ITV

Tag: Ebitda

  • IBN18 Q3 standalone net loss at Rs 109.6 mn

    IBN18 Q3 standalone net loss at Rs 109.6 mn

    MUMBAI: IBN18 Broadcast Ltd has posted a standalone net loss of Rs 109.63 million for the quarter ended 31 December, marginally up from a net loss of Rs 104.05 million in the year-ago period.

    The standalone results constitute the financials of English and Hindi news channels CNN IBN and IBN7.

    For the quarter under review, total income increased 24.47 per cent to Rs 585.03 million. The company managed to keep the expenses under check at Rs 525.98 million, as compared to Rs 533.32 million in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.

    In the quarter, IBN18 has reported operating profit of Rs 59.05 million, as compared to an operating loss of Rs 63.30 million in the prior-year period.

    The company said in a statement that CNN IBN managed a 48 per cent Q-o-Q revenue growth, while IBN7 has seen a jump of 39 per cent in revenue. It also said that the Hindi news channel has achieved EBITDA break-even during the quarter.

    IBN18’s consolidated net loss stood at Rs 106.06 million. Total income was at Rs 1.94 billion, while expenditure stood at Rs 1.85 billion for the quarter.

  • TV18 posts Q2 losses, signals early recovery

    TV18 posts Q2 losses, signals early recovery

    MUMBAI: Television18, the company which operates leading business news channels CNBC TV18 and CNBC Awaaz, has suffered losses for the second consecutive quarter.

    On a standalone basis, TV18 has posted a net loss (after tax and minority interest, before ESOP charge out) of Rs 246.95 million for the quarter ended 30 September, as compared to a net profit of Rs 103.49 million a year ago.

    Amid slowdown, revenue from news operations fell 20 per cent to Rs 647.50 million, as against Rs 808.23 in the same quarter of FY’09.

    However, on the sequential basis, the company’s revenue has increased 14 per cent as compared to Rs 568.57 million in Q1.

    Operating expenses went up by 12.07 per cent to Rs 547.11 million in the quarter under review on Y-o-Y basis.

    TV18 is expecting revenues to grow YoY from next quarter onwards, ending four quarters of de-growth.

    Meanwhile, the operating margin of the company decreased to 15.50 per cent in the quarter under review, compared to 39.60 per cent in the prior-year period.

    On a consolidated basis, TV18, which also includes financials of Web18, Infomedia18 and Newswire18, has posted a net loss of Rs 563.74 million. For the same quarter of the previous year, net loss stood at Rs 402.19 million.

    Total revenue from consolidated operations jumped 12.19 per cent to Rs 1.2 billion, as compared to Rs 1.07 billion a year ago. Expenses stood at Rs 1.25 billion, up 20.72 per cent.

    The company announced that all its business units have reported sequential growth in revenues and all are set to turn Ebitda positive on consolidated basis. Also successful completion of rights issue will “substantially de-leverage the balance sheet.”

    “A successful completion of our rights issue will give the necessary dose of equity to the balance sheet, deleveraging it from the current debt levels,” TV18 MD Raghav Bahl said in a statement.

    Web18, the subsidiary that houses all the websites of the group, has curtailed its net loss to Rs 100.33 million, as compared to Rs 238.04 million a year ago. Revenue from the operations grew marginally by 4.85 per cent to Rs 160.08 million, while expenses dropped 38.26 per cent to Rs 211.45 million in the quarter.

    In Infomedia18, however, the net loss has increased to Rs 37.90 million, from Rs 1.11 million in the corresponding quarter of FY ’09. Revenue has increased to Rs 353.72 million, from Rs 290.48 million, while expenses climbed to Rs 415.10 million, from Rs 299.62 million a year ago.

    In Newswire18, revenue has grown 54 per cent and the company has turned Ebitda positive. Though it has posted a net loss of Rs 13.28 million, as against Rs 39.93 million, revenue rose to Rs 78.88 million (from Rs 51.20 million), while expenses were at Rs 76.87 million.

    Bahl added, “We are happy to share that all our businesses have started showing revenue growth on a QoQ basis and we have reasons to believe that we shall soon be witnessing YoY growth as well. While the business news channels continue to have a positive Ebitda, Newswire18 has turned Ebitda positive as well. We are confident that the operating margins of other businesses, especially Web18 and Infomedia18, will start recovering from the next quarter.”

  • ‘NDTV is adequately funded to support its expansion’ : Narayan Rao – NDTV Group CEO KVL

    ‘NDTV is adequately funded to support its expansion’ : Narayan Rao – NDTV Group CEO KVL

     NDTV Ltd is on an expansion overdrive. In over a year, it has launched a slate of channels and moved beyond news into the lucrative Hindi general entertainment space.

     

    The company has attracted NBC Universal to pump in $150 million for an effective indirect holding of 26 per cent stake in NDTV Networks Plc. Further capital infusion of $120 million has come from a clutch of investors.

     

    NDTV’s stake in the joint venture company with Malaysia-based Astro has increased from 20 per cent to 30 per cent. The company has also launched NDTV Arabia to tap customised channels in international markets.

     

    Shepherding this growth has been NDTV Group CEO KVL Narayan Rao. In an interview with Indiantelevision.com’s Sibabrata Das, Rao chalks out the company’s expansion plans and the need for the group to consolidate its operations.

     

    Excerpts:

    Is NDTV floating a joint venture company with The Hindu Group to launch a Chennai city-centric channel?
    We are setting up a joint venture company with The Hindu Group where we will hold 51 per cent. The Hindu Group will have the balance 49 per cent and the JV will launch MetroNation Chennai in the next 3-4 months. Hindu is a reputed brand at the regional and national level. So we decided to have a content and commercial relationship. It was a natural gravitation towards each other.

    Will we see NDTV get into more such deals with print owners to tap regional markets?
    Regional news is not something on our radar. Our area of expertise is in English and Hindi language news. Our strategy is to do city-centric channels.

    Are the MetroNation channels being transferred to a subsidiary company called NDTV News Ltd?
    The intent is there to have MetroNation as a subsidiarised company. Since it has separate business requirements, we have got a chief executive officer for it. A distinct entity will bring in greater efficiencies.

    NDTV ended last fiscal with a consolidated loss of Rs 1.86 billion. When do we see a turnaround?
    We are in the stage of incubating various businesses. We have seen exponential growth over the last one year and have expanded into the non-news segment as well.

     

    We forayed into the Hindi general entertainment space with NDTV Imagine in January this year and have just launched Imagine Showbiz. We launched MetroNation in Delhi last year and it is doing well in terms of audience and reach. Now our focus will be to monetise this.

     

    We have already obtained licence for the World Cinema channel and will be launching it in the next couple of months. MetroNation in Mumbai will probably come up in the next fiscal. We have our plate full.

    Is NDTV spreading itself too thin?
    There are opportunities and media companies are exploiting this. There is, however, an expectation from the marketplace to grow the topline which is putting unnecessary pressure on several media firms. Nobody is given a chance to consolidate. We need to structure that expansion and build the management bandwidth.

     

    As for NDTV, we are adequately funded to support our expansion drives. We have have built the quality and ability to scale up. And in the news business, credibility is the only way to move forward.
    ‘Regional news is not something on our radar. Our area of expertise is in English and Hindi language news. Our strategy is to do city-centric channels‘

    Will NDTV Networks Plc. raise money by listing on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) of the London Stock Exchange?
    NDTV Networks has raised $120 million from a clutch of investors including $20 million from Velocity Interactive Group (earlier called ComVentures). This is the holding company for the verticals including NDTV Imagine Ltd, NDTV Lifestyle, NDTV Convergence, Labs and NGEN Media Services (50 per cent). We have decided that it is better to build the businesses rather than go for an initial listing.

    NBC Universal has the option to increase its stake from 26 per cent to 50 per cent. Will NDTV part with majority in its non-news company?
    NBC Universal has put in $150 million to subscribe to shares of our Dutch subsidiary company which will give it an effective indirect holding of 26 per cent in NDTV Networks. We will never part with control. The other investors are in NDTV Networks.

    Colors has made a strong debut. Will this affect the break even period of NDTV Imagine which reportedly has a funding support of $106 million?
    NDTV Imagine is well on track and is growing steadily. The funding is adequate to take it to EBITDA positive stage. I can’t talk about other GECs.

    While the trend in an entertainment bouquet is to have a GEC and a Hindi movie channel, NDTV Imagine Ltd has launched a niche channel in Showbiz through a joint venture partner. What is the holding structure and potential for this channel?
    NDTV Imagine Ltd will hold 51 per cent in the JV and the balance 49 per cent will be with Cinestar. It is a growing segment and has tremendous potential.

     

    The launch of a Hindi movie channel is also in the pipeline. We are already in the process of acquiring movies. We are also going to be present in film production.

    NDTV’s consolidated revenue was at Rs 3.66 billion for FY’08. What contributed to this 31 per cent jump in turnover over the year-ago period?
    NDTV 24X7 and NDTV Profit have seen strong growth. NDTV India’s revenues, however, are not growing at the same pace because of the editorial positioning it has opted to take.

    Isn’t there a temptation to take NDTV India the tabloid route as many Hindi channels have successfully done to grow audiences?
    Going the tabloid route is not our strength. That is not our USP. NDTV India is holding on to revenue because of quality. We believe in the long run, good news will prevail and more audiences will come in.

    How is the joint venture with Malaysia-based Astro faring?
    The venture has already launched channels in Indonesia and Malaysia. We were given 20 per cent stake against a fee that we were to charge Astro for our services. Our stake in the joint venture is going up to 30 per cent.
    NDTV Emerging Markets is a subsidiary company which launched NDTV Arabia. Are we going to see more such customised channels being launched in other countries through this company?
    NDTV Arabia will now break into local news bands. It is our first venture into the Middle East and Africa as a customised channel. Yes, NDTV Emerging Markets will launch more such channels in other international markets to provide local news content. It is part of our international expansion plan to reach out to new target audiences.
    NBC Universal’s investment of $150 million for 26 per cent stake in NDTV’s Dutch subsidiary company puts the valuation at Rs 24.2 billion. The market cap of NDTV Ltd, which includes the news channels as well, was marginally higher at Rs 24.5 bn (July-end). Since the true value is not captured, is this the reason why NDTV Ltd is planning to de-merge the company into “news related businesses” and “non news businesses?”
    The aim is to unlock shareholder value and to promote the focused growth of our various businesses. Consultants are working on this and we will evaluate various options after receiving their feedback.
  • Inox reports 40% YoY increase in Q3 net profit

    Inox reports 40% YoY increase in Q3 net profit

    MUMBAI: Multiplex chain Inox Leisure has announced a 40 per cent increase in net profit for the third quarter of the financial year 2006-2007 at Rs 48.3 million on revenues of Rs 428.3 million.

    Net income in the corresponding quarter of the previous year stood at Rs 34.4 million.
    Total income rose 45 per cent for the quarter; up from Rs. 294.8 million. Inox registered an Ebitda of Rs 101.3 million compared to Rs 82.5 million in the same quarter of the previous year, a growth of 23 per cent.

    Over the nine-month period ending December, Inox registered strong growth with sales up 54 per cent from Rs. 802.9 million to Rs. 1233.1 million. Net Profit has also grown 53 per cent from Rs 131.6 million to Rs. 201.5 million, in the same time period.

    The company also announced that the scheme of amalgamation of Calcutta Cine Private Limited (CCPL) into Inox Leisure Limited has been approved at a shareholders’ meeting held on 4 January.

    Inox has recently launched its property at Chennai in January 2007 taking its tally of multiplexes across India to 13, with 48 screens and 14,286 seats.

    Commenting on the results, Deepak Asher, director – Inox Leisure said, “It has been a satisfying performance this quarter for Inox and things look very promising for the future with several new properties slated to open in the near term, as well as the acquisition of CCPL getting formalized.”

  • UTV targets June launch of youth channel with Astro

    UTV targets June launch of youth channel with Astro

    MUMBAI: UTV Software Communications’ joint venture with Astro of Malaysia is fast taking shape. The youth-centric channel, aimed at the age-group of 17-25 years, is set for launch by June.

    “We are working on the content research. We plan to launch the channel by June,” says UTV Communications COO Ronald D’Mello.

    UTV will be investing Rs 1 billion in its 50:50 venture with Astro in broadcasting.

    “We will be expanding to a 360 degree entertainment venture including a TV channel as the anchor, to be flanked by activities on the internet, new media, ground events, merchandising and licensing,” says D’Mello.

    UTV will be releasing DVDs of Don and Khosla Ka Ghosla this quarter. Namesake will have an international and national release in the third week of March.

    UTV has posted a consolidated revenue of Rs 704 million, which includes capital gains of Rs 263 million from the sale of United Home Entertainment Ltd (Hungama TV), for the third quarter ended 31 December 2006.

    Net profit stood at Rs 283 million while EBITDA was at Rs 303 million for the period. The company has consolidated the financials of UESL, UTV-US, UTV-UK and UTV-Mauritius.
    UTV also announced an interim dividend of 25 per cent.

    Commenting on the results UTV CEO Ronnie Screwvala said, “The quarter has been a very eventful one; while the Hungama TV deal with The Walt Disney Company was consummated during the quarter, the Company also decided to make investments in two gaming companies – Ignition Entertainment and Indiagames Ltd in console and mobile space respectively. With these proposed investments UTV has acquired worldwide capabilities of content creation and distribution across all gaming platforms.”

    UTV has entered into exclusive sales and marketing tie up with Radaan Media, the largest TV production house in South India. “This will result in significant growth in Television businesses in the months to come. In addition to this and as a step towards entering the South Indian film production space, UTV has tied up with Radaan for co-production of all South Indian films,” Screwvala added.

    UTV is acquiring a 70 per cent stake in Ignition Entertainment Ltd (UK based company with interests in console game development, publishing and distribution across the globe) as well as a controlling stake in IndiaGames (gaming company in India, with interests in mobile and online gaming) for a total consideration of Rs 1.28 billion.

    UTV has inducted Walt Disney International president Andy Bird and Pantaloon’s Kishore Biyani as non executive directors.

  • Reliance Communications announces financial results for the quarter ended 31 DEC 2006

    MUMBAI: Reliance Communications Limited today announced
    its unaudited consolidated financial results for the quarter ended
    31 December 2006. The highlights of financial performance are:

    Net Profit of Rs. 924 crore (US$ 209 million), higher by 198% compared to Net Profit of Rs. 310 crore (US$ 70 million) in the corresponding quarter last year

    EBITDA at Rs. 1,527 crore (US$ 346 million), growth of 76% over the corresponding quarter last year

    Revenue growth of 26% at Rs. 3,755 crore (US$ 851 million) from Rs. 2,991 crore (US$ 678 million)

    EBITDA margin expands to a record 41% from 29%, with strong contributions across all businesses – Personal, Global and Enterprise.

    Shareholders Equity crosses Rs. 20,000 crore (more than US$ 4.5 billion). Net Debt to Equity Ratio further reduces to 0.07:1, providing substantial borrowing capacity to fund future growth

    Capex for FY2007 now expected at over Rs. 7,700 crore (US$ 1.75 billion) Commenting on the results, Mr Anil Dhirubhai Ambani, Chairman, Reliance Communications Limited said:

    “We have delivered another quarter of strong revenue and EBITDA growth across all our business segments. Net profits have increased by 3 times in the past year.

    This performance has lifted Reliance Communications into the select group of companies with annualised EBITDA of well over Rs 5,000 crore (US$1.1 billion), EBITDA margins above 40%, Shareholders Equity of over Rs 20,000 crore (US$4.5 billion), and a Stockmarket Value of nearly Rs 94,000 crore (over US$21 billion). Reliance Communications is now one of Asia’s most valuable telecom companies.

    We remain focused on further strengthening our position within India’s rapidly growing telecom sector, achieving profitable growth, and delivering long term value for our 2 million shareholders.”

    UNLOCKING VALUE

    FLAG TELECOM

    The Board of Reliance Communications has approved the global listing of FLAG Telecom.

    Reliance Communications has turned around the performance of FLAG Telecom over the past year and aligned it with the Indian franchise.

    FLAG Telecom sees enormous growth potential in bridging the digital divide and had recently announced its nearly Rs 7,000 crore (US$1.5 billion) Next Generation Network project which on completion will make the company the largest fully IP-enabled global undersea cable system operator touching 80% of the world population.

    The potential global listing of FLAG Telecom would highlight the hidden value created in its business and provide further focus on the unique growth opportunities.

    RELIANCE TELECOM INFRASTRUCTURE

    The Board of Reliance Communications noted the shareholder approval given to the scheme of demerger of the wireless towers business. The Board approved Reliance Telecom Infrastructure to examine options for unlocking the value of its assets.

    BUSINESS REVIEW

    PERSONAL (wireless)

    Reliance Communications added a record 4 million wireless customer (net) during the quarter, compared with 2.1 million in the corresponding quarter last year.

    At end-December 2006, the Company had over 30 million wireless customers on its network, representing a market share of 20.5% of the All India wireless market. It maintained market share of net wireless customer additions at 20.2% in Q3 FY2007.

    Revenues of the Personal business increased by 39% to Rs. 2,752 crore (US$ 624 million) from Rs. 1,981 crore (US$ 449 million). EBITDA increased 62% to Rs. 1,029 crore (US$ 233 million) from Rs. 636 crore (US$ 144 million).

    Global

    FLAG Telecom won major new contracts worth more than US$ 100 million (about Rs. 440 crore) during Q3 FY2007.

    In the increasingly competitive ILD market, Reliance Communications maintained its leading market share of 40%.

    Reliance India Call has recently been introduced in Australia and the worldwide access of our Reliance Global Call service has been extended to 200 countries.

    EBITDA increased by 68% during the quarter to Rs. 355 crore (US$ 80 million). The Global business achieved higher profit margins, with an increased contribution from the portfolio of data services. EBITDA margins increased to 27% from 15%.

    ENTERPRISE (broadband)

    The number of access lines increased to 530,000 in Q3 FY2007 from 217,000.

    Leveraging the 20,000 kms of metro fiber optic cables, the number of buildings directly connected to the Reliance network increased by 110,000 in the past quarter to 379,000.

    Major new orders booked by the Enterprise business during the quarter increased by over 25%. Reliance Communications has 50% market share of new Enterprise business acquisitions.

    Enterprise achieved revenue growth of 149% to Rs. 316 crore (US$ 72 million) and an EBITDA margin of 47% in Q3 FY2007.

    * * * * *

    Background

    Reliance Communications Limited is part of the Reliance – Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group.

    Reliance Communications is India’s largest integrated communications service provider in the private sector with over 32 million individual consumer, enterprise, and carrier customers.We operate pan-India across the full spectrum of wireless, wireline, and long distance, voice, data, and internet communication services. We also have an extensive international presence through the provision of long distance voice, data and internet services and submarine cable network infrastructure globally.

  • Radio Mirchi Q3FY07 turnover rises 31%, net profit up 14%

    Radio Mirchi Q3FY07 turnover rises 31%, net profit up 14%

    MUMBAI: The Times Group’s private FM Radio operator Entertainment Network India Ltd (ENIL) – which operates stations under the brand name Radio Mirchi – has announced its results for the quarter ended 31 December 2006.

    During the quarter (Q3FY07), total income grew by 30.6 per cent to Rs 484.1 million compared to Rs 370.7 million for the corresponding quarter in the previous year.
    The Company’s earnings before interest, depreciation, tax and amortization (Ebitda) grew 20.8 per cent to Rs 176.5 million and net profit stood at Rs 124 million, up 13.9 per centg YoY. On a like basis (7 Phase I stations only), Ebitda for Q3FY07 stood at Rs 151.1 million, up 3.4 per cent YoY.

    Total income during YTD December 2006 grew 46 per cent to Rs 1,263 million while Ebitda increased by 15.4% to Rs. 33.50 crores. On a like basis (7 Phase I stations only), Ebitda during YTD December 2006 stood at Rs 347.1 million, up 19.6 per cent YoY.

    The new stations namely Bangalore, Hyderabad and Jaipur recorded Ebitda margin of 28.2 per cent for the quarter. According to data based on Indian Listenership Track 2006 (ILT – Wave 2 conducted by MRUC) for the period September- November 2006, Radio Mirchi retained the number one position in Mumbai and Delhi while establishing itself as the dominant number one station in Kolkata too. Radio Mirchi has increased its lead over #2 player in Mumbai from 30 per cent to 40 per cent while maintaining its 2:1 lead in Delhi, a company release asserts.

    During the quarter, Radio Mirchi premiered the music of blockbusters which include Vivaah, Dhoom2, Babul and Guru on its network.

    Commenting on the performance of the company, Enil managing director and CEO AP Parigi said, “In the emerging competitive landscape, Radio Mirchi has again demonstrated not only its brand leadership in the new markets of Bangalore, Hyderabad and Jaipur but has also demonstrated robust growth in financial terms. In the new markets, within the short span of nine months, the company has achieved an Ebitda breakeven.”

    Based on the present rate of progress, the company is confident of completing rollout of the remaining 22 stations by 31 July, 2007.

  • Endemol buys back Endemol France from Telefónica

    Endemol buys back Endemol France from Telefónica

    MUMBAI: Endemol has announced a deal to buy back Endemol France from parent company Telefónica.

    Endemol has valued the transaction up to 450 million euros. Of this amount 194 million euros will be deferred over a period of four years and will be subject to the performance of Endemol France, linked to the realisation of the business plan 2007- 2010 approved by the Board of Endemol France. The transaction will be financed by bank debt and future cash flow.

    In 2006 Endemol France is expected to realise net turnover of around 175 million euros at a normalised EBITDA margin which is considerably above the average of the Group. Endemol France’s business mix is 10 per cent digital media and 90 per cent non-scripted, led by formats such as Star Academy, Deal or No Deal and Watch Your Step.

  • Lagardère in $ 1.1 billion buyout of Sportfive

    Lagardère in $ 1.1 billion buyout of Sportfive

    MUMBAI : French conglomerate Lagardère SCA, which has interests ranging from media (mainly publishing) to defence, has announced it is acquiring Sportfive, the no.1 in European football marketing and media rights, for an enterprise value of €865 million ($1.1 billion).

    This acquisition, which will take place once clearance has been obtained from the European competition authorities, is Lagardère’s first move into the international sports rights trading and agency market. It is in line with Lagardère’s long-term strategy of increasing its presence in exclusive-access media content with high growth potential.

    According to a statement issued by the company, the Sportfive deal is a logical progression from its expansion into the sports industry over the past three years, and the newly-acquired business will benefit from the support of Lagardère’s international media-buying activities.

    Sportfive acts as a partner to sporting bodies and clubs, helping them to extract maximum value from their rights. These rights include media rights, which are bought by TV broadcasters and other content-providers (currently via the Internet and mobile phones), and marketing rights, which enable advertisers to reach the public by buying space in a range of media (team shirts, panel advertising at grounds, stadium sponsorship, etc), thereby associating their brand image with football federations, leagues, clubs or sporting events.

    At present, Sportfive is involved primarily in football, the most highly-developed and attractive sports market in the world.With a rights portfolio embracing over 250 clubs, 50 of Europe’s principal football federations and leagues, and media rights for prestigious international football tournaments like Euro 2008 and the African Cup of Nations, Sportfive is the unchallenged market leader.

    Sportfive operates across the five continents via a network of 11 offices. For 2006, the company is forecasting revenues of €526 million, EBITDA of €85 million and EBITA of €55 million. The principal shareholders of Sportfive are Advent International, Goldman Sachs Capital Partners and RTL Group.Lagardère was advised by Calyon, Goetzpartners, Ernst & Young (Transaction Advisory Services) and Clifford Chance.

  • Rediff.com Q2 net profit up at $1.5 mn

    Rediff.com Q2 net profit up at $1.5 mn

    MUMBAI: Rediff.com has posted a net a income of $ 1.5 million, or 5.14 cents per ADS, for the second quarter ended 30 September 2006, up from $ 310,000, or 1.19 cents per ADS, a year ago.

    Revenues rose by $6.66 million, an increase of 53 per cent over revenues from the quarter ended 30 September 2005. While India contributed to online revenues that grew by 71 per cent to $4.71 million, as compared to the corresponding period of the previous year.

    US Publishing revenues for the second quarter increased by 23 per cent to $1.95 million compared to the revenues for the quarter ended 30 September 2005, states an official release.

    Operating EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization) increased to US $1.14 million for the quarter ended 30 September 2006 as compared to US $0.50 million in the corresponding period of the previous year.

    With revenues from the India Online advertising business growing by 94 per cent for the quarter ended 30 September, compared to the same quarter in the prior fiscal year, online advertising remains the primary growth driver for the company.

    There has also been a spike in the number of registered users on the site which has grown by 21 per cent to 47.7 million, over the number of registered users a year ago.