ITV

Category: Financials

  • Airtel reports growth for DTH, home broadband segment in Q4

    Airtel reports growth for DTH, home broadband segment in Q4

    KOLKATA: Airtel Digital TV, Bharti Airtel’s direct-to-home (DTH) segment has reported Rs 767.3 crore revenue in q4 FY21 compared to Rs 603.5 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year, clocking a 27 per cent year-on-year growth.

    The DTH segment has raked in Rs 248.3 crore profit in the quarter, up from Rs 152.8 crore in the same quarter a year ago. However, both profit and revenue have declined compared to the third quarter of FY21. The company deployed Rs 369 core capex for the quarter compared to 251.4 crore in Q4 FY20.

    Airtel Digital TV witnessed a decline in customer base by 156 K during the quarter from 17.9 million in Q3 to 17.7 million in Q4, despite a growth of 6.6 per cent from 16.6 million in the corresponding quarter last year. ARPU for the quarter was at Rs 144 as compared, down from Rs 154 in the corresponding quarter last year.

    Homes business segment witnessed revenue growth of five per cent year-on-year to reach 128.8 crore. The company’s focus on re-calibrated offerings and launch of Xstream bundles, with content and unlimited internet, to accelerate penetration has resulted in the highest ever net addition of 274K to reach a total base of 3.07 million, it stated. On a year-on-year basis, the customer base increased by 27 per cent.

    For the quarter, revenues from Homes operations were Rs 600.9 core as compared to Rs 572.5crore in the corresponding quarter last year and Rs 567.4 in the previous quarter.

    Overall, Airtel’s consolidated revenue stood at Rs 25,747 core, with India revenues at Rs 18,338 crore.

    “It is this relentless focus on customer obsession that has allowed us to deliver another consistent quarter in terms of performance. Our mobile revenues grew at 19.1% YoY backed by 13.7 Mn 4G customer additions. We are seeing strong momentum in our home business with 274k net adds. The Enterprise segment delivered double-digit growth. Our digital assets continue to scale and we are beginning to see strong traction in monetisation of these assets,” said Airtel India and South Asia MD & CEO Gopal Vittal

  • Colgate-Palmolive Q4 net profit rises 54% to Rs 314 cr

    Colgate-Palmolive Q4 net profit rises 54% to Rs 314 cr

    New Delhi: Riding on higher sales, FMCG major Colgate-Palmolive India reported a 54.1 per cent jump in its net profit at Rs 314.6 crore for the quarter ended 31 March. The company had posted a net profit of ₹204.15 crore in the January-March quarter a year ago.

    It’s net sales went up by 20.2 per cent to ₹1,275.01 crores during the quarter under review, as against ₹1,062.35 crore in the year-ago period, the FMCG major said in a regulatory filing.

    Colgate-Palmolive (India), managing director Ram Raghavan said the company continues to witness strong momentum across all categories.

    “Our focused approach to executing our strategic initiatives has been instrumental in our continued abilities to sustain our growth momentum versus year ago as well as on a sequential basis. Our strong discipline on driving efficiencies continue to hold us in good stead as we make strong progress across key financial metrics on the P&L,” said Raghavan, adding that the company continues to amplify its innovation focus.

    The oral hygiene product maker’s recent launches include Colgate Toothpaste for Diabetics, Colgate Vedshakti Spray and Oil Pulling. Other initiatives across its portfolio include the launch of Colgate Magik, the first augmented reality toothbrush that makes brushing fun.

  • Telco gear maker HFCL posts PAT of Rs 84.67 crore in Q4

    Telco gear maker HFCL posts PAT of Rs 84.67 crore in Q4

    NEW DELHI: Homegrown telecom gear maker HFCL reported net profit of Rs 86.47-crore for the quarter ended 31 March 2021, a 1.6 per cent increase over the previous quarter’s Rs 85.11 crores.

    In its earnings reports, the company mentioned it will continue to focus on next-generation and 5G portfolios, following which it has firmed up plans to design 5G small and micro cells.

    HFCL’s current order book stands at Rs 6,875 crore while posting total income of Rs 1,391.4 crore in Q4, as against Rs 1,277.4 crore in Q3. In terms of year-on-year performance, PAT has surged 1364.88 per cent from Rs 5.78 crores for the period ended 31 March 2020. Consolidated income recorded a manifold increase as well, up 109.24 per cent from Rs 668.07 crores at the end of FY20.

    The optic fibre-to-night-vision devices maker reported a total income of Rs 4459.09 crore and net profit of Rs 239 crore during the 12 months period ended 31 March 2021 .

    The company attributed growth mainly to its in-house designed and developed products, in line with the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative which is adding to its overall profitability.

    The domestic fibre maker works closely with telecom giants like Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel; both telcos are going aggressive on increasing the FTTH network footprint in large cities for triple-play services. As India moves closer to 5G commercial rollouts, HFCL believes that more relevant business opportunities will soon knock on their doors.

  • Dabur India net profit surges 34% to Rs 378 cr in Q4

    Dabur India net profit surges 34% to Rs 378 cr in Q4

    NEW DELHI: FMCG major Dabur India reported Rs 378 crore in net profit for the quarter ending 31 March 2021, a 34 per cent leap compared to Rs 281 crore during the same period a year earlier.

    The company reported a total income of Rs 2,421.77 crore in Q4, compared to Rs 1,941.13 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. Consolidated revenue surged 25 per cent to close at Rs 2,337 crore for the quarter.

    The EBITDA for the quarter stood at Rs 442.5 crore, while the EBITDA margin was 18.9 per cent.

    For the full financial year, Dabur India recorded a 10 per cent growth in consolidated revenue at Rs 9,562 crore, while consolidated net profit grew 17.2 per cent to Rs 1,693 crore.

    The Real Juice maker also recorded a sequential revival in discretionary spending, mainly in the home and personal care portfolio, which grew by 32.6 per cent. Dabur’s oral care category was the outperformer in this category, reporting more than 42 per cent growth during Q4. The toothpaste segment also witnessed a surge of 45 per cent. The food and beverages business marked a turnaround to report a nearly 28 per cent growth during the quarter.

     

    The consumer goods manufacturer’s strong growth was on the back of efforts to drive demand for its Ayurvedic healthcare, foods, and nutrition products, along with a greater focus on the expansion of distribution, it said in the earnings report.

    Dabur CEO Mohit Malhotra said, “Our strategic business transformation exercise to develop and implement aggressive growth strategies in our core business areas has led to a more flexible company, helping us successfully navigate the emerging headwinds. Dabur’s financial situation remains strong with a 25.6 per cent growth in operating profit during Q4 2020-21.”

  • Fox Corp profits shoot up in Q3, despite ad revenue dip

    Fox Corp profits shoot up in Q3, despite ad revenue dip

    New Delhi: Fox Corporation on Thursday reported increase in quarterly net income which rose to $582 million as compared to the $90 million reported in the prior year quarter.

    A change in how the TV broadcasting company valued some of its assets is being considered a key reason for the increase in net income.

    However, the total quarterly revenues dropped to $3.22 billion as compared to the $3.44 billion reported in the year ago quarter. According to the New York-based company, this was primarily due to the absence of the ad revenue from the broadcast of Super Bowl LIV. Advertising revenues fell 24 per cent to $1.20 billion as compared to the $1.57 billion reported in the prior year quarter. Fox News, too recorded a seven per cent drop in ad revenue.

    Though, it was partially offset by the consolidation of it’s free streaming platform Tubi and the impact of additional NFL regular season and playoff broadcasts in the current year quarter, said the company.

    The affiliate revenues increased 10 per cent with 18 per cent growth at the television segment and six per cent growth at the Cable Network Programming segment.

    Overall, the cable news giant Fox News continued to make vast majority of the Fox Corporation’s profits, said the company.

    Executive chairman and chief executive officer Lachlan Murdoch said the company has delivered operationally and financially with the year-to-date revenues, despite the impact of Covid and the comparison against a Super Bowl year. 

    “Consistent with our expectations, Fox News reclaimed its leadership position as America’s number one cable news network and the most watched cable network in primetime, while Fox Sports reached a landmark agreement with the NFL to extend our Sunday NFC rights package with expanded digital rights. These strategic milestones, coupled with a slate of complementary, high-growth, digital-focused assets, led by continued record growth at Tubi, provide a powerful platform to grow our business for the long-term,” he detailed.

    Murdoch went on to add that the company would lay emphasis on digital media and the new business was likely to be found in podcasting, digital venues, and a new weather-news unit Fox had been building in its Fox News Media unit.

    The net Income attributable to Fox Corporation stockholders was $567 million ($0.96 per share) as compared to the $78 million ($0.13 per share) reported in the prior year quarter. 

    The company also used the occasion to announce the acquisition of OutKick Media, the news outlet founded by Clay Travis.

  • HUL Q4: Net profit up 41%; health, hygiene & nutrition portfolios drive growth

    HUL Q4: Net profit up 41%; health, hygiene & nutrition portfolios drive growth

    NEW DELHI: FMCG major Hindustan Unilever (HUL) reported a good set of numbers on all fronts for the quarter ending 31 March 2021. Beating market estimates by a significant margin, net profit surged 41 per cent to Rs 2,143 crore on the back of a solid 16 per cent volume growth.

    Revenue grew by 34.6 per cent year-on-year to Rs 12,132 crore during Q4. Domestic consumer growth was at 21 per cent.

    For the fiscal 2020-21, the consumer goods company said its consolidated net profit was at Rs 7,999 crore, as compared to Rs 6,756 crore in 2019-20, a growth of 18 per cent. Consolidated total income for FY21 was at Rs 47,438 crore, as against Rs 40,415 crore in FY20.

    Health, hygiene and nutrition, which makes up 80 per cent of business, grew in double-digits for the third consecutive quarter, while discretionary and out-of-home categories improved sequentially, the company said.

    Home care growth at 15 per cent was enabled by a strong recovery in fabric wash. Household care continued its strong performance delivering double-digit growth. Liquids and fabric sensations continued to outperform, benefitting from robust market development initiatives, stated HUL.

    “Our in-quarter performance was strong on both the top-line and bottom-line. Despite challenging times, in FY21 our business ecosystem has withstood the disruption and demonstrated agility and resilience across the value chain,” said HUL chairman & MD Sanjiv Mehta. “We have delivered on our multi stakeholder business model. Our purpose-led brands and capabilities were further strengthened during the year and this positions us well to serve our consumers during this turbulent period.”

    The company’s focus will firmly remain behind delivering volume led competitive growth, he added.

    Mehta went on to say that the recent surge in Covid cases is of serious concern and “ensuring safety and well-being of people remains our top priority”.

  • Facebook now has 2.85 billion MAUs, income skyrockets 94%

    Facebook now has 2.85 billion MAUs, income skyrockets 94%

    New Delhi: Facebook on Thursday reported stronger than expected financial results for the first quarter with soaring ad revenue during the pandemic. The social media giant said it earned $9.5 billion in the January-March quarter, a pole vault of 94 per cent from $4.9 billion last year. The total revenue grew 48 per cent from $17.44 billion to $26.17 billion in the previous fiscal, backed by a surge in digital ad spending during the pandemic when consumers mostly shopped online.

    The main driver of this growth was Facebook’s advertising business.

    “We are pleased with the strength of our advertising revenue growth in the first quarter of 2021, which was driven by a 30 per cent year-over-year increase in the average price per ad and a 12 per cent increase in the number of ads delivered. We expect that advertising revenue growth will continue to be primarily driven by price during the rest of 2021,” said Facebook CFO David Wehner as the company reported first quarter results.

    Wehner added that the company expects its year-over-year revenue growth rate for the period “to remain stable or modestly accelerate relative to the growth rate in the first quarter of 2021 as we lap slower growth related to the pandemic during the second quarter of 2020.”

    Facebook now has 2.85 billion monthly active users (MAUs), an increase of 10 per cent year-on-year. Concurrently, its daily active user base has reached 1.88 billion on average, an increase of eight per cent. The company currently employs 60,654 people, bolstering its workforce by 26 per cent year-over-year.

    Looking ahead, the world’s largest social network will focus on expanding its e-commerce offerings to strengthen its ad business. “We will continue to invest aggressively to deliver new and meaningful experiences for years to come, including in newer areas like augmented and virtual reality, commerce, and the creator economy,” said Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg in a statement.

  • Maruti Suzuki Q4: Sales pick up but net profit declines 10.7%

    Maruti Suzuki Q4: Sales pick up but net profit declines 10.7%

    MUMBAI: Automobile manufacturer Maruti Suzuki India’s net profit tumbled 10.7 per cent to Rs 1,166 crore for the quarter ended 31 March 2021. This, despite sales soaring 33.6 per cent year-on-year to Rs 22,958.6 crore.

    The unexpected fall in the net profit of the company was the result of a steep decline in other income to Rs 89.8 crore from Rs 880 crore a year ago.

    According to an exchange filing, Maruti Suzuki’s revenue for the fourth quarter rose 26 per cent to Rs 24,113 crore, compared with the Rs 23,918-crore estimate. That’s the third straight quarter of an increase in top line for the company. EBITDA margin contracted to 13.1 per cent from 14 per cent. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation increased 15 per cent to Rs 3,161 crore.

    The company sold 4.92 lakh units in the reported quarter, up 28 per cent from the year earlier.

    Aided by higher sales and cost reduction efforts, the carmaker’s operating profit in the quarter surged 72.8 per cent year-on-year to Rs 1,250.1 crore during Q4. Its operating margin in the quarter rose 120 basis points on year to 5.4 per cent.

    The company’s year-on-year performance on the topline has been aided by the low base of the year ago quarter which was hit by the national lockdown to stem the pandemic. Lower promotion costs, cost reduction efforts and improved capacity utilisation aided the margin performance during the quarter, the auto company said.

    For the financial year, Maruti Suzuki’s net sales fell 7.2 per cent to Rs 66,562.1 crore, while net profit slumped 25 per cent to Rs 4,229.7 crore.

  • TV18 beats pandemic blues, consolidated profit leaps 77% in Q4

    TV18 beats pandemic blues, consolidated profit leaps 77% in Q4

    NEW DELHI: In the fourth quarter of the financial year that ended on 31 March 2021, TV18, a listed subsidiary of Network 18, has reported a 77 per cent increase in consolidated profit at Rs 251 crores. In a regulatory filing, TV18 revealed that the profit in the corresponding period was Rs 142 crores. 

    In a press statement, the company said strong recovery in TV ad growth to the high single digits in Q4 has helped TV18 to stay afloat. The profit growth was also driven by lower operating expenses including operating cost, finance cost, and depreciation. The 41 per cent year-over-year (YoY) fall in tax expenses at Rs 20 crores also added up to the profitability of the company. 

    TV18's total expenses for Q4 were at Rs 1,113 crores, 11.3 per cent down when compared to the expenses in the same period of the previous fiscal year which stands at Rs 1,254 crores. However, the company's consolidated revenue from operations was down by 5.4 per cent to Rs 1,347 crores in Q4 as against Rs 1,424 crores of the corresponding quarter in the previous fiscal year. 

    "Broad-based cost controls helped offset Covid impact and sharpened operating leverage. Q4 Opex was down 10 per cent YoY despite full resumption of programming and calibrated investments into marketing/distribution in tandem with monetization opportunities," said TV18 in a BSE filing. 

    TV18 Broadcast revealed that television viewership has settled higher above pre-pandemic levels due to the rising number of households that possess televisions. 

    "TV households have increased to 210 million vs 197 million in 2018 as per BARC, and penetration is still at 66 per cent. TV in India, therefore, is a growing medium with further headroom," the company added. 

    According to the filing, digital engagement continued to grow which is linked to the volume of high-quality content and key events. Industry sources indicate a 10 per cent YoY increase in OTT video consumption. 

    Group debt of the company was also reduced to Rs 893 crores in March 2021 from Rs 1,775 crores last year. 

    The report also noted that Viacom18’s OTT platform Voot has also succeeded in drawing new subscriptions in an already competitive market. 

    "Subscriber base continues to grow led by its quality of content, before-TV delivery of shows, attractive pricing, and smart bundling. The app posted 11 per cent QoQ growth in overall watch time. 50 per cent of our active paying subs were watching Bigg Boss every week," stated the report. 

    TV18 chairman Adil Zainulbhai said that the company has successfully dealt with challenges posed by the pandemic, and has posted much-improved profitability in a difficult year. 

    "Our brands have continued to grow in strength and salience during this period. Our plans to invest in digital growth and our resolve to excel in the television remain constants amidst a dynamic business environment," added Zainulbhai, Money Control reports.

  • Netflix adds 3.98 mn subs in Q1, to spend $17 bn on content this year

    Netflix adds 3.98 mn subs in Q1, to spend $17 bn on content this year

    KOLKATA: After a year of astounding growth, Netflix has missed the subscriber addition estimates in the first quarter of 2021. The company has added 3.98 million subscribers globally in contrast to its six million guidance. It has estimated even lower gains for the next quarter – one million with almost zero growth from US, Canada, Latin America.

    The Los Gatos-based streaming platform has cited the pull-forward growth in 2020, a lighter content slate due to delayed production as the reasons for slowdown in subscriber addition. “We don’t believe competitive intensity materially changed in the quarter or was a material factor in the variance as the over-forecast was across all of our regions,” it stated in a letter to shareholders.

    However, it has topped analysts’ expectations in terms of revenue and earnings per share. The entertainment giant has posted $7.16 billion revenue compared to $7.13 billion expectations and $3.75 earnings per share versus estimated $2.97.

    “We compete with many activities for consumers’ entertainment time, ranging from watching linear TV, video gaming, and viewing user generated content, just to name a few. Against this backdrop, the entertainment market is huge, giving us plenty of room to grow, if we can continue to improve our service. We believe we are less than 10 per cent of TV screen time in the US and even smaller in other regions and when including mobile devices,” it added.

    The streamer expects paid membership growth will re-accelerate in the second half of 2021 thanks to its strong slate with the return of big hits like Sex Education, The Witcher, La Casa de Papel (aka Money Heist), and You, as well as number of original films including the finale to The Kissing Booth trilogy, Red Notice, Don’t Look U. It also promises a comprehensive local language offering including Too Hot to Handle for Brazil and Mexico, Dhamaka for India along with others.

    Netflix will spend $17 billion cash on content this year compared to $11.8 billion last year. The company is also testing a crackdown on password sharing. It is working on making sure the people who are using a Netflix account are the ones who are authorised to do so, Netflix COO Greg Peters said.

    “We’ll test many things, but we’ll never roll something out that feels like turning the screws,” co-CEO Reed Hastings said.