Dish TV post Rs 28 cr Q4 loss, subscription revenue falls 11%

Company adds 165,000 users, but revenues fall due to absence of a major cricketing event

Direct-to-home operator Dish TV India reported consolidated subscription revenues of Rs 620.5 crore and operating revenues of Rs 708.5 crore for the fourth quarter fiscal 2017. EBITDA for the quarter stood at Rs 190.5 crore compared to Rs 260.8 crore in the corresponding quarter last fiscal. EBITDA margin was recorded at 26.9 per cent compared to 32.6 per cent while net loss for the quarter was Rs 28.3 crore (including deferred tax assets of Rs 13 crore) as against net profit of Rs 482.8 crore (including deferred tax assets of Rs 436 crore) in the corresponding quarter last fiscal.

Subscription revenues during the quarter were lower by 11.1 per cent compared to the same quarter last year mainly due to the absence of a major cricketing event as well as package down gradation by existing subscribers. The company added 165,000 subscribers in the quarter under consideration.

For the fiscal 2017 the company's consolidated revenues stood at Rs 3014.4 crore, up 4.2 per cent y-o-y. EBITDA for the fiscal at Rs 972.8 crore was down 5.1 per cent Y-o-Y and net profit for the year was Rs 109.3 crore (including deferred tax assets of Rs 74 crore) as against profit of Rs 692.4 crore (including deferred tax assets of Rs 436 crore) last fiscal. On an annual basis, Dish TV added 10,29,000 net subscribers, bringing the net subscription base to 15.5 million.

Dish TV harmonised the accounting of entertainment tax in line with industry practice with effect from 1 April, 2016. Prior to that, entertainment tax was recorded as an operating expenditure. However, effective 1 April, 2016, it is netted-off against subscription revenues. 4Q FY16 and FY16 figures have been accordingly regrouped for the sake of comparison.

The company said that demonetisation outdid a good monsoon as well as thriving economic conditions of the last year. Consumer spending remained a challenge from the latter half to the fourth quarter. Jawahar Goel, CMD, Dish TV India Limited, said, "Fiscal 2017 threw up unprecedented challenges but the Dish TV team took things in its stride. We minimised the impact of demonetisation while focusing on a long-term advantage in the form of recharges through online modes. Despite the odds, Dish TV managed to increase its reach and subscriber base."

He added, "Revenue growth in the current fiscal is largely going to be a function of subscriber additions and phase-4 of digitisation should have a material role to play in that. The proposed amalgamation will further help create scale in the highly-fragmented TV distribution landscape in India while creating significant synergies through the combination."

The company in its board meeting also approved the investment in merging Videocon d2h with Dish TV, having received the Competition Commission of India (CCI) earlier this month.