ITV

Category: Financials

  • Balaji Telefilms Q1-2014 revenue more than doubles Q1-2013, Q4-2013

    BENGALURU: The blue-eyed entity of the Indian media and entertainment industry, Balaji Telefilms Limited (BTL) reported consolidated revenue of Rs 84.03 crore for Q1-2014, more than double (up by 131 per cent) the revenue of Rs 36.37 crore in Q1-2013. BTL’s Q1-2014 consolidated revenue was also more than double (up by 117 per cent) the revenue of Rs 38.71 crore for Q4-2013.

    Let us take a look at BTL’s other figures for Q1-2014

    Despite a negative EBIDTA of Rs 5.02 crore, BTL’s other income of Rs 12.86 crore resulted in a PAT of Rs 3.62 crore for Q1-2014, almost triple (up by 179 per cent) the PAT of Rs 1.39 crore for Q1-2013, and more than sixfold the Rs 0.5143 crore PAT in Q4-2013. BTL’s EBIDTA for Q1-2013 was Rs 0.1861 crore for Q1-2013 and a negative EBIDTA of Rs (-4.5) crore for Q4-2013.

    The company attributes the EBDITA loss in Q1-2014 of Rs 5.02 crore to discontinuance of television serials and deferment of non-theatrical revenues.

    BTL’s expenditure towards marketing and distribution of television serials and movies for Q1-2014 of Rs 80.22 crore was up by 163 per cent (more than double) the Rs 38.56 crore during Q1-2013 and was 134.4 per cent (again more than double) more than the Rs 34.22 crore in Q4-2013.

    BTL’s overhead expenditure for Q1-2014 at Rs 9.25 crore was 17 per cent more than the Rs 7.91 crore for Q1-2013, but 18.22 per cent lower than the Rs 11.31 crore in Q4-2014.

    Breakup of figures from Television, Balaji Motion Pictures Limited (BMPL) and Bolt Media Limited (Bolt) for Q1-2014

    Including other operating income, Television reported Rs 22.40 as total operating income for Q-2014, Rs 18.34 crore was spent towards production, acquisition marketing and distribution, staff cost, depreciation, and other expenses were Rs 7.12 crore, resulting in a loss from operations of Rs (-3.06) crore. Other Income of Rs 12.86 crore in Q1-2014 resulted in a PAT of Rs 7.43 crore.

    The company says that it had lower revenues from Television on account of discontinuance of two shows and it expects commissioned revenues to drive both volume and realisation.

    BMPL reported total operating income of Rs 61.67 crore for Q1-2014. Expenditure towards production, acquisition marketing and distribution was Rs 61.58 crore, staff cost, depreciation and other expenses were Rs 3.65 crore, resulting in a loss of Rs 3.57 crore for BMPL.

    The company says that actual BMPL EBDITA would be Rs 3.52 crore if marketing and distribution expense of Rs 7.02 crore for two upcoming movies Lootera and Once Upon Ay Time In Mumbai Dobaara is excluded.

    Bolt reported revenue of Rs 0.8289 crore for Q1-2014. Expenditure towards production, acquisition marketing and distribution was Rs 0.6691 crore and staff cost, depreciation and other expenses were Rs 0.3787 crore, resulting in a loss of Rs 0.219 crore from Bolt.

    Click here for Balaji Telefilms Limited – Financial Report Q1 FY-2014

    Click here for Balaji Telefilms Limited – Investor Presentation Q1
    FY-2014

  • PAT returns to Sri Adhikari Brothers in Q1-2014 after a hiatus in Q4-2013

    BENGALURU: Sri Adhikari Brothers Television Network Limited (Sri Adhikari Brothers) reported a PAT of Rs 1.83 crore for Q1-2014 as compared to a loss of Rs 3.02 crore in the preceding quarter (Q4-2013). The content provider had reported a lower PAT of Rs 1.69 crore for the corresponding quarter last year Q1-2013.

    Let us take a look at the other results of Sri Adhikari Brothers for Q1-2014

    A note by the company’s chartered accountants says – The company has not recognised Current Tax and Deferred Tax as per requirements of Accounting Satndard 22 – ‘Accounting of Taxes on Income’. Pending details of the measurement of above it’s impact on the Profit and Loss for the quarter ended June 30, 2013 cannot be ascertainable.

    Sri Adhikari Brothers had a net sales/income from operations for Q1-2014 of Rs 17.52 crore, 39.3 per cent higher than the Rs 12.58 crore for Q1-2013 and 7.9 per cent higher than the Rs 16.24 crore in Q4-2013.

    Sri Adhikari Brothers’ total expenditure for Q1-2014 at Rs 15.28 crore was 55 per cent more than the Rs 9.86 crore for Q1-2013, but 19 per cent lower than the Rs 18.85 crore in Q4-2013.

    Production expenditure for Q1-2014 at Rs 10.68 crore was more than double (2.15 times more) than the Rs 4.96 crore for Q1-2013, but 70 per cent of the Rs 15.14 crore in Q4-2013.

    Other expenditure at Rs 1.93 crore for Q1-2014 was 12.4 per cent lower than the Rs 2.20 crore for Q1-2013, but 43 per cent higher than the Rs 13.49 crore for Q4-2013.

    Profit from operations before other income, finance cost, exceptional items and tax for Q1-2014 at Rs 2.24 crore was 17.7 per cent lower than the Rs 2.24 crore for Q1-2013. Sri Adhikari Brothers reported a loss from operations before other income, finance cost, exceptional items and tax for Q4-2013 of Rs 2.62 crore.

  • TV Today Q1-2014 PAT almost doubles Q4-2013; Radio shows improved results

    TV Today Q1-2014 PAT almost doubles Q4-2013; Radio shows improved results

    BENGALURU: Indian broadcaster TV Today Network Limited (TV Today) reported a PAT of Rs 11.98 crore for Q1-2013, almost double (88.5 per cent higher) than the Rs 6.36 crore profit for Q4-2013. The company had reported a loss of Rs 0.35 crore for Q1-2013.

    Its FM Radio Broadcasting segment (radio) showed improved performance in Q1-2014 as compared to Q1-2013 and Q4-2013. Loss from the radio segment of Rs 2.33 crore was about half (51.2 per cent) of Rs 4.54 crore in Q1-2013 and 15 per cent lower than the loss of Rs 2.74 crore in Q4-2013. Revenue from radio in Q1-2014 at Rs 3.02 crore was higher by 36.6 per cent as compared to the Rs 2.21 crore in Q1-2013 and 14.1 per cent higher than the Rs 2.64 crore in Q4-2013.

    Let us take a look at TV Today‘s other results for Q1-2014

    TV Today‘s net income from operations for Q1-2014 at Rs 88.90 crore increased 25.8 per cent as compared to the Rs 70.64 crore for Q1-2013 and was 5.5 per cent higher than the Rs 84.27 crore for Q4-2013.

    Its profit from operations before other income, finance costs and exceptional items in Q1-2014 at Rs 17.62 crore almost trebled (was 276 per cent up) as compared to the profit of Rs 6.38 crore for Q4-2013. The company had reported a loss from operations before other income, finance costs and exceptional items of Rs 0.49 crore for Q1-2013.

    Exceptional items included the Rs 1.57 crore the company had paid in Q1-2013 to Prasar Bharti and BSNL under protest towards telecast fee and interest thereon (Rs 0.8001 crore) and monitoring charges for foreign satellite (Rs 0.7691 crore) respectively in respect of earlier years

    TV Today‘s overall expense for Q1-2014 was almost flat at Rs 71.27 crore as compared to the Rs 71.13 crore for Q1-2013 and 8.5 per cent lower than the Rs 77.89 crore for Q4-2013.

    The network spent Rs 9.03 crore in Q1-2014 towards production cost, 13 per cent lower than the Rs 10.38 crore for Q4-2013, but 3.8 per cent more than the Rs 8.71 crore for Q1-2013.

    TV Today‘s advertisement, distribution and sales expense at Rs 19.7 crore for Q1-2014 was lower by 9.7 per cent as compared to the Rs 21.81 crore in Q1-2013 and 14.1 per cent lower than the Rs 22.93 crore in Q4-2013.

    TV Today‘s Television broadcasting revenue for Q1-2014 at Rs 85.89 crore was higher by 25.5 per cent as compared to the Rs 68.44 crore for Q1-2013 and 5.2 per cent more than the Rs 81.63 crore for Q4-2013.

    It‘s Television Broadcasting business had a PBIT (Profit before interest and tax) of Rs 21.18 crore for Q1-2014 was almost five times (4.98 times) the Rs4.25 crore for Q1-2013 and was 81.1 per cent higher as compared to the Rs 11.69 crore for Q4-2013.

    TV Today has made a strategic investment of Rs 45.52 crore in Mail Today Newspapers Pvt. Ltd. (Mail Today) for entering into print media. Though Mail Today is in the initail stages of operation and is presently incurring losses, the company is confident of its profitability and consequently of the carrying value of the investment.

    To click here to view the TV Today Financials Report

  • Despite losses, NDTV reports improved operational performance for Q1-2014

    Despite losses, NDTV reports improved operational performance for Q1-2014

    BENGALURU: Despite the fact that the first quarter is seasonally the worst quarter, and one-time expenses related to the re-launch of NDTV Profit, New Delhi Television Networks Limited (NDTV) has reported an improved operation performance for Q1-2014.

    NDTV’s consolidated net loss for Q1-2014 at Rs 24.04 crore was 7.9 per cent lower than the consolidated loss of Rs 26.09 crore for Q1-2013. The company had reported a consolidated profit of Rs 27.81 crore in Q4-2013 and a consolidated profit of Rs 19.1 crore for FY-2013.

    Consolidated income from operations of Rs 102.4 crore for Q1-2014 was slightly lower (by 4.1 per cent) as compared to the Rs 106.83 crore for Q1-2013 and substantially lower (45.1 per cent lower) than the Rs 186.56 crore for Q4-2013.

    Total consolidated expense was Rs 125.75 crore for Q1-2014, lower by 5.1 per cent as compared to Rs 132.56 crore for Q1-2013 and 21.8 per cent lower than the Rs 160.90 crore for Q4-2013.

    NDTV‘s consolidated production expense at Rs 24.11 crore for Q1-2014 was lower by 12.1 per cent as compared to the production expense of Rs 27.42 crore for Q1-2013 and 39.9 per cent lower than the Rs 40.12 crore for Q4-2013.

    NDTV spent Rs 21.57 crore towards marketing, distribution and promotional expenses, 37.7 per cent lower than the Rs 34.65 crore for Q1-2013 and almost half (50.6 per cent of the total marketing, distribution and promotional expenses) of the Rs 42.63 crore in Q4-2013.

    NDTV‘s consolidated operating and administrative expense for Q1-2014 at Rs 28.58 crore was 7.2 per cent more than the Rs 26.65 crore for Q1-2013, but 4.8 per cent lower than the Rs 30.01 crore for Q4-2013.

    NDTV‘s Profit / (Loss) from ordinary activities before finance cost and exceptional Items for Q1-2014 at Rs (-14.74) crore was 13.6 per cent lower than the Rs (-17.05) crore for Q1-2013. NDTV reported a profit / from ordinary activities before finance cost and exceptional items of Rs 14.65 crore for Q4-2013.

    NDTV‘s finance costs for Q1-2014 at Rs 4.65 crore was substantially lower by 31.5 per cent as compared to the Rs 6.79 crore for Q1-2013 and lower by 24 per cent as compared to the Rs 6.12 crore for Q4-2013.

    NDTV says that traditionally, the April to June quarter is seasonally unfavourable for the media industry. This has been exacerbated by the economic downturn. Further, some of the benefits of Phase I and Phase II Digitisation – substantial reduction in carriage fees and significant increase in subscription revenues – are yet to fully accrue.

    NDTV group CEO Vikram Chandra said, “We are excited at the imminent re-launch of NDTV Profit. We are working on a unique concept. A business channel only attracts viewership in the day, when the markets are open. The relaunched channel will cover markets during the day, and high viewership programming in the evening. This enables us to tap into two prime-time bands.”

    NDTV is the first Indian company to have 1 million followers on Twitter.

  • Television business props up Network 18 Q1-2014; prevent further reddening

    Television business props up Network 18 Q1-2014; prevent further reddening

    BENGALURU: Network 18 Media & Investments Limited (Network 18) reported a profit after tax (PAT) of Rs18.9 crore in Q1-2014, as compared to a loss of Rs 90 crore in Q1-2013. Results from three of the four revenue segments of the media and entertainment player reported losses, with television playing the lone hand in keeping profits for Q1-2014 buoyant and positive. Though Network 18 reports combined figures for Television and Motion Pictures, company officials confirmed that Motion Pictures had also added to Network 18 losses. Despite showing revenue growth, the other two segments -digital content and e-commerce business; and allied businesses also pulled down profits for Q1-2014. Let us take a look at the figures for Q1-2014 Operating revenue for Q1-2014 stood at Rs 556.6 crore on a reported basis. The corresponding figure for Q1-2013 was Rs 435.6 crore, hence showing a 28 per cent growth for Q1-2014. Operating revenue during Q1-2014, was however lower by 18 per cent as compared to the Rs 679.6 crore for the preceding quarter Q4-2013. Revenue from the television and motion business at Rs 437.4 crore was 47.2 per cent higher than the Rs 297.2 crore for Q1-2013 but about 8.6 per cent lower than the Rs 511.3 crore for Q4-2013. Revenue from digital content and e- commerce at Rs 106.9 crore grew 46.8 per cent as compared to the Rs 72.8 crore in Q1-2013, and was about 3.2 per cent lower than the Rs 110.4 crore during Q4-2013. Revenue for Q1-2014 from allied businesses fell 37.7 per cent to Rs 65.6 crore from Rs 105.3 crore in Q1-2013 and 36.7 per cent from Rs.103.6 crore in Q4-2013. Digital content and e-commerce reported a loss of Rs 43.5 crore. Allied businesses reported a loss Rs 9.9 crore and Rs 9.2 crore were contributed to the losses from discontinued operations. Television and Motion picture business propped up the company with an operating profit of Rs 23.8 crore. The company turned in a profit after tax of Rs 18.9 crore for the quarter. Network18 managing director Raghav Bahl said, “The macroeconomic environment continues to be challenging and growth prospects remain uncertain. Despite this backdrop, our core TV and digital businesses turned in a steady performance. We continued the profitable monetisation of our investments and raised growth capital in HomeShop18. There were pockets of weaknesses in our portfolio and we are committed to improving segments that are not meeting expectations. We have a strong portfolio of media businesses and remain confident of unlocking its value for our stakeholders”. Network 18,group CEO B. Saikumar said, “The core television and digital businesses got off to a stable start in the new fiscal year. Our entertainment broadcasting business showed strength and the e-commerce businesses grew strongly. While our news and infotainment businesses have seen distinct softness in advertising, our entertainment businesses led by Colors have performed well on this front. Motion pictures have seen losses this quarter and the management is confident of stemming them in the immediate term. Net distribution revenues from IndiaCast are on a strong growth trajectory and we continue to be enthused by its growth potential. Our e-commerce businesses continued their stellar growth and the digital content business grew steadily as well. We remain confident of delivering a strong year ahead.”

  • IPL Franchise inflates revenues but erodes Sun TV profits for Q1-2014

    IPL Franchise inflates revenues but erodes Sun TV profits for Q1-2014

    BENGALURU: It‘s still early days yet considering the fact that the last Indian Premiere League‘s (IPL), sixth edition was the first one for the Sunrisers Hyderabad team, but the IPL venture did erode Rs 30.79 crore or about eight per cent of the Rs 384.44 crore EBIDTA reported by the Sun TV Network Limited (Sun TV) broadcasting business in Q1-2014.

    As stated above, excluding IPL, EBIDTA for Sun TV for Q1-2014 was Rs 384.44 crore, up 19 per cent as compared to EBIDTA reported for Q1-2013. Including the IPL negative EBIDTA, Q1-2014 EBIDTA was about 10 per cent higher at Rs 353.65 crore as compared to Rs 322.97 crore in Q1-2013.

    Let us take a look at the numbers reported by Sun TV Network Limited

    Sun TV‘s PBIDT (Profit before interest, depreciation and tax) for Q1-2014 grew by about nine per cent to Rs 367.04 crore from Rs 336.20 crore in Q1-2013. The network says that it‘s PAT (excluding IPL) at Rs 184.78 crore grew about 12 per cent.

    Sun TV reported revenues for Q1-2014 of Rs 601.85, including Rs 98.54 crore from IPL, a growth of 41 per cent over the Rs 425.25 crore for Q1-2013. Its broadcasting business grew 18 per cent in Q1-2014 to Rs 503.31 crore as compared to Q1-2013, and by 5.4 per cent as compared to the Rs 477.67 crore during Q4-2013.

    At the time of writing of this report, Sun TV has not filed the exact numbers of the break-up from the various revenue streams that contribute to its broadcasting business; it has indicated the growth percentages of the major revenue streams through a release.

    The network says that its advertisement revenue for Q1-2014 was up by approximately 15 per cent to Rs 279.73 crore.

    Sun TV says that its subscription revenues continue to maintain an uptrend with its cable TV business growing by approximately 38 per cent and its DTH subscription revenue growing by about 20 per cent in Q1-2014.

    Sun TV paid Rs 85.05 crore towards IPL franchise fees, subtracting these fees from its total expenses of Rs 365.59 crore for Q1-2014, the channel‘s expenses at Rs 280.54 crore jumped up 43.1 per cent as compared to Rs 196.05 per cent for Q1-2013 and were higher by 24.3 per cent as compared to the Rs 225.89 crore for Q4-2013.

    The network‘s ‘Other Expenses‘ for Q1-2014 more than trebled (up 261 per cent) to Rs 73.94 crore as compared to the Rs 20.50 crore for Q1-2013 and more than doubled (up 129.8 per cent) as compared to Q4-2014‘s Rs32.18 crore.

    At its meeting held on 2 August 2013, the board of directors of the company have declared an interim dividend of Rs 2.25 per share (45 per cent).

    Sun TV Network Ltd – Financial Report

    Sun TV Network Ltd – Financial Release

  • Q1-2014 results of Raj TV show PAT growth of 45.3 per cent over Q1-2013

    Q1-2014 results of Raj TV show PAT growth of 45.3 per cent over Q1-2013

    BENGALURU: Unaudited Q1-2014 results for Raj Television Network Limited (Raj TV) showed a 45.3 per cent growth in PAT to Rs 466.57 lakh as compared to the PAT of Rs 321.16 lakh in Q1-2013. Raj TV had reported a meager PAT of Rs 53.28 lakh for Q4-2013 and a PAT of Rs 928.63 lakh during FY-2013.

    Let us take a look at Raj TV‘s Q1-2014 results

    Increase in income from operations, reduction of expense towards employee benefits and lowered finance costs (as compared to Q4-2013) during Q1-2014 seem to be the major contributors to Raj TV‘s increase in PAT numbers for the quarter (Q1-2014).

    Raj TV reported income from operations for Q1-2014 at Rs 1829.23 lakh, a growth of 12.5 per cent over Q1-2013 income from operations of Rs 1626.52 lakh and 4.7 per cent more than the Rs 1746.87 lakh reported for Q4-2013.

    Expenses for employee benefits for Q1-2014 at Rs 238.33 lakh were lower by 9.1 per cent as compared to the Rs 262.21 lakh reported for Q1-2013 and substantially lower by 29.1 per cent as compared to the Rs 336.18 lakh expenses towards employee benefits reported for Q4-2013.

    Finance costs for Q1-2014 at Rs 83.34 lakh, though higher by 28.22 per cent as compared to the Rs 65 lakh for Q1-2013 were substantially lower by 44.85 per cent when compared to the Rs 151.12 lakh the company paid in Q4-2013, despite an increase in borrowings in Q1-2014 as compared to the figures reported by the company during FY-2013.

    Raj TV‘s long term borrowings at Rs 1037.1 lakh increased by 16.2 per cent as compared to the long term borrowings of Rs 892.85 lakh for FY-2013, its short term borrowings also increased by 7.9 per cent to Rs 1490.8 lakh for Q1-2014 from Rs 1382.21 lakh during FY-2013. Its trade payables also increased substantially by 32.1 per cent to Rs 460.19 lakh from the Rs 348.39 lakh for FY-2013.

    At the same time, Raj TV‘s trade receivables for Q1-2014 went up by Rs 346.09 lakh to Rs 4625.95 lakh, and were 8.1 per cent more than the trade receivables of Rs 4279.86 lakh for FY-2013.

    Overall, the total expenses for Q1-2014 at Rs 1285.03 lakh were seven per cent higher than the Rs 1201.39 lakh in Q1-2013 and 15.61 per cent lower than the Rs 1521.8 lakh reported for Q4-2013.

  • ZMCL reports 112 per cent PAT growth in Q1-2014 compared to Q1-2013

    BENGALURU: Zee Media Corporation Limited (ZMCL), formerly Zee News Limited announced good growth figures for Q1-2014 as compared to Q1-2013, but middling to flat and lower results when compared to the previous quarter Q4-2013. The Company owns and operates seven news/current affairs and regional language channels, namely Zee News, Zee Business, Zee 24 Taas, Zee 24 Gantalu, Zee Uttar Pradesh Uttarakhand, Zee Madhya Pradesh Chhattisgarh and Zee Punjab Haryana Himachal.

    Let us take a look at the Q1-2014 figures

    ZMCL reported more than doubling of PAT (112 per cent) to Rs 8.51 crore in Q1-2014 as compared to PAT of Rs 4.01 crore in Q1-2013 and a 6.1 per cent growth as compared to Q4-2013.

    Operating revenues grew 12.2 per cent (y-o-y) to Rs 77.68 crore in Q1-2014 as compared to Rs 68.88 crore reported in Q1-2013. However, ZMCL‘s operating revenues for Q1-2014 were 1.7 per cent lower than the Rs 79.04 crore reported for Q4-2013. Income from operations at Rs 70.2 crore in Q1-2014 grew 16.4 per cent from Rs 60.286 crore in Q1-2013.

    Advertising revenues which constituted 68.1 per cent of the total revenues for Q1-2014 grew 14.2 per cent (y-o-y) to Rs 52.9 crore as compared to Rs 46.32 crore (67.2 per cent of total revenues for the quarter) in Q1-2013 and were up 1.4 per cent as compared to the Rs 52.19 crore (66 per cent of the total revenues for the quarter) reported in Q4-2013.

    Subscription revenues in Q1-2014 also grew, albeit at a higher rate of 19.3 per cent to Rs 21 crore (27 per cent of the total revenues for the quarter) as compared to the Rs 17.6 crore (25.6 per cent of the total revenues for the quarter) reported for Q1-2013, but were 5.4 per cent lower than the Rs 22.2 crore (28.1 per cent of total revenues for the quarter) ZMCL reported for Q4-2013.

    Other sales and services saw a drop of 23.2 per cent to Rs 3.78 crore in Q1-2014 from Rs 4.96 crore reported in Q1-2013 and were 19.2 per cent lower than the Rs 4.68 crore for Q4-2013.

    In Q1-2014, total expenses saw a small jump of 7.6 per cent to Rs 68.37 crore from the Rs 63.55 crore reported in Q1-2013 and were 8.1 per cent lower than the Rs 74.4 crore for Q4-2013.

    ZMCL director Punit Goenka said, “Our ambition to reach deeper into the lives of our viewers has led us to change our name from Zee News Limited to Zee Media Corporation Limited. We will continue to pursue growth in the untapped regions of our country and provide them with varied news, infotainment and entertainment content across delivery platforms. Apart from the latest launch of Zee Madhya Pradesh Chhattisgarh, we have also launched Zee Rajasthan recently. The channel has content for all facets of the viewer from Rajasthan, be it crisper local news bulletins, entertainment programmes reflecting the typical lifestyle or discussions on issues related to the common Rajasthani man.”

    ZMCL whole-time director Alok Agrawal said, “Even as we are aggressively expanding our regional channel bouquet, we have not left sight of our current deliverables. We have made efforts to squeeze even more efficiency out of our operations and have restricted increase of various costs. On the other hand, both Advertising and Subscription Revenues have shown an increase over the last year. We have taken special initiatives related to the content which are expected to yield results in the coming quarters.”

  • TV18 results show upturn for Q1-2014

    BENGALURU: Indian media and entertainment company TV18 Broadcast Limited (TV18) turned in a profit of Rs 5.9 crore after tax for the quarter on the back of a significantly deleveraged balance sheet as compared to a loss of Rs 23.5 crore in the previous year.

    Income from operations for Q1-2014 stood at Rs107.37 crore, with other income contributing another Rs 2.25 crore to arrive at a net operating income of Rs109.62 crore, lower than the net operating income of Rs136.91 crore reported for Q1-2012 and significantly lower than the net operating income of Rs147.06 crore reported for Q4-2014. TV18’s net profit was Rs 8.91crore for Q1-2014 as against a net loss of Rs 7.79 crore for Q1-2013, but much lower than the net profit of Rs 20.95 crore for Q4-2013.

    Let us take a look at the unaudited Q1-2014 figures

    Q1-2014 revenues from its media operations stood at Rs 383.4 crore, while those from its motion picture business were Rs 18.8 crore. Reduction of inter-segmental revenues of Rs 6 crore resulted in reported revenues for the television and motion pictures business, including IndiaCast revenues of Rs 147.9 crore (75 per cent for the current year) at Rs 396.2 crore for the quarter.

    Reported operating profit for Q1-2014 stood at Rs 23.8 crore, up 57 per cent over the Rs 15.5 crore during the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

    Overall, the company’s motion picture business dragged operating profits down. The company says that the losses from the Motion Pictures business were primarily on account of the tepid audience response received by its movie Bombay Talkies.

    In the current quarter, its release Bhaag Milkha Bhaag has been a critically acclaimed, runaway hit.

    For Q1-2014, motion picture business with revenues of Rs 18.8 crore reported an operating loss of Rs 8.4 crore, bringing down the operating profit of Rs 14.7 crore from the News and Entertainment segment and the Rs 15.2 crore operating profit from the Entertainment – Television business and the Rs 2.3 crore (75 per cent current year) from Indiacast.

    Comparatively, losses from the Motion Picture business were much lower at Rs 2.4 crores during Q1-2013, while during Q4-2013, the Motion Picture business had actually returned a profit of Rs 3 crore during the previous quarter (Q4-2013).

    Advertising Revenues grew 5.5 per cent year for Q1-2015 at Rs 227.5 crore as compared to Rs 215.6 crore the company reported in Q1-2013, but were significantly lower by Rs 50 crore (18 per cent) than the Rs 277.5 crore the company reported for the pervious quarter (Q4-2013).

    Net Distribution Income grew 32 percent sequentially to Rs 34.9 crore for Q1-2014, swinging from a loss of Rs 16 crore during Q1-2013 and higher than the Rs 26.4 crore reported during the previous quarter Q4-2013.

    IndiaCast is a 50-50 joint venture between TV18 and Viacom18 and has been consolidated as such. IndiaCast came into operation on 1 July 2012 and as such, is consolidated only from Q2 FY13. Also for the previous year it was consolidated as a 100 per cent subsidiary. TV18 moved to the Net Distribution Income methodology of accounting for carriage and subscription from Q2FY13. Q1FY13 results have been regrouped to ensure comparability. For Q1FY13, gross subscription and carriage numbers are included in the audited results of FY13. From the current year; we have stopped reporting new operations separately given their vintage. Segmental numbers are based on management accounts and are not audited.

    Effective 1 July 2012, IndiaCast has been managing TV18‘s and Viacom18‘s distribution operations. operating profits Net Distribution Income may be understood as subscription revenues earned by the company minus carriage/placement fees or any promotions/commission paid.

    News and Infotainment Operations

    The summary for this segment shows three streams – General News, Business News and Infotainment (AETN18). For Q1-2014, operating profits from Business News of Rs 17.5 crore were eroded by the Rs 1.4 crore loss reported by General News and another Rs 1.4 crore loss by Infotainment to arrive at a net operating profit of Rs 14.7 crore.

    Overall revenues for this segment were lower at Rs 119 crore for Q1-2014 as compared to the Rs 127 crore for Q1-2013 and significantly lower (by 25 per cent) than the Rs158.3 crore during the last quarter (Q4-2013). Even the revenues from the Business News stream were significantly lower (by 38.6 per cent) at Rs 57.3 crore for Q1-2014 as compared to the Rs 93.3 crore for Q4-2013, but were about six per cent higher than the Rs 54.2 crore reported for the corresponding quarter of the previous years (Q1-2013).

    General News and Infotainment streams revenues were lower for Q1-2014 at Rs 55.2 crore (General News) and Rs 6.5 crore (Infotainment) as compared to the Rs 62.1 crore (General News) and Rs 10.7 crore (Infotainment) for Q1-2013. During Q4-2013, General News reported revenues of Rs 56.1 crore and Infotainment Rs 8.9 crore.

    Entertainment Business

    Q1-2014 revenues for Viacom 18 stood at Rs 408.3 crore as compared to the Rs 340.8 crore for Q1-2013 and Rs 404.8 crore for Q4-2013. Operating profits stood at Rs 15.2 crore as against Rs 2.4 crore in Q1-2013.

    Broadcasting revenues for Q1-2014 were Rs 303.6 crore. The company says that

    operating profits from its broadcasting business grew by 35 per cent over the previous year.

    ETV News and Entertainment (Non-Telugu)

    Figures reported on a 100 per cent basis for this stream are as follows:

    ETV News revenues for Q1-2014 were Rs 27.8 crore with EBITDA of Rs 8.9 crore while revenues from ETV Entertainment stood at Rs 57.5 crore and a negative EBITDA of Rs 42.5 crore.

    Said Network 18 managing director Raghav Bahl, “The macroeconomic environment continues to be challenging and growth prospects remain uncertain. Given this backdrop, our broadcasting operations turned in a steady performance aided by the roll out of digitisation in 42 cities. However, there were pockets of weakness and we are committed to improving segments that are not meeting expectations. We have a strong portfolio of channels and remain confident of unlocking their value for our stakeholders.”

    Added Group CEO B Saikumar, “We continue to turn in steady operating profits from our television businesses. Motion pictures have seen losses this quarter and the management is confident of stemming them in the immediate term. While our news and infotainment businesses have seen distinct softness in advertising, our entertainment businesses led by Colors have performed well on this front. Net Distribution Revenues from IndiaCast are on a strong growth trajectory and we continue to be enthused by its growth potential. The industry is going through several important changes on both the advertising and distribution fronts. We believe that these changes are positive and will lead to a stronger industry structure. We remain confident of delivering a strong year ahead.”

  • Raj TV: commendable FY 2013 results; in investment mode

    Raj TV: commendable FY 2013 results; in investment mode

    MUMBAI: Higher ad rates and subscription revenues helped give a leg up to southern broadcaster Raj Television Network in FY 2013 ended 31 March 2013, even though its performance in Q4 2013 was relatively disappointing. Net profit for FY 2013 rose marginally to Rs 9.28 crore as against Rs 9.21 crore. However, net profit in Q4 2013 took a nosedive to Rs 53.28 lakh as against Rs 4.65 crore in the previous corresponding year‘s quarter.

    Let us look at the Q4-2013 financials as against Q4-2012

    Revenue for Q4-2013 at Rs 17.47 crore, has risen 9.7 per cent as against Rs 15.92 crore in Q4-2012. Expenses have however increased significantly by 42 cent to Rs 15.22 crore in Q4-2013 as against Rs 10.73 crore in Q4-2012. Finance costs have more than doubled from Rs 66.66 lakh in Q4-2012 to Rs 1.51 crore in Q4 2013. The company says this happened on account of its launching new regional language channels, the fruits of which will accrue to its balance-sheet in the coming year.

    As mentioned above the net profit for Q4-2013 is down to a dismal figure of Rs 53.28 lacs as against a strong Rs 4.65 crore reported in the corresponding last quarter.

    Let us look at the FY-2013 results as against FY-2012

    Annual revenues at Rs 67.53 crore for FY-2013 have significantly climbed up by over 24 per cent as against Rs 54.06 crore in FY-2012. Advertisement and subscription and DTH revenues too are up 13 per cent and by 32.5 per cent respectively.

    Expenses have surged 26 plus per cent to Rs 54.74 crore in FY-2013 as against Rs 43.01 crores in FY-2012. The sharp rise is accounted for a spike in the cost of revenues to Rs 28.3 crore as against Rs 18.23 crore in FY-2012. The company says its production costs skyrocketed because its shifted its telecasts from Insat to a Asiasat 5. This resulted in its overall satellite rent bumping up to Rs 4.3 crore in FY 2013.

    PAT in FY-2013 as mentioned above stand at Rs 9.28 crore as against Rs 9.21 crore in FY-2012. For the full year, its foray into new regional channels, saw its financial costs ballooning by Rs 2 crore which dented its bottomline.

    The board has recommended a final dividend of Rs 1 per share on the face value of Rs 10 per share. Investors obviously seem bullish on the stock, despite its relatively poor Q4 performance. The Raj TV stock closed at an all time high of Rs 301.85 on 28 May.