ITV

Category: Financials

  • Discovery-WarnerMedia merger gets clearance from European Commission

    Discovery-WarnerMedia merger gets clearance from European Commission

    Mumbai: Discovery Inc has received unconditional clearance from the European Commission to move ahead with its merger agreement with WarnerMedia and is on track to close the deal by second quarter 2022. The company filed a merger proxy earlier this month and has scheduled a stockholder meeting on 11 March.

    “We, of course, are pleased to receive unconditional clearance from the European Commission, the expiration of the HSR waiting period, and clearance from other key international markets, and AT&T having received a favorable private letter ruling from the IRS,” said Discovery president and chief executive officer David Zaslav. “We also filed our merger proxy earlier this month and have scheduled our stockholder meeting for March 11th. Following the vote, and assuming the deal is approved by our stockholders, we expect to be on track to close in Q2.”

    Discovery reported its fourth quarter results for the year 2021. The company posted revenue of $3.18 billion, an increase of 10 per cent to the prior year quarter. Its direct-to-consumer business added two million subscribers since the end of Q3 totalling to 22 million subscribers.

    “2021 was by all measures an exceptional year for our company, in which we achieved significant operational, financial, and strategic objectives,” added Zaslav. “We grew our global DTC paying subscribers to 22 million, a tailwind for our strong distribution revenue growth of 11 per cent, while global advertising revenues grew 10 per cent due to continued strength in our key markets and share gains. Additionally, we ended the year with nearly $ four billion of cash on hand and generated robust cash flows, supporting our ability to invest in growth initiatives. Further, the successful recent broadcast of our second Winter Olympic Games across Europe, on the heels of our first broadcast of the Summer Olympic Games, underscores one of our key differentiators: in-language and locally relevant content. All of which position us well to take advantage of the remarkable opportunities ahead for Warner Bros. Discovery, which we believe will be among the world’s most dynamic media companies.”

  • WPP hits 2023 target in 2021; FY revenue stands at £12801 million

    WPP hits 2023 target in 2021; FY revenue stands at £12801 million

    Mumbai: London-headquartered global communications company WPP on Thursday announced its 2021 preliminary results with the full year and Q4 financial highlights. The full year continuing operations reported revenue at £12801 million (+6.7 per cent), against 12,003 in 2020. The company posted £1,494 million operating profit for the full year (£1261 million in 2020). Profit before tax stood at £1365 million, against £1,041 million last year.

    “It has been an outstanding year for WPP. Our top-line growth, driven by strong demand for our services in digital marketing, media, e-commerce and technology, has resulted in our fastest organic growth for over 20 years. As a result, we are two years ahead of our plan, hitting our 2023 revenue target in 2021,” said WPP CEO Mark Reed.

    “Cash generation continues to be very strong, underpinned by efficiencies achieved in our transformation programme, allowing us to make significant investments in our offer and reward our people for their huge contribution, while returning over £1 billion in cash to shareholders through dividends and share buybacks,” he added.

    The company is looking forward to 2022 with confidence, guiding to strong top-line growth, improving profitability and continued investment in people and services.

    Reed shared that the company has made substantial strategic progress, creating the world’s leading board-level communications firm through the merger of Finsbury Glover Hering and Sard Verbinnen, and acquiring capabilities in AI, commerce and technology services to leverage across all of WPP for future growth.

    “As clients seek to accelerate their growth and transform how they reach customers, the depth, breadth and global scale of our offer – which combines creativity with technology and data, through Choreograph, and the largest global media platform in GroupM – is proving its value for existing and new clients. The talent, dynamism and commitment of our people have also shone through. Our extensive partnership with The Coca-Cola Company, the expansion of our work with Google and the continuation of our longstanding relationship with Unilever demonstrate the value that three of the world’s leading marketing organisations place in WPP,” stated Reed.

  • Dish TV India reports third-quarter revenue of Rs 7107 million

    Dish TV India reports third-quarter revenue of Rs 7107 million

    Mumbai: Dish TV India Ltd has reported its third-quarter fiscal 2022 results on Monday. The company reported operating revenue of Rs 7107 million for the quarter ended 31 December 20201. Its subscription revenue stood at Rs 6459 million, EBIDTA was Rs 4260 million and profit after tax was Rs 802 million.

    The company paid off debt of Rs 1031 million during the quarter with the resultant interest expense coming down by 57.9 per cent on a year-on-year basis. It had a closing debt of Rs 4535 million at the end of the quarter.

    In the third quarter, Dish TV India ramped up gross acquisitions to almost pre-pandemic levels, though continued dependence on exclusively internal funds restricted the ability of the business to go all out thus keeping net additions under pressure.

    “Consumers typically tend to step up spending during festivals with the season traditionally accounting for the majority of the annual revenues of businesses,” said the statement. “Expecting a similar trend and considering the earlier subdued demand due to repeated waves of the pandemic, Diwali 2021 witnessed aggressive marketing by consumer-focused companies. While higher marketing spends did help generate incremental acquisitions, consumer spending went below par once the pent-up demand was exhausted. Early cases of the third wave of the pandemic in mid-December too had a negative effect on consumption.”

    During the quarter, Dish TV India took a price hike of around 25 per cent on both its standard-definition and high-definition hardware. “With rural stress and inflationary pressures, price-sensitive customers at the bottom of the pyramid remained vulnerable to churn to the free DTH platform. Streaming platforms, as well as content bundling by telecom players, continued to give competition to DTH service providers,” said the statement.

    “As a category, DTH has been facing competition at various levels however the platform has the unique strengths that will continue to set it apart from other video platforms,” said Dish TV India Limited group CEO Anil Dua. “We remain committed to offering the best solution to our subscribers, be it in the linear or OTT space and hope to change the game with innovative offerings and winning partnerships.”

    The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), on stakeholders’ request, recently extended the deadline for enforcing the new tariff order (NTO) 2.0 to 1 June from the earlier fixed deadline of 1 April.

    “The DTH industry has been working on the implementation of the new tariff order (NTO) keeping in mind the earlier deadline however the extended timeline will give us even more time to sort out any migration issues,” said Dish TV India Limited CMD Jawahar Goel. “We would also be watching the developments on the litigation front while simultaneously working towards implementation of the order.”

  • Nazara records Rs 4,466 million revenue for 9MFY22

    Nazara records Rs 4,466 million revenue for 9MFY22

    Mumbai: India-based diversified gaming and sports media platform Nazara Technologies has announced that its operating revenue grew by 35 per cent to Rs 4,466 million for the quarter and nine months ended 31 December 2021. In 9MFY21, it had reported Rs 3,308 million.

    According to the un-audited standalone and consolidated results shared by the company, it delivered a Profit After Tax (PAT) of Rs 428 million, recording a growth of 355 per cent y-o-y. The EBITDA stood at Rs 797 million, a growth of 141 per cent YoY, while the EBITDA margins were recorded at 17.8 per cent vs 10 per cent for 9MFY21. This value excludes other income, it said.

    The esports segment demonstrated 75 per cent growth in revenue as well as 71 per cent growth in EBITDA in the first 9MFY22. According to Nazara, the e-sports segment now contributes the highest revenue in Nazara portfolio with a 48 per cent contribution in 9MFY22 revenue vs 37 per cent in 9MFY21.

    Gamified Early Learning grew by 22 per cent in 9MFY22 over 9MFY21 and added a net positive paying subscriber base in Q3. While the skill-based real money gaming grew by 53 per cent in 9MFY22 over 9MFY21 and delivered break-even EBITDA in Q3 as against losses in previous quarters.

    “We have witnessed 75 per cent YoY growth in the esports segment for 9MFY22 led by strong growth in revenue across all sub-segments in Nodwin and SportsKeeda,” said Group CEO Manish Agarwal. “The addition of original IPs such as NH7 Weekender and expansion of our esports business into the Middle East via our acquisition of Publishme has further accelerated the growth momentum.”

    According to Agarwal, Nazara’s strategy of having a diversified portfolio across business segments in gaming continues to provide the company with a stable and strong platform on which we can continue to build future growth and success. “The company continues to remain committed to building multiple growth levers across gamified learning, freemium, esports, and skill-based real money gaming via growth in its current portfolio and the addition of more offerings in the ‘Friends of Nazara’ network through strategic M&A.”

  • Sun TV Q3 revenue excluding IPL up 27.76% to Rs 975.16 crore

    Sun TV Q3 revenue excluding IPL up 27.76% to Rs 975.16 crore

    Mumbai: Sun TV Network has posted its results for the third quarter of FY 2022. The media company’s revenue for the quarter, excluding the IPL, has increased by 27.76 per cent year-on-year to Rs 975.16 crore. Its overall revenues were at Rs 1033.10 crore and saw a growth of 6.25 per cent versus the same period year-on-year (31 December 2020).

    The EBIDTA for the quarter grew by 20.18 per cent at Rs 721.87 crore and profit before taxes grew marginally by 2.90 per cent over the corresponding quarter ended 31 December 2020.

    The profit after taxes (excluding the IPL) stood at Rs 437.89 crore up by 14.44 per cent YoY and the overall profit after taxes grew by 3.52 per cent to Rs 457.39 crores as against the corresponding quarter year-on-year.

    The total comprehensive income for the quarter was up by 3.52 per cent at Rs 457.20 crore YoY. The earnings per share for the current quarter grew by 3.52 per cent at Rs 11.61 as against Rs 11.21 for the corresponding quarter ended 31 December 2020.

    Sun TV’s board of directors has declared an interim dividend of Rs 2.50 per share (50 per cent) on a face value of Rs five per share.

    During the current quarter, Sun Pictures had released the blockbuster film “Annaatthe” starring superstar Rajinikanth.

  • NDTV Group posts Rs 27.6 crore profit after tax in Q3 FY22

    NDTV Group posts Rs 27.6 crore profit after tax in Q3 FY22

    Mumbai; NDTV Group on Thursday posted its third-quarter financial results for FY 2022. The media company reported a profit after tax of Rs 27.6 crore. Its TV business reported a profit of Rs 17.3 crore for the third quarter.

    The group’s year-to-date profit stands at Rs 55.6 crore out of which its TV business generated Rs 41.4 crore.

    NDTV’s digital arm NDTV Convergence saw a profit of Rs 12.2 crore during the quarter. “This quarter is the company’s second-highest ever for profit after tax; the best quarter in this regard was within the last year, further establishing Convergence as a consistently profitable online content company which is delivering aggressive growth,” said the statement.

    The group reported that its external liabilities have decreased by Rs 69.2 crore so far in the financial year. Bank borrowings for the group have also shrunk by Rs 42.8 crore year-to-date.

    “These results have been achieved amid the many difficulties posed by the pandemic. NDTV’s reporters and production crews have performed outstandingly, often while being at some risk themselves, delivering the latest and most credible information from across the country on Covid developments; for this, the company is deeply grateful, as also extremely proud,” said the statement.

  • Zee Media’s Q3 operating revenue up 31.7 % to Rs 2,428.1 million

    Zee Media’s Q3 operating revenue up 31.7 % to Rs 2,428.1 million

    Mumbai: Zee Media on Thursday announced its consolidated revenues for the third quarter of FY 2022. The media conglomerate reported operating revenues of Rs 2,428.1 million up by 31.7 per cent year-on-year. The company had reported operating revenue of Rs 1,843.9 mn in Q3 during the previous year.

    The total consolidated revenue was reported to be Rs 6,191.3 mn upto the third quarter ended FY 2021-22. The operating expenditure increased by 33.9 per cent to Rs 1,553.1 mn in Q3FY22 from Rs 1,160.2 mn in Q3FY21, it said.

    The profit after tax (PAT) was recorded at  Rs 454.6 million which saw a growth of 31.9 per cent YoY. The company’s advertising revenues stood at Rs 2,317.1 million up by 33.7 per cent, while the subscription revenues remained flat at Rs 96.8 million.

    Zee Media operates 14 news channels comprising one global, three national and ten regional language channels and is one of the largest TV news networks in the country. Its Hindi news channel Zee News garners 279 million video views on YouTube.

    In January, the company expanded its regional footprint by launching four digital channels namely Zee Tamil News, Zee Telugu News, Zee Kannada News, and Zee Malayalam News.

    Its digital assets combined 17 brands in 11 languages which received 4.23 billion page views during the quarter and 328 million monthly active users (MAUs).

  • Disney+ Hotstar crosses 45.9 million paid subscribers

    Disney+ Hotstar crosses 45.9 million paid subscribers

    Mumbai: The Walt Disney Company on Thursday reported its earnings for the quarter ended 1 January 2022. The media company’s direct-to-home revenues increased by 34 per cent to reach $4.6 billion. This increase was driven by higher subscriber growth and increases in retail pricing.

    Disney+ added 11.7 million subscribers during the quarter taking its total base from 118.1 million to 129.8 million. The company also revealed that it had 45.9 million Disney+ Hotstar subscribers. In comparison, Disney+ domestic subscribers (US+Canada) stood at 42.9 million and international subscribers excluding Hotstar stood at 41.1 million at the end of the quarter.

    The average monthly revenue per user (ARPU) for Disney+ stood at $4.41. The ARPUs for Disney+ Hotstar increased from $0.98 to $1.03 due to launches in new territories with higher average prices, partially offset by a higher mix of wholesale subscribers.

    However, the DTC business also saw a higher operating loss at $0.6 billion (27 per cent increase) driven by higher programming, production, marketing and technology costs at Disney+.

    Overall, Disney posted revenues of $21.8 billion registering a growth of 34 per cent year-on-year. The company’s media and entertainment distribution business brought in about $14.58 billion in revenues registering a growth of 15 per cent YoY. Its operating income was $808 million a decrease of 40 per cent over the same quarter in the previous year.

    Disney’s linear network business posted revenues of $7.7 billion and content sales and licensing revenues stood at $2.4 billion. Disney’s linear network business remained essentially flat over last year.

    International channel revenues for the quarter decreased by four per cent to $1.6 billion reflecting the closure of channels across its markets. The growth in channels that continued to operate in the current and prior year quarters was due to an increase in advertising revenue driven by higher rates.

    “We’ve had a very strong start to the fiscal year, with the launch of a new franchise with Encanto, and a significant increase in total subscriptions across our streaming portfolio to 196.4 million, including 11.8 million Disney+ subscribers added in the first quarter,” The Walt Disney Company chief executive officer Bob Chapek. “This marks the final year of The Walt Disney Company’s first century, and performance like this coupled with our unmatched collection of assets and platforms, creative capabilities, and unique place in the culture give me great confidence we will continue to define entertainment for the next 100 years.”

  • Airtel Q3 FY22: 5.4% revenue growth QoQ led by ARPU increase

    Airtel Q3 FY22: 5.4% revenue growth QoQ led by ARPU increase

    Mumbai: Telecom major Bharti Airtel on Wednesday announced its third quarter FY 2022 results. The company has posted quarterly revenues of Rs 29,867 crore, up 18.3 per cent year-on-year backed by strong and consistent performance delivery across the portfolio. It reported net income (after exceptional items) of Rs 830 crore.

    The telecom company’s India business saw quarterly revenues of Rs 20,913 crore which was up by 17.9 per cent YoY. Its India customer base stands at ~356 million.

    Its mobile services revenues were up by 19.1 per cent YoY led by an increase in average revenue per user (ARPU). Its mobile ARPUs increased to Rs 163 during the quarter versus Rs 146 in the same quarter previous year. Mobile data consumption increased by 33.8 per cent YoY at a rate of 18.3 Gb per month.

    Additionally, Airtel’s 4G customers increased by three million on a quarter-on-quarter basis to reach 195.5 million and account for 61 per cent of its total base.

    The company’s home business saw 40.4 per cent YoY growth led by strong customer additions. Home business witnessed 341,000 customer net additions in the quarter to reach a total base of 4.16 million. Its Digital TV customer base stood at 18.1 million during the same period. “Digital TV continues to improve its market position with steady revenue and customer base,” said the statement.

    Airtel Business revenues were up by 13.4 per cent YoY backed by strong demand for data portfolio and emerging businesses.

    During the quarter, Google announced that it would invest $1 billion in Airtel as part of its Google for India Digitization Fund. Airtel also announced a joint venture with Hughes Communications to become the largest satellite service operator in India.  

    “We have delivered another quarter of sustained performance across all our business segments,” said Bharti Airtel India and South Asia MD and CEO Gopal Vittal. “Overall sequential revenue growth was at 5.4 per cent and EBITDA margins came in at 49.9 per cent. The recent tariff revision for mobile services has gone down well and we are exiting the quarter with an industry leading ARPU of Rs 163. The full impact of the revised mobile tariffs, however, will be visible in the fourth quarter. Our Enterprise, Homes and Africa business continue to deliver strongly, with steady increase in contribution to the overall mix of the portfolio. Our balance sheet is robust and we are now generating healthy free cash flows. This has enabled us to recently prepay some of our spectrum liabilities to the Government thereby reducing the interest burden.”

    He further stated, “Google’s recent investment is a strong validation of Airtel’s role in being a leading pioneer of India’s digital revolution. Our emerging digital services portfolio across Airtel IQ, AdTech, digital marketplace, Nxtra and digital banking positions us well to build an Airtel of the future.”

  • UFO Moviez reports consolidated revenue of Rs 521 mn in Q3’FY22

    UFO Moviez reports consolidated revenue of Rs 521 mn in Q3’FY22

    Mumbai: In-cinema advertising platform UFO Moviez on Friday announced its financial results for the quarter ended 31 December 2021. The media company has reported consolidated revenue and PAT of Rs 521 million (Q3FY21 – Rs 274 million), and minus (-) Rs 130 million (Q3FY21– Rs 282 million), respectively, for the quarter.

    Theatrical revenues have witnessed a steady uptick from November 2021 onwards led by release of Bollywood movies. Advertisement revenues, however, continued to remain subdued.

    Towards the end of December 2021, major metropolitan cities in India were under the grip of the third wave of Covid-19, led by the Omicron variant. Because of this surge and ensuing restrictions, theatres in Delhi, Haryana, Bihar, Tripura and Himachal were once again fully closed while certain other states re-imposed seating restrictions.

    “During the quarter under review, the financial performance of the company witnessed recovery led by steady release of movies across genres and languages,” said UFO Moviez joint managing director Kapil Agarwal. “The release and success of ‘Sooryavanshi’ in November was a defining moment as it restored everyone’s conviction in Cinema as a social entertainment avenue. Other releases like ‘Annaathe,’ ‘Spiderman,’ ‘Eternals,’ ‘Pushpa: The Rise’ and ‘83’ also performed extremely well at the box office.”

    “The impact of the third wave of Covid-19 felt towards the end of December 2021 is expected to be short-lived as the majority of India’s population is vaccinated, cases have also begun to decline, and restrictions are being eased in various states. In light of easing restrictions and the release slate being extremely robust, we expect big movies to start releasing in theatres soon, thus resuming the Industry’s full recovery,” he added.

    In a recent announcement, theatres in Delhi are allowed to re-open and operate with 50 per cent occupancy. Theatres in Haryana and Tripura have also opened up.