TV added 5.04 lakh new subscribers in the quarter ended June 30, 2012, taking its total base to 1.34 crore (gross) and 0.98 crore (net) subscribers.
The company's subscriber acquisition cost (SAC) was also higher at Rs 2,145 compared to Rs 2,127 in the January-March 2012 quarter.
"Mandatory digitisation, though deferred by four months, raises the bar for quality television viewing while promising to correct the ills associated with analog cable...Though the postponement of the deadline came as a negative surprise, we hope that the October 30 timeline will be adhered to," said Subhash Chandra, Chairman, Dish TV India.
He added that some restraint in customer demand in the short-term cannot be ruled out.
"However, the net impact going forward is going to be average revenue per user (ARPU) accretive. Moreover, with digitisation around the corner, subscription revenues are expected to increase as viewers sample better content on their television," said Goel.
The government, at its end, has been sending firm signals to the industry that there would be no further extension of the deadline, he added.
