Ortel posts Rs 4 cr net profit in Dec quarter

Firm had posted at Rs 10 cr loss a year ago; turnaround due to expanding subscriber base, healthy growth in broadband business

Cable television and broadband service provider Ortel Communications posted a net profit of Rs 3.9 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2015 compared to a loss of Rs 10 lakh in the year-ago period. The profit was on the back of its expanding subscriber base and healthy growth in broadband business.

Ortel's total income moved up 24 per cent in the period under review from Rs 40.4 crore to Rs 50.2 crore. Its EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) grew 29.7 per cent to Rs 18.7 crore from Rs 14.4 crore. EBITDA margin stood at 37.3 per cent.

"Our key strategy of LCO (local cable operators) buyout is receiving huge response in our markets. Healthy addition to RGUs (revenue generating units) has led to strong growth of 38 per cent in bottomline on a quarter-on-quarter basis. Given the strong pipeline of RGUs yet to be integrated, we are confident of improving upon this solid performance in the coming quarters", a company release said, quoting Bibhu Prasad Rath, president and chief executive officer, Ortel Communications Ltd.

In the April-December period of this fiscal, Ortel registered 22.3 per cent growth in its total income from Rs 115.8 crore to Rs 141.6 crore. During this period, the company's EBITDA rose 33.6 per cent from Rs 38.8 crore to Rs 51.9 crore. In the same nine month period, the total RGUs additions stood at 96,364 compared to 14276 in 2014-15. Ortel executed network buyout agreements with multiple LCOs during the period.

In broadband business, the company recorded healthy growth, with a net addition of 9,190 subscribers in April-December period, taking the total broadband RGUs to 67,709. Ortel also launched Wi-Fi public hotspot services in busy locations in Bhubaneswar.