Dish TV registers Rs 2.87 cr loss in Q3

Direct-to-home (DTH) services provider Dish TV India reported a standalone net loss of Rs 2.87 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2014.
The Zee group firm had a standalone net loss of Rs 38.25 crore for the October-December quarter of the last fiscal.
Dish TV's net sales in the quarter under review stood at Rs 711.22 crore as against Rs 609.73 crore in the same quarter a year ago, the company said in a filing with the BSE.
The DTH operator added 4.16 lakh new connections in the quarter under review, taking the total subscriber base to 12.5 million. Its ARPU (average revenue per user) has also increased to Rs 177 per month during the period.

"Dish TV recorded marked improvements in its key financials while maintaining market supremacy during the third quarter of fiscal 2015. Overall, the DTH industry led by Dish TV recorded a healthy 29 per cent Y-o-Y growth in gross additions compared to the corresponding quarter last fiscal," Dish TV Chairman Subhash Chandra said.
The company is exploring the possibilities of domestic manufacturing of set-top-boxes (STB) through its proposed subsidiary Dish Infra Services.

"We are closely watching the turn of events and would take a decision on the basis of tax regime for local manufacturing that might be modified by the government in the days ahead," said Dish TV Managing Director Jawahar Goel.

On the outlook of the company, Dish TV CEO R C Venkateish said the growth momentum would continue in the next quarter.
"The cricket world cup is going to start, it would help in adding new subscriptions," he said.
The company said its third quarter results were not comparable with the previous one as it was changing the consumer premises equipment (CPE) activated on or after April 1, 2012.
"Since the correction was carried out during the quarter ended March 31, 2014, the figures for the quarter and nine months period ended December 31, 2013 are not comparable," the company.

Shares of Dish TV on BSE closed at Rs 74.35, 4.5 per cent higher than its previous close.