ITV

Category: Financials

  • Eros profit grows despite lesser releases, demonetization

    BENGALURU: The Sunil Lulla led Eros International Media Limited (Eros) reported 7.9 percent growth of consolidated profit after tax attributable (PAT) to Eros shareholders for the year ended 31 March 2017 (FY-17, current year, fiscal) despite releasing lesser films and demonetisation as compared to the previous year. Eros consolidated (PAT) for FY-17 was Rs 2,432.9 million (18.4 percent of Income from Operations) and Rs 2,386.7 million (15.1 percent of Income from Operations) for FY-16.The company’s Income from Operations in FY-17 dropped 11.6 percent to Rs 13,997 million from Rs15,826.8 million in FY-16.

    The company released a total of 44 films including 5 high budget, 10 medium budget and 29 low budget films in FY-17 as compared to a total of 63 films including 6 high budget, 16 medium budget and 41 low budget films during the FY-16. In its investor presentation for FY-17, the company says Theatrical Revenues contributed – 42.5 percent, Overseas Revenues – 26.4 percent and Television & Others – 31.1 percent as a percentage of Income from Operations.

    Eros reveals that Theatrical revenues in FY-17 included releases of ‘Housefull 3’, ‘Ki & Ka’, Baar Baar Dekho, Banjo, ‘Happy Bhaag Jayegi’, ‘Rock On 2’, ‘Nil Battey Sannata’, Kahaani 2 (overseas), Dishoom and regional films include Sardaar Gabbar Singh (Telugu), 24 (Tamil), Janatha Garage (Telugu), C/O. Saira Banu (Malayalam), Engitta Modhathe (Tamil), Bibaho Diaries (Bengali),

    Singham 3 (Tamil), ‘Baghtos Kay Mujra Kar’, Chaar Sahibzaade2 (Punjabi) etc.

    Total Income reduced 11.1 percent to Rs 14,452.8 million in FY-17 from Rs 16,257 million in the previous year. EBIT (Earnings before interest and taxes) increased 6.1 percent to Rs 3,767.5 million (26.9 percent of Income from Operations) in FY-17 from Rs 3,549.3 million (15.1 percent of Income from Operations).

    Company Speak

    Eros executive vice chairman and managing director Lulla said: “It is a matter of satisfaction that we have ended the fiscal year on a steady note despite the impact of demonetization on theatrical revenues in H2 of FY-17. This performance has been enabled by Eros’ consistent pre‐sales strategy which helps us de‐risk our business, effective monetization of our 2000 plus films library and a strong regional film strategy during the year.

    The Indian film sector has attracted a lot of interest from international majors to build their film libraries in the recent past and as a result has driven up value of the Indian content. Eros’ key asset – a market leading content library is a major beneficiary of this trend which is only likely to become stronger. At the same time, in order to effectively manage the cost of our future content,

    the company has taken active steps to develop its own intellectual properties over the past 2 years. The launch of Trinity Pictures, our film label for franchise films, investments in our joint venture Colour Yellow Productions and identifying the right films to sequel from our film library are concrete steps taken in this direction. We are excited about these developments and are

    looking forward to FY-18 which will see the fruition of this strategy in a significant manner.

    We are proud to have established a company with leadership position in a market that continues to witness strong growth and are confident that with our new initiatives, we will continue to enhance our market position.”

    Let us look at the other numbers reported by Eros

    Simple EBIDTA including other income in FY-17 increased by 6.1 percent to Rs 3,863.3 million (27.6 percent margin of Income from Operations) from Rs 3644 million (23 percent of Income from Operations).

    Consolidated Net Finance cost in the current year increased 61 percent to Rs 545.2 million from Rs 338.6 million in the previous year.

    Total Expenditure in FY-17 declined 13.9 percent to Rs 11,230.5 million (80.2 percent of Income from Operations) from Rs 13,046.3 million (82.4 percent of Income from Operations) in FY-16. The company’s Films rights costs including amortisation costs in FY-17 declined 12.5 percent to Rs 7,848.4 million (56.1 percent of Income from Operations) from Rs 8,964.8 million (56.6 percent of Income from Operations) in FY-16.

    Employee Benefit Expense in the current year increased 25.5 percent to Rs 705.3 million (5 percent of Income from Operations) from Rs 561.9 million (3.6 percent of Income from Operations) in FY-16. Other expenses in FY-17 increased by 14.6 percent to Rs 2006.3 million (14.3 percent of Income from Operations) from Rs 1,751.2 million (11.1 percent of Income from Operations) in the corresponding of the previous year.

  • TV Today numbers up

    BENGALURU: TV Today Network Limited (TVTN) reported greatly improved consolidated results for the year ended 31 March 2017 (FY-17, current year). The Arun Purie controlled company’s consolidated profit after tax (PAT) increased 60.7 percent to Rs 991.13 million (15.7 percent margin of Total Income) as compared to the Rs 616.66 million for the previous year. TVTN’s Total Income increased 4.7 percent to Rs 6,305.77 million in the current year from Rs 6,021.98 million in FY-16.

    The improvement in performance was due to the improvement in the company’s Television Broadcasting (TV) segment, which was offset by the poor performances of TVTN’s radio and Newspaper Publishing segments.

    The TV Today television network is an English-Hindi news television network. It consists of the several news channels that include Aaj Tak (Hindi), India Today Television (English), Tez (Hindi), Business Today (English) and Delhi Aaj Tak (Hindi). TVTN’s TV segment reported operating revenue growth 5.7 percent forFY-17 to Rs 5,637.53 million from Rs 5,330.29 million in the previous year. TV segment operating profit for the current fiscal increased 1 percent to Rs 1,577.26 million from Rs 1,561.04 million in the previous fiscal.

    TVTN has made attempts to dispose its radio segment – it which runs FM radio stations under the brand Oye FM. It has been partly successful in that endeavour to the extent that government regulators have permitted it to succeed. TVTN’s radio segment revenue was almost flat (increased 0.4 percent) to Rs 90.21million from Rs 89.88 million in the previous year. The segment had an higher operating loss for FY-17 at Rs 175.09 million as compared to Rs 136.06 million in FY-16.

    TVTN reported 10.1 percent decline in revenue of its Newspaper Publishing segment in fiscal 2017 at Rs 360.81 million as compared to Rs 401.43 million in the previous year. The segment’s operating loss in FY-17 increased to Rs 28.35 million as compared to Rs 16.07 million in the previous year.

    Let us look at the other numbers reported by TV Today Network Limited

    Total expenses in FY-17 increased 6.3 percent to Rs 4,858.79 million (77.1 percent of Total Income) as compared to Rs 4,572.06 million (75.9 percent of Total Income) in FY-16. Production costs were almost flat (increased by 0.9 percent) in FY-17 at Rs 714.20 million (11.3 percent of Total Income) as compared to Rs 707.97 million (11.8 percent of Total Income).

    Employee Benefits Expense increased 2.2 percent to Rs 1,569.13 million (24.9 percent of Total Income) from Rs 1,534.92 million (25.5 percent of Total Income). Finance Costs increased 31.3 percent to Rs 84.10 million (1.3 percent of Total Income) in the current year from Rs 64.04 million (1.1 percent of Total Income) in FY-16. Other expenses in the current year increased 13.2 percent to Rs 2,170.92 million (34.4 percent of Total Income) from Rs 1,917.81 million (31.8 percent of Total Income)) in the previous year.

  • Balaji Telefilms net realization for programs improves

    BENGALURU: The Ekta Kapoor led Balaji Telefilms Limited (Balaji Telefilms) had 8 shows on air at the end of the financial year 2017 (FY-17, current year, year ended 31 March 2017) on various channels in the country. The company in its investor presentation says that the net realization per hour for its programmes increased 17 percent to Rs 2.89 million in FY-17 as compared to Rs 2.47 million in the previous fiscal. In the fourth quarter of 2016, the company had had 11 shows on air, 3 of which went off air before the end of FY-16.

    The company created 960 hours of television programming in the current year, 4.2 percent lower than the 1,002 hours it had created in the previous year. Revenue from Balaji Telefilms from commissioned programmes segment increased 11.4 percent to Rs 2,899.11 million in FY-17 from Rs 2,602.18 million in the previous year. The segment reported 11.2 percent lower operating profit of Rs 395.92 million in FY-17 as compared to the Rs 445.81 million in FY-16.

    The segment’s soaps such like Kumkum Bhagya on various channels of the Zee Entertainment Enterprises Network Limited (Zeel) and Naagin 2 (The Network 18/Viacom 18 Network) have consistently been in Broadcast Audience Research Council of India (BARC) weekly top five programmes lists across the Hindi GEC urban and rural markets in India.

    Balaji Telefilms other major segment – Films revenue more than quadrupled (went up 4.62 times) in FY-17 to Rs 1,263.30 million in the current year as compared to Rs 224.90 million in the previous year. The segment reported a higher operating loss at Rs 249.01 million in FY-17 as compared to an operating loss of Rs 134.35 million in fiscal 2016. The company says that piracy of its movies released in FY17 led to loss of revenues against marketing and productions costs already incurred which has severely affected its profitability in this period. It estimates loss of revenue on account of piracy at approximately Rs 360 million.

    The company’s consolidated Total Income from Operations (TIO) increased 43.4 percent to Rs 4,389.44 million in the current year as compared to Rs 3,060.18 million in FY-16. The company reported to a higher net loss of Rs 297.35 million in fiscal 2017 as compared to a net loss of Rs 35.80 million in the previous year. Balaji Telefilms reported an Operating loss (EBIDTA) of Rs 181 million for FY-17 as compared to an operating profit of Rs 53 million in FY-17.

    Balaji Telefilms consolidated total expenses for FY-17 increased 54.3 percent to Rs 4,581.23 million from Rs 2,969.65 million in the previous year. Cost of production/acquisition and telecast fees increased 2.7 percent to Rs 3,147.26 million from Rs 3,064.98 million in the previous year. Employee Benefits Expense in FY-17 increased 40.8 percent to Rs 283.43 million from Rs 201.36 million in FY-16. The company’s finance costs in FY-17 was Rs 0.36 million as compared to Rs 0.09 million in the previous year. Other expenses in FY-17 increased 2.3 percent to Rs 413.44 million from Rs 404.01 million in FY-16.

    Balaji Telefilms says that it will transition from a B2B business to a Digital B2C business. It plans to build a digital B2C business through own and curated content. The company has launched its OTT platform ALT Balaji in April 2017. Balaji Telefilms says that ALT Balaji will soon have 32 new shows and 250 hours of original exclusive content in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Gujarati and Punjabi.

  • Den Networks cable operations revenue up; broadband revenue doubles

    BENGALURU: Indian multi system operator (MSO) Den Network reported 21.8 percent increase in operating revenue for its Cable distribution (cable) business  for the year ended 31 March 2017 (FY-17) at Rs 1,075.54 crore as compared to Rs 883.24 crore in the previous year (FY-16). The company’s broadband internet revenue in FY-17 more than doubled to Rs 81.80 crore from Rs 39.80 crore in FY-16.

    The company claims in its earnings release that Cable business EBIDTA increased to Rs 144 crore in FY-17 from Rs 18 crore in the previous year. The company’s EBIDTA in FY-17 doubled to Rs 254 crore from Rs 127 crore in FY-16. Broadband business EBIDTA reduced to a loss of Rs 10 crore versus a loss of Rs 66 crore in the previous year. Pre-activation EBIDTA in FY-17 grew to Rs 135 crore as compared to a loss of Rs 107 crore in FY-16.

    Overall, Den Networks revenue increased 19.1 percent in fiscal 2017 to Rs 1198.26 crore from Rs 1,005.87 crore in the previous fiscal. Cable subscription revenue grew 33 percent to Rs 646 crore in FY-17 from Rs 487 crore in FY-16. Den Networks reported a lower net loss of Rs 189.57 crore in FY-17 as compared to a loss of Rs 431.30 crore in the previous year.

    The company says that it has focused largely on cash collections during the year which has brought down the net debt of the company to Rs. 181 crores as at March 31, 2017, thereby deleveraging its balance sheet.

    Den Networks CEO SN Sharma said, “The cable subscription revenues grew by 33 percent in the current financial year and contributed to the financial turnaround for the company. The EBITDA for DAS I has grown from 23 percent to 30 percent and the EBITDA for DAS II has grown from 11 percent to 18 percent this year. The company continues to focus on core businesses, while preparing for HD Box deployment, cost optimization and technology up gradation to enhance consumer experience and improve operational efficiency.”

    Let us look at the other numbers reported by Den Network

    Den’s total expenses in FY-17 reduced 1.8 percent to Rs 1,321.19 crore from Rs 1,344.83 crore in FY-16. Content Costs in FY-17 was almost flat at Rs 473.28 crore as compared to Rs 473.22 crore in the previous year. Placement fees costs in FY-17 reduced 6.2 percent to Rs 50.20 crore from Rs 53.50 crore in FY-16.

    Employee Benefits Expense in FY-17 was also almost flat (increased 0.3 percent) to Rs 123.37 crore from Rs 123.01 crore in the previous year. Other Expenses in fiscal 2017 declined 19.1 percent to Rs 331.68 crore from Rs 409.91 crore in fiscal 2016.

  • ACT leads in wired subs adds, Jiojuggernaut marches on

    BENGALURU: Atria Convergence Technologies Pvt. Ltd (ACT) leads in wired broadband internet subscribers additions in calendar year 2017 (CY-17) until 31 March 2017 (Mar-17) as per data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). ACT has added 50,000 subscribers, of which 30,000 were added in March 2017 followed by Indian telecom major Bharti Airtel Limited (Airtel) which added 40,000 subscribers during the same period. The MukeshDhirubhaiAmbani led Reliance Industries Limited juggernaut Reliance JioInfocom Limited (Jio) continued as the company with the largest wireless broadband internet subscriber base in the country – all of it being wireless so far. Having overtaken the incumbent biggest wireless broad band internet player until Oct-16, Airtel, Jio had a subscriber base of 108.68 million (1086.8 lakh) in Mar-17.

    One lakh (0.1 million) wired broadband internet subscribers were added in CY-17 as per TRAI data. Among the wireline ISP’s,BSNL is the biggest player by far with 99.8 lakh subscribers. BSNL added 30,000 wired broadband subscribers in CY-17.The second largest wireline ISP in India is Airtel which closed Mar-17 with 20.8 lakh wireline subscribers, after adding just 10,000 subscribers to its wireline internet subscriber base during Mar-17 and as mentioned above, 40,000 in CY-17. The third largest wireline broadband internet services provider was regional private player ACT Broadband with a subscriber base of 11.7 lakh at the end of Mar-18. The government run Mahanagar Sanchar Nigam Limited (MTNL) lost 30,000 subscribers in CY-17and had a subscriber base of 10.1 lakh at the end of Mar-17. The fifth player in the list of top five wireline broadband internet service providers in the country is another regional player – You Broadband or You BB. There was no change in the minnow’s subscriber base of 6.2 lakh in Mar-17 vis-à-vis Feb-17. Please refer to the figure below:

    public://act1.jpg

    The wireless broadband internet subscriber base of the top 5 service providers grew by 22.09 percent (437.6lakh) in CY-17 from 1981.4 lakh to 2419 lakh in Mar-17. The top five service wireless internet service providers subscriber base grew 6.7 percent (151.9 lakh) between Feb-17 and Mar-17. 
    The top five wireless service providers constituted 87.48 percent market share of the totalbroadband subscribers at the end of Mar-17. These service providerswere Jio(108.68 million), Airtel (49.13million or 491.3 lakh), Vodafone (37.72 million or 377.2 lakh), Idea Cellular (24.70 millionor 247 lakh) and BSNL(21.67 or 216.7million).Jio added 35.52 million or 355.2 lakh (50.61 percent growth in CY-17 subscribers in CY-17 and 5.84 or 58.4 lakh (5.68 percent growth in Mar-17) subscribers in Mar-17.

    Please refer to the figure below for All India wireless subscriber base and subscriber base of top 5 wireless broadband internet service providers:

    public://act2.jpg

    Among the top 5 wireless broadband internet services providers in the country, Jio has shown the highest growth. Please refer to the figure below for growth of top 5 wireless broadband internet service providers in the country:

    public://act3.jpg

    Notes: (1) The unit of currency in this report is the Indian rupee – Rs (also conventionally represented by INR). The Indian numbering system or the Vedic numbering system has been used to denote money values. The basic conversion to the international norm would be:
    (a) 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10,000,000 = 10 million = 1 crore.
    (b) 10,000 lakh = 100 crore = 1 arab = 1 billion.

    (2) TRAI reports indicate data in millions of numbers up to 2 decimal places. Hence it is assumed in this report that a figure of 0.51 million (5.1 lakh) subscribers for You BB for Dec-2015 would be granular to the nearest 10,000. While percentages have been mentioned up to two decimal places, the accuracy may vary, depending upon the exact number.

     (3) MSOs’ have a number of subsidiaries and alliances, hence broadband numbers are split as applicable. The consolidated subscription numbers of these entities could be larger. Hathway is a case in point.

  • Change in provisions for bad debt reduces Ortel profits

    BENGALURU: The Bibhu Prasad Rath led Ortel Communications Limited (Ortel) reported less than one tenth profit after tax (PAT) for the year ended 31 March 2017 (FY-17) at Rs 1.43 crore (0.69 percent margin of Total Revenue or TIO) as compared to the Rs 11.93 crore (6.1 percent margin of TIO). Ortel reported 5.6 percent growth in total revenue at Rs 207.21 crore as compared to the Rs 196.29 crore for FY-16.

    During 2017, the company has changed the basis of estimating the provision for doubtful receivables from retail customers. Because it has ventured into new geographies, the company has now made provision for doubtful retail receivables based on the management’s best estimate as compared to the previous practise of making provisions for receivables for more than 6 months. The company has provided for Rs 24.9 crore in FY-17 as compared to Rs 16 crore in FY-16. In its earnings presentation, the company has shown a longer period for receivable days for 2017 at 115 days as compared to 61 days in the case of 2016.

    Other factors that affected the company’s profitability in FY-17 were lower Average Revenue per User (APRU) for Ortel’s cable (Rs 147 in FY-17 as compared to Rs 151 in FY-16) as well as broadband businesses (Rs 375 in FY-17 as compared to Rs 398 in FY-16).  

    Further, the company’s broadband bandwith cost more than doubled to Rs 17 crore in FY-17 from Rs 8.32 crore in the previous year which Ortel says is a result of higher intercity carrying costs for expansion of digital services.

    Ortel’s cable subscriber base in FY-17 increased to 7,50,471 from 6,28,710 in FY-16. Broadband subscriber base in FY-17 increased to 73,087 from 72,482 in FY-16.

    Ortel’s revenue growth was due to 22 percent growth in Cable TV revenues in FY-17 to Rs 159.6 crore from Rs 130.5 crore in FY-16 while Broadband revenues reported a growth of 7 percent at Rs 35.3 crore in FY-17 from Rs 32.9 crore in FY-16. EBIDTA for fiscal 2017 was 55.1 crore as compared to Rs 70.3 crore in the previous year.

    Total expenditure for FY-17 increased 13.5 percent higher at Rs 205.78 crore as compared to Rs 181.30 crore in FY-16. Programming cost increased 2.5 percent in FY-17 to Rs 38.45 crore as compared to Rs 37.51 crore in FY-16. Employee Benefits Expense in FY-17 increased 9.2 percent to Rs 24.56 crore from Rs 22.50 crore in FY-16.

    Company speak:

    Ortel CEO Rath said, “Second half of FY2017 has been a challenging period for the Company with key operating parameters performing below our expectations. However, I am happy to share that we have reported some improvement during Q4 and the management’s thrust in the coming quarters will be to significantly enhance the overall operational performance.
    We have sustained the positive EBITDA momentum in the Non-Odisha Markets. As we consolidate our new subscriber base in relatively new states like Andhra and Telangana and improve key metrics, we hope to continue delivering similar results.

    We have consciously slowed inorganic acquisitions as we look to first demonstrate the strength of owning and controlling the ‘last mile’ from the existing subscriber base. So on the back of our exceptional ‘last mile’ business model, we anticipate a marked improvement in financial and operational performance in FY18.”

     

  • NDTV reports profit for fourth quarter

    MUMBAI: NDTV Group has recorded a net profit of Rs. 5 crore for the quarter compared to a loss of Rs. 1 crore in the same quarter previous year.

    NDTV Group’s costs as a part of strategic initiatives have gone down significantly by 17% from Rs. 164 crore in same quarter previous year to Rs. 137 crore in the current quarter.

    The EBITDA has increased by Rs. 15.4 crore from Rs. 8.3 crore in same quarter previous year to Rs. 23.7 crore in the current quarter.

    NDTV’s Hindi news channel “NDTV India”, the only non-tabloid Hindi news channel in India, has made a profit of Rs.7 crore in this quarter.
     

    public://ndtv.jpg

    NDTV Convergence, NDTV’s digital arm, has posted a 100% jump in net profit to Rs. 8 crore for the quarter compared to Rs. 4 crore in the same quarter previous year.

    NDTV.com now has 120 million unique visitors and page views exceeding 1 billion each month.

    Gadgets360.com (Red Pixels Ventures Ltd) had an operational break even (after tax in its first full year of operation before a one-off expense). Gadgets360’s content play continues to be the dominant player in gadget news and reviews, with more than twice the unique users compared with its nearest competitor.

  • Taj TV sale proceeds more than double Zeel income

    BENGALURU: Subhash Chandra’s Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (Zeel) reported more than double (2.36 times) consolidated total comprehensive income (TCI)for the year ended 31 March 2017 (FY-17, current year) as compared to the previous year. Zeel’s consolidated TCI of Rs 2,112.28 in FY-17 (as compared to TCI of Rs 892.68 crore in fiscal 2016) was padded up to an extent of Rs 1,223.34 crore by the slump sale/transfer of its sports business along with its entire stake in– Taj Television (India) Pvt. Ltd. Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) for FY-17 stood at Rs 19,26.9 crore registering a growth of 27.3 percent over FY16. EBITDA margin stood at 29.9 percent.

    The company’s revenue (Total Income from operations – TIO) for the current year increased 10.8 percent to Rs 6,658.17 crore as compared to Rs 6007.67 crore in the previous year. Advertisement revenue in FY-17 was Rs 3,673.5 crore, recording a growth of 9.2 percent over FY16.

    Subscription revenue for FY17 was Rs 2262.9 crore, growth of 10.0 percent over FY16. Domestic subscription revenue grew by 11.2 percent to Rs 1822.6 crore. On a comparable basis, adjusted for sale of sports, the domestic subscription growth was 13.5 percent. International subscription revenue grew by 3.0 percent to Rs 440.3 crore.

    Company speak

    Zeel chairman Chandra said, “The Indian economy has exhibited strong resilience with GDP growth of 7 percent in Q3-17 despite demonetization of high value currency. Implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST) would unify India into one market. This along with other reforms and push on infrastructure would accelerate growth from already healthy levels. A normal monsoon as forecasted by IMD could give a fillip to rural consumption.”

    Zeel managing director and CEO Punit Goenka said, “We are happy to deliver yet another quarter of strong financial performance despite the difficult economic environment. Our domestic advertising revenue grew by 8.1 percent despite the impact of demonetization. After a couple of quarters of weakness, advertising growth appears to be back on track. The GST roll-out could boost advertising spends as a part of potential tax savings might be reinvested. While there is uncertainty regarding the implementation of the new tariff regulation due to pending litigations, we have published the prices of our channels and bouquets. We are confident that with the strong competitive position of our channels in every genre, we will be able to drive subscription business.

    We have completed the first phase of sale of sports business during the quarter. While this had an impact on revenues, our focus is to strengthen national and regional channel portfolio, along with growing new businesses. We are exploring ways to extinguish preference share liability using the proceeds from the sale of sports business.”

  • Time Warner revenues, net income up in first quarter

    BENGALURU: Time Warner Inc., (Time Warner) reported growth in revenue across all its segments – Turner, Home Box Office (HBO) and Warner Bros in the quarter ended 31 March 2017 (Q1-17, current quarter) as compared to the corresponding year ago quarter (y-o-y). Reported total revenue in Q1-17 was $ 7,735 million 5,8 percent more than  in Q1-16, at $7,308 million. Net Income attributable to Time Warner shareholders increased 17.3 percent y-o-y to $1,424 million in the current quarter from $1,214 million in Q1-16.

    Time Warner chairman and CEO Jeff Bewkes said: “We’re off to a strong start to 2017, as we continue to benefit from the investments we’re making in the best content while also developing new revenue streams that will drive growth and meet consumer demand for great experiences built around their favorite programming and brands. Warner Bros. delighted audiences in both film and television, with global hits in Kong: Skull Island and The LEGO Batman Movie and more series across broadcast for the current season than any other studio. Turner had another successful airing of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament across platforms, while CNN grew its total day ratings by 21 percent among adults 25-54, and remained the leader in digital news. Together, Turner and Warner Bros. also launched our new Boomerang-branded SVOD service, adding to our growing portfolio of products that are reaching consumers directly.”

    “Home Box Office shined in the quarter highlighted by our limited series Big Little Lies, which was both a critical and cultural breakout. Last Week Tonight with John Oliver is having its most-watched season to date, and we recently had the much anticipated returns of Silicon Valley and Veep. Looking ahead, we remain on track, pending completion of regulatory reviews and receipt of consents, to close our merger with AT&T Inc. before the end of 2017. We remain excited about the potential for this combination to accelerate the pace of innovation in our businesses,” Bewkes continued.

    Turner

    Revenues increased 6.3 percent ($182 million) to $3,088 million, due to increases of 12 percent ($175 million) in Subscription revenues and 16 percent ($29 million) in Content and other revenues, partially offset by a decline of 2 percent ($22 million) in Advertising revenues. The company says that Subscription revenues benefited from higher domestic rates and growth at Turner’s international networks, partially offset by lower domestic subscribers. Content and other revenues increased due to higher domestic licensing revenues. The decline in Advertising revenues was primarily due to lower delivery at certain domestic networks, partially offset by increases at Turner’s sports and news businesses and growth at Turner’s international networks.

    Operating Income decreased 5.6 percent ($69 million) to $1,170 million. The growth in revenues was more than offset by higher expenses mainly due to increased programming costs. Programming expenses increased 17 percent primarily due to higher sports costs related to the first year of Turner’s new agreement with the NBA and higher original programming costs.

    HBO

    HBO revenues increased 4 percent ($62 million) to $1.6 billion, due to an increase of 5 percent ($66 million) in Subscription revenues, partially offset by a decline of 1 percent ($4 million) in Content and other revenues. Subscription revenues increased due to higher domestic rates and subscribers and international growth. The decrease in Content and other revenues was primarily due to lower home entertainment revenues, partially offset by higher licensing revenues.

    Operating Income increased 22 percent ($106 million) to $583 million, reflecting the growth in revenues and lower selling, general and administrative, programming and distribution expenses says that company. Programming costs decreased 2 percent, reflecting lower original programming expenses related to a reduction in amortization resulting from using a longer estimated utilization period for original programming beginning in the second quarter of 2016, partially offset by higher acquired theatrical programming expenses.

    Warner Bros

    Revenues increased 8.2 percent ($256 million) to $3.4 billion, primarily due to higher television and theatrical revenues partially offset by lower videogames revenues. Television revenues increased primarily due to higher domestic licensing revenues related to certain library series. Theatrical revenues grew due to an increased number and the mix of box office releases, which included Kong: Skull Island and The LEGO Batman Movie, as well as higher home entertainment revenues primarily related to the release of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and higher carryover revenue. Videogames revenues declined due to a fewer number and the mix of releases in the current year period and lower carryover revenue.

    Operating Income increased 15.1 percent ($64 million) to $488 million, due to the increase in revenues, partially offset by higher associated theatrical and television costs of revenues and print and advertising expenses.

  • Goodwill impairment at Pictures segment impairs Sony’s income

    BENGALURU: Sony Corporation (Sony) reported a 1.9 percent or ¥5.5 billion decline in consolidated operating income for the fiscal ended 31 March 2017 (FY-17, current year) as compared to FY-16. The company says that this was mainly due to the US$962 million (¥112.1 billion yen) impairment charge of goodwill recorded in the Pictures segment, substantially offset by an improvement in the operating results of the Mobile Communications (MC) segment and an increase in the operating income of the Game & Network Services (G&NS) segment.

    Due to the revision, Sony says that it was determined that the entire amount of goodwill, in the Production & Distribution reporting unit of the Pictures segment, which includes the Motion Pictures business, was impaired and an operating loss was recorded in the Pictures segment, says the company.

    Sony’s Pictures segment is comprised of the Motion Pictures, Television Productions, and Media Networks categories.

    Sales for the Pictures segment decreased 3.7 percent in FY-17 (a 5 percent increase on a U.S. dollar basis) to ¥903.1 billion, primarily due to the impact of the appreciation of the yen against the U.S. dollar. The increase in sales on a US dollar basis was primarily due to higher sales for Television Productions and Media Networks. Sales for Television Productions increased primarily due to higher subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) licensing revenues. The increase in sales for Media Networks was due to higher advertising and subscription revenues mainly in India, Latin America and the US says the company.

    The Pictures segment’s reported operating loss of ¥80.5 billion, compared to operating income of ¥38.5 billion in the previous fiscal year. This significant deterioration in operating results was primarily due to the above-mentioned 962 million U.S. dollars (¥112.1 billion) impairment charge of goodwill. The operating results for the Pictures segment were also negatively impacted by higher programming and marketing expenses for Media Networks as well as higher theatrical marketing expenses for Motion Pictures.

    Sony’s consolidated sales and operating revenue decreased by 6.2 percent to ¥7,603.3 billion compared to the previous fiscal year’s ¥8,105.7 billion. This decrease was mainly due to the impact of foreign exchange rates says the company.

    Net income attributable to Sony Corporation’s stockholders, which deducts net income attributable to non-controlling interests, decreased ¥74.5 billion to ¥73.3 billion yen in FY-17 from ¥ 147.8 billion in the previous year.