Dish TV India Q1 loss down to Rs 30.4 cr yoy

Company posted revenue of Rs 578.4 cr for Q1 FY14

Direct to home service provider Dish TV India Limited narrowed its losses for Q1 FY14 to Rs 30.4 crore from Rs 32.3 in the first quarter of the previous fiscal (narrowed by 5.88%).

The company posted revenue of Rs 578.4 crore for the first quarter of the current fiscal (Q1 FY14). This corresponds to growth of 11.2% over the first quarter of the first fiscal (Rs 520 crore).   

 

Subscription revenues for the quarter stood at Rs 528 crore, up 15.9% from Q1 FY13's Rs 455.5 crore. EBIDTA for the quarter was Rs 12.17 crore and the EBIDTA margin was 21%. the average revenue per user (ARPU) grew from Rs. 156 in Q1 FY13 to Rs 165 in the quarter ended June 30, 2013.

 

The DTH service provider added 20 lakh net subscribers to its base in the first quarter of FY14 and reported decrease in churn.

 

“Too much focus on box seeding has diluted the addressability part of the digitization mandate. In such a scenario, Dish TV’s focus on quality additions is a counter-intuitive move which has started delivering encouraging results. The first quarter saw the company deliver strong free cash flows while maintaining healthy customer retention and investing in brand equity,”  said Subhash Chandra, Chairman, Dish TV India Limited.

 

The company saw an increase in expenses from Rs 515.6 crore in Q1 FY13 to Rs 601 crore in Q1 FY14. The main reason behind this being an increase in the programming and content cost which went up from Rs 151 crore in the first quarter of last fiscal to Rs 191.5 crore in Q1 FY14. Other ares where expenses borne increased include purchase in stock trade, changes in inventories of stock trade,  licensing fees and selling/distribution costs.

 

In a statement it issued, Dish TV said that it intends to sustain focus on strengthening the balance sheet, and looks forward to retiring a significant portion of its outstanding debt. The company is well positioned, through its internal accruals, to repay approximately Rs. 7,500 million of outstanding debt through the current fiscal.

 

Jawahar Goel, Managing Director, Dish TV, said, “In line with our expectations, pack price hikes and improved subscriber quality in the recent months resulted in a strengthened ARPU. ARPU for the quarter increased 5.1% to Rs. 165 resulting in a 15.9% YoY increase in subscription revenues. The resultant free cash flow of Rs. 484 million compares favorably with Rs. 220 million in the fourth quarter and Rs. 650 million for the whole of fiscal 2013. On the expenses front, higher investment in  marketing, brand building and seasonal sports driven content along with the impact of a weak rupee on dollar denominated costs, resulted in a sequentially flat EBITDA margin”

 

Dish TV added 5 new HD channels with effect from April, 2013. With this addition, Dish TV offers the highest number of 25 HD channels and 17 HD services on its platform.