ITV

Tag: FY 2016

  • Siti relooks at broadband as cable subscription drove revenues in FY18

    Siti relooks at broadband as cable subscription drove revenues in FY18

    BENGALURU: In FY 2017 (fiscal or year ended 31 March 2017, previous year), the Essel Group’s Siti Networks Ltd (Siti) was all gung-ho about broadband. In its annual report for fiscal 2017, the company said that it had become the largest multi-system operator (MSO) and a leading wired broadband services provider. The tone of the company’s 2017 annual report showed that Siti was fired up by the doubling of broadband revenue in FY 2017 as compared to FY 2016 to Rs 97 crore (about 8 per cent of total revenue for fiscal 2017) from Rs 48.6 crore (about 4 per cent of total revenue for fiscal 2016). The company’s broadband operations added 7.2 lakh home passes during the year taking the total footprint to 16.1 lakh homes. Broadband customer base grew to 2.28 lakh by Q4 2017 exit, up 73 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y). Further, Siti said in its FY 2017 annual report that it planned to channelise more capital to its broadband division, which it then felt was a highly scalable opportunity.

    Cut to FY 2018 and the story has changed. Siti’s broadband operations with a total footprint of 16.8 lakh homes had a base of 2.5 lakh customers.  Siti added just about 22,000 broadband subscribers in fiscal 2018, and y-o-y broadband revenues grew by only 4 per cent to Rs 101 crore in FY 2018.The company said that it was working on building a growth strategy in the sector.

    Quoting from its fiscal 2018 Annual report:

    “We are also looking closely at better and centralised inventory controls, besides identifying unsustainable locations running on IP bandwidth with the objective of phasing them out. We also aim to focus more aggressively on high definition (HD) penetration, broadband expansion, and improving monetisation in digital addressable system (DAS) phase III and IV areas.”

    At another place in the 2018 annual report Siti states:

    “In broadband, your company is looking to deepen its penetration levels in its existing markets to better utilise existing capital expenditure incurred. Going forward, we are also looking to arrive at an ideal business model that will allow us to grow profitably and sustainably in this segment, especially considering the disruptive pricing environment prevalent in mobile internet currently and the entry on new entities in wired broadband.”

    It must be noted that broadband contributed to just about 8 percent and 7 percent to Siti’s revenues in FY 2017 and FY 2018 respectively. Cable business is and has been the major revenue earner for Siti.

    While its broadband business has not met with Siti’s expectations, its cable business and more so subscription revenue has been the revenue growth driver. Cable subscription (Video) revenue in FY 2017 grew 39 per cent to Rs 569 crore as compared to Rs 410.2 crore in FY 2016. Siti’s cable subscription revenue grew 41 per cent in fiscal 2018 to Rs 799.7 crore as compared to the previous year. Carriage revenue, which had grown by 17 per cent in FY 2017 to Rs 300.1 crore from Rs 256.8 crore was almost stagnant in terms of growth in FY 2018. It grew by about 1.3 per cent to about Rs 303.8 crore in fiscal 2018. Siti’s activation revenue has also been almost constant and will taper off once its entire subscriber base has been digitised, since this is generally a one-time revenue. Activation revenue in FY-2016 was Rs 170.6 crore, it was Rs 170.1 crore in FY 2017 and was Rs 175 crore in FY 2018. Advertisement revenue had declined in FY 2017 to Rs 13.5 crore from Rs 32 crore in FY 2016 has increased in FY 2018 to Rs 18.5 crore.

    Siti has yet to report profit after tax and reward its shareholders with dividends. But, the good thing is that Siti’s operating profits (EBITDA) without activation revenue have grown 2.6 times in FY 2018 to Rs 150.7 crore from Rs 58.6 crore. Overall EBITDA including activation has grown 41.9 per cent in FY 2018 to Rs 324.5 crore from Rs 241.2 crore in the previous year.

    All numbers in this report are consolidated unless stated otherwise.

    Siti’s position with regards to broadband is more of a norm rather than an exception. Many other MSOs’ and LCOs’ that have also been providing broadband internet services have had muted numbers from this business stream in FY 2018 as compared to the previous year. This implies either a slow growth or even de-growth of subscriber numbers, reduced ARPUs’ or even both.

    Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani’s Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd (Jio) has been the biggest disrupter that has got both wireless and wireline internet service providers struggling to match up. With its plans to start FTTH wired internet services, with strategies that many in the industry term as ‘predatory’, it is likely to make the ground difficult to sustain and grow for incumbents.

  • FY-2016: Ortel PAT doubles

    FY-2016: Ortel PAT doubles

    BENGALURU: The Bibhu Prasad Rath led regional cable television and broadband internet player Ortel Communications Limited (Ortel) reported more than double profit after tax (PAT) for the year ended 31 March 2016 (FY-2016, current year). Ortel reported 2.1 times the PAT in FY-2016 at Rs 11.93 crore (6.4 per cent margin) as compared to Rs 5.60 crore (3.6 per cent margin) in the previous year.

    Note: 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.

    Ortel’s Total Income from Operations (TIO) increased 21.3 per cent in the current year to Rs 187.70 crore as compared to Rs 154.79 crore in FY-2015.

    For the quarter ended 31 March 2016 (Q4-2016, current quarter), Ortel’s PAT was less than half (declined 51.1 per cent) year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 2.76 crore (5.2 per cent margin) as compared to Rs 5.65 crore (12.6 per cent margin) and was 29 per cent lower quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) as compared to Rs 3.89 crore (8.1 per cent margin).

    TIO in the current quarter increased 18.6 per cent YoY to Rs 53.28 crore as compared to Rs 44.91 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year and was 10.9 per cent higher than the Rs 48.03 crore in the immediate trailing quarter.

    Ortel provides services in the Indian states of Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal.

    Revenue breakup

    Cable TV revenue in FY-2016 increased 20.3 per cent to Rs 130.5 crore from Rs 108.5 crore in the previous year. In Q4-2016, cable TV revenue grew 40.5 per cent YoY to Rs 39.1 crore from Rs 27.9 crore.

    Cable TV Activation fees or connection fees in FY-2016 were 2.7 times at Rs 8.4 crore as compared to Rs 3.1 crore in the previous year. Cable TV subscription revenue in FY-2016 increased 9.6 per cent to Rs 86.6 crore from Rs 79 crore in the previous year. Channel carriage fees in the current year increased 34.9 per cent to Rs 35.6 crore from Rs 26.4 crore in FY-2015 Cale TV activation fee in the current quarter multiplied 7.5 times to Rs 6 crore from Rs 0.8 crore in Q4-2015.

    Cable subscription revenue in Q4-2016 increased 26.5 per cent to Rs 24.8 crore from Rs 19.6 crore in Q4-2015. Channel carriage charge in Q4-2016 increased 11.2 per cent to Rs 8.3 crore from Rs 7.4 crore in the corresponding year ago quarter.

    Broadband services revenue in FY-2016 increased 13.9 per cent to Rs 32.9 crore from Rs 28.9 crore in FY-2015. Internet connection fees in the current year increased 35 per cent to Rs 2.6 crore from Rs 1.9 crore in FY-2015. Internet subscription fees in FY-2016 increased 12.4 per cent to Rs 30.3 crore from Rs 20.7 crore in the previous year.

    Broadband services revenue in Q4-2016 increased 20.3 per cent to Rs 8.9 crore from Rs 7.4 crore in Q4-2015. Internet fees in Q4-2016 increased 36.1 per cent to Rs 0.7 crore from Rs 0.5 crore. Internet subscription fee in Q4-2016 increased 19.2 per cent to Rs 8 crore from Rs 7.2 crore in Q4-2015.

    Ortel’s revenue from its infrastructure leasing segment in FY-2016 increased 47 per cent to Rs 21.3 crore from Rs14.5 crore in FY-2015. Revenue from this segment in the current quarter declined to less than half to Rs 4.4 crore from Rs 8.9 crore in the corresponding year ago quarter.

    On a geographical basis, in the current year, revenue from Ortel’c core market – Odisha increased 15.9 per cent to Rs 167.6 crore from Rs 144.6 crore in the previous year. Revenue from Odisha in Q4-2016 increased 6.4 per cent to Rs 44.6 crore from Rs 41.8 crore in Q4-015. EBIDTA from the Odisha region in FY-2016 increased 15.7 per cent to Rs 77.9 crore from Rs 6.73 crore in the previous year. EBIDTA in Q4-2016 from the Odisha region reduced 8.3 per cent to Rs 20.1 per cent from Rs 21.9 crore in Q4-2015.

    Revenue from Ortel’s Emerging Markets (Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and West Bengal) increased 60.1 per cent to Rs 19 crore in FY-2016 from Rs 11.9 crore in FY-2015. Emerging markets reported higher negative EBIDTA in FY-2016 at Rs 5.7 crore as compared to a negative EIDTA of Rs 4.1 per cent in the previous year. Revenue from emerging markets in Q4-2016 more than tripled (by 3.5 times) to Rs 8.4 crore from Rs 2.4 crore in Q4-2015. Emerging markets reported lower negative EBIDA of Rs 0.7 crore as compared to negative EBIDTA of Rs 0.9 crore in Q4-2015.

    Subscription numbers (revenue generating units – RGUs’), ARPU

    During the year, the total RGU additions (both cable and television) stood at 171,081 subscribers, taking the total RGUSs to 701,192. Net addition in Q4-2016 stood at 74,717 subscribers. Ortel says that it has 86,797 RGUs in the pipeline – to be integrated into the company’s last mile network in the coming months. The company says that about 65 per cent of the new RGUs were added in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh, while close to 70 per cent of the new signings were reported from these states.

    Ortel says that it has seeded 107,175 Set Top Boxes (STB) during the year, thereby improving the digital penetration ratio to 37.1 per cent from 22.7 per cent in FY-2015. “We have sufficient STBs’ in stock to fully seed all our DAS phase III subscribers,” revealed Rath during a call with www.indiantelevision.com. He added that most of Ortel subscribers, including the new ones that the company was looking at on the way to 1 million (10 lakh) subscriber base were based in DAS phase III areas. “The sunset date for DAS phase IV is still 8 months away,” he added.

    ARPU for subscribers converted from analogue to digital witnessed improvement in Q4–2016. Analog and Digital ARPU stood as Rs. 141 per month and Rs. 178 per month respectively.

    Ortel reported a net addition of 13,963 internet subscribers in FY-2016 compared to 4,092 subscribers in FY-2015; Total Broadband RGUs were 72,482. The company expects significant growth in broadband subscribers in FY-2017 on the back of new network rollout, a strong team, solid back-end operations, attractive broadband packages and various other value-added services and initiatives.

    Broadband ARPU in FY-2016 increased to Rs 398 from Rs 394 in FY-2015. Broadband ARPU in Q4-2016 increased to Rs 398 from Rs 396. Data usage in FY-2016 increased to 3,915 MB from 3,126 MB in the previous year.

    Let us look at the other numbers reported by Ortel in brief

    Total expenditure in the current stood at Rs. 126 crore, higher by 24 per cent as compared to FY-2015. Programming cost in FY-2016 came in higher at Rs. 37.5 crore – in-line with the RGU growth. Employee expenses during the current year stood higher at Rs. 22.5 crore. EBITDA in FY-2016 (including other income) came in at Rs. 70.3 crore, representing an increase of 18 per cent over FY-2015.

    Company speak

    Ortel President and CEO Rath said, “Ortel Communications reported healthy financial and operational performance during the year led by robust RGU additions of 1.71 lakh subscribers. Growth in our core businesses have primarily enabled us to double our PAT to Rs. 119 million in FY16. I am also pleased to state that 65 per cent of new RGUs have come from Non-Odisha states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. This reinforces our vision that the ‘last mile’ model can be successfully implemented in many states across India apart from our home market of Odisha.”

    Elaborating on the guidance numbers indicated by him earlier for FY-2017, Rath explained, “Overall, we have ended the year on a strong note and are geared up to build on this momentum in the coming year. We remain focused towards achieving our stated target of 1 million subscribers by March 2017, which should make us the largest ‘last mile’ player in the country. We believe this model will make us one of the first few players in the sector to create sustainable value for all our stakeholders.”

  • FY-2016: Ortel PAT doubles

    FY-2016: Ortel PAT doubles

    BENGALURU: The Bibhu Prasad Rath led regional cable television and broadband internet player Ortel Communications Limited (Ortel) reported more than double profit after tax (PAT) for the year ended 31 March 2016 (FY-2016, current year). Ortel reported 2.1 times the PAT in FY-2016 at Rs 11.93 crore (6.4 per cent margin) as compared to Rs 5.60 crore (3.6 per cent margin) in the previous year.

    Note: 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.

    Ortel’s Total Income from Operations (TIO) increased 21.3 per cent in the current year to Rs 187.70 crore as compared to Rs 154.79 crore in FY-2015.

    For the quarter ended 31 March 2016 (Q4-2016, current quarter), Ortel’s PAT was less than half (declined 51.1 per cent) year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 2.76 crore (5.2 per cent margin) as compared to Rs 5.65 crore (12.6 per cent margin) and was 29 per cent lower quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) as compared to Rs 3.89 crore (8.1 per cent margin).

    TIO in the current quarter increased 18.6 per cent YoY to Rs 53.28 crore as compared to Rs 44.91 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year and was 10.9 per cent higher than the Rs 48.03 crore in the immediate trailing quarter.

    Ortel provides services in the Indian states of Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal.

    Revenue breakup

    Cable TV revenue in FY-2016 increased 20.3 per cent to Rs 130.5 crore from Rs 108.5 crore in the previous year. In Q4-2016, cable TV revenue grew 40.5 per cent YoY to Rs 39.1 crore from Rs 27.9 crore.

    Cable TV Activation fees or connection fees in FY-2016 were 2.7 times at Rs 8.4 crore as compared to Rs 3.1 crore in the previous year. Cable TV subscription revenue in FY-2016 increased 9.6 per cent to Rs 86.6 crore from Rs 79 crore in the previous year. Channel carriage fees in the current year increased 34.9 per cent to Rs 35.6 crore from Rs 26.4 crore in FY-2015 Cale TV activation fee in the current quarter multiplied 7.5 times to Rs 6 crore from Rs 0.8 crore in Q4-2015.

    Cable subscription revenue in Q4-2016 increased 26.5 per cent to Rs 24.8 crore from Rs 19.6 crore in Q4-2015. Channel carriage charge in Q4-2016 increased 11.2 per cent to Rs 8.3 crore from Rs 7.4 crore in the corresponding year ago quarter.

    Broadband services revenue in FY-2016 increased 13.9 per cent to Rs 32.9 crore from Rs 28.9 crore in FY-2015. Internet connection fees in the current year increased 35 per cent to Rs 2.6 crore from Rs 1.9 crore in FY-2015. Internet subscription fees in FY-2016 increased 12.4 per cent to Rs 30.3 crore from Rs 20.7 crore in the previous year.

    Broadband services revenue in Q4-2016 increased 20.3 per cent to Rs 8.9 crore from Rs 7.4 crore in Q4-2015. Internet fees in Q4-2016 increased 36.1 per cent to Rs 0.7 crore from Rs 0.5 crore. Internet subscription fee in Q4-2016 increased 19.2 per cent to Rs 8 crore from Rs 7.2 crore in Q4-2015.

    Ortel’s revenue from its infrastructure leasing segment in FY-2016 increased 47 per cent to Rs 21.3 crore from Rs14.5 crore in FY-2015. Revenue from this segment in the current quarter declined to less than half to Rs 4.4 crore from Rs 8.9 crore in the corresponding year ago quarter.

    On a geographical basis, in the current year, revenue from Ortel’c core market – Odisha increased 15.9 per cent to Rs 167.6 crore from Rs 144.6 crore in the previous year. Revenue from Odisha in Q4-2016 increased 6.4 per cent to Rs 44.6 crore from Rs 41.8 crore in Q4-015. EBIDTA from the Odisha region in FY-2016 increased 15.7 per cent to Rs 77.9 crore from Rs 6.73 crore in the previous year. EBIDTA in Q4-2016 from the Odisha region reduced 8.3 per cent to Rs 20.1 per cent from Rs 21.9 crore in Q4-2015.

    Revenue from Ortel’s Emerging Markets (Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and West Bengal) increased 60.1 per cent to Rs 19 crore in FY-2016 from Rs 11.9 crore in FY-2015. Emerging markets reported higher negative EBIDTA in FY-2016 at Rs 5.7 crore as compared to a negative EIDTA of Rs 4.1 per cent in the previous year. Revenue from emerging markets in Q4-2016 more than tripled (by 3.5 times) to Rs 8.4 crore from Rs 2.4 crore in Q4-2015. Emerging markets reported lower negative EBIDA of Rs 0.7 crore as compared to negative EBIDTA of Rs 0.9 crore in Q4-2015.

    Subscription numbers (revenue generating units – RGUs’), ARPU

    During the year, the total RGU additions (both cable and television) stood at 171,081 subscribers, taking the total RGUSs to 701,192. Net addition in Q4-2016 stood at 74,717 subscribers. Ortel says that it has 86,797 RGUs in the pipeline – to be integrated into the company’s last mile network in the coming months. The company says that about 65 per cent of the new RGUs were added in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh, while close to 70 per cent of the new signings were reported from these states.

    Ortel says that it has seeded 107,175 Set Top Boxes (STB) during the year, thereby improving the digital penetration ratio to 37.1 per cent from 22.7 per cent in FY-2015. “We have sufficient STBs’ in stock to fully seed all our DAS phase III subscribers,” revealed Rath during a call with www.indiantelevision.com. He added that most of Ortel subscribers, including the new ones that the company was looking at on the way to 1 million (10 lakh) subscriber base were based in DAS phase III areas. “The sunset date for DAS phase IV is still 8 months away,” he added.

    ARPU for subscribers converted from analogue to digital witnessed improvement in Q4–2016. Analog and Digital ARPU stood as Rs. 141 per month and Rs. 178 per month respectively.

    Ortel reported a net addition of 13,963 internet subscribers in FY-2016 compared to 4,092 subscribers in FY-2015; Total Broadband RGUs were 72,482. The company expects significant growth in broadband subscribers in FY-2017 on the back of new network rollout, a strong team, solid back-end operations, attractive broadband packages and various other value-added services and initiatives.

    Broadband ARPU in FY-2016 increased to Rs 398 from Rs 394 in FY-2015. Broadband ARPU in Q4-2016 increased to Rs 398 from Rs 396. Data usage in FY-2016 increased to 3,915 MB from 3,126 MB in the previous year.

    Let us look at the other numbers reported by Ortel in brief

    Total expenditure in the current stood at Rs. 126 crore, higher by 24 per cent as compared to FY-2015. Programming cost in FY-2016 came in higher at Rs. 37.5 crore – in-line with the RGU growth. Employee expenses during the current year stood higher at Rs. 22.5 crore. EBITDA in FY-2016 (including other income) came in at Rs. 70.3 crore, representing an increase of 18 per cent over FY-2015.

    Company speak

    Ortel President and CEO Rath said, “Ortel Communications reported healthy financial and operational performance during the year led by robust RGU additions of 1.71 lakh subscribers. Growth in our core businesses have primarily enabled us to double our PAT to Rs. 119 million in FY16. I am also pleased to state that 65 per cent of new RGUs have come from Non-Odisha states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. This reinforces our vision that the ‘last mile’ model can be successfully implemented in many states across India apart from our home market of Odisha.”

    Elaborating on the guidance numbers indicated by him earlier for FY-2017, Rath explained, “Overall, we have ended the year on a strong note and are geared up to build on this momentum in the coming year. We remain focused towards achieving our stated target of 1 million subscribers by March 2017, which should make us the largest ‘last mile’ player in the country. We believe this model will make us one of the first few players in the sector to create sustainable value for all our stakeholders.”

  • LeEco appoints Divya Dixit as director content marketing for India; will launch VOD platform in FY 2016

    LeEco appoints Divya Dixit as director content marketing for India; will launch VOD platform in FY 2016

    MUMBAI: The global internet and technology conglomerate LeEco also called as the Netflix of China for its content eco-system has appointed Divya Dixit as its new director of content marketing for India. Dixit will be based in Mumbai. In her new role, she will look after the global content platform in digital space and will work towards building the brand’s presence stronger in India. Dixit was unavailable for comment.

    The company will focus on embedded content for TV and mobile phones and will also launch its own direct content platform in this financial year. For this new platform, the internet and technology organization will acquire content as well as produce substantial hours of original content for its audience.

    In January this year, the company had tied-up with Eros Now for video-on-demand (VOD) and YuppTV for TV content streaming. While its partnership with Yupp TV will give its users access to YuppTV’s catalogue of live TV channels, the deal with Eros Now will allow the on-the-go users to watch Bollywood content and regional movies on LeEco phones.

    It has now renewed its exclusive partnership with Flipkart for the launch of its next phone in India. An agreement to this effect was signed yesterday by LeEco India COO smart electronic business Atul Jain and Flipkart VP business Anil Goteti.

    The international firm headquartered in Beijing has already set up a service office in Delhi while its content division will be based in Mumbai. The company’s technical office is based in Bangalore. All the executives in the top management from India will report to the senior management in Beijing. The company is undergoing restructuring inform sources.

    Earlier, the company had launched two smart phones in India, Le 1s and Le Max, which were available exclusively on Flipkart. With a record of bringing path breaking innovations to the country, the LeFans will see entertainment playing a whole new way and can expect a super announcement on 3 May 2016.

    LeEco also launched an all-electric concept on 26 April 2016 that aspires to beat Tesla at its own game. It presented its first self-driving automobile, dubbed LeSEE Super EV, at the Beijing Motor Show and described it as a smart connected electric vehicle.

  • LeEco appoints Divya Dixit as director content marketing for India; will launch VOD platform in FY 2016

    LeEco appoints Divya Dixit as director content marketing for India; will launch VOD platform in FY 2016

    MUMBAI: The global internet and technology conglomerate LeEco also called as the Netflix of China for its content eco-system has appointed Divya Dixit as its new director of content marketing for India. Dixit will be based in Mumbai. In her new role, she will look after the global content platform in digital space and will work towards building the brand’s presence stronger in India. Dixit was unavailable for comment.

    The company will focus on embedded content for TV and mobile phones and will also launch its own direct content platform in this financial year. For this new platform, the internet and technology organization will acquire content as well as produce substantial hours of original content for its audience.

    In January this year, the company had tied-up with Eros Now for video-on-demand (VOD) and YuppTV for TV content streaming. While its partnership with Yupp TV will give its users access to YuppTV’s catalogue of live TV channels, the deal with Eros Now will allow the on-the-go users to watch Bollywood content and regional movies on LeEco phones.

    It has now renewed its exclusive partnership with Flipkart for the launch of its next phone in India. An agreement to this effect was signed yesterday by LeEco India COO smart electronic business Atul Jain and Flipkart VP business Anil Goteti.

    The international firm headquartered in Beijing has already set up a service office in Delhi while its content division will be based in Mumbai. The company’s technical office is based in Bangalore. All the executives in the top management from India will report to the senior management in Beijing. The company is undergoing restructuring inform sources.

    Earlier, the company had launched two smart phones in India, Le 1s and Le Max, which were available exclusively on Flipkart. With a record of bringing path breaking innovations to the country, the LeFans will see entertainment playing a whole new way and can expect a super announcement on 3 May 2016.

    LeEco also launched an all-electric concept on 26 April 2016 that aspires to beat Tesla at its own game. It presented its first self-driving automobile, dubbed LeSEE Super EV, at the Beijing Motor Show and described it as a smart connected electric vehicle.

  • FY-2016: Airtel DTH revenue up 18 percent; adds 16.5 lakh subscribers

    FY-2016: Airtel DTH revenue up 18 percent; adds 16.5 lakh subscribers

    BENGALURU: DAS phase III has been a boost for the carriage industry in subscriber additions, revenues, and operating profits, more so during the last two quarters of FY-2016. Buoyed by the government’s decision to stick to deadlines for digitisation, the DTH industry in India is continuing its bloom run, if one were to go by the results reported by Bharti Airtel Limited about its Digital TV services (Airtel DTH) for the quarter  and year ended 31 March 2016 (Q4-2016, current quarter, FY-2016, current year).

    Revenue in FY-2016 increased 17.8 per cent to Rs 2,917.8 crore as compared to Rs 2,475.9 crore in the previous year.

    Note: 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.

    Revenue in Q4-2016 increased 23.6 percent year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 784 crore as compared to Rs 634.2 crore and increased 5.6 per cent quarter-on quarter (QoQ) from Rs 742.2 crore.

    Airtel’s DTH segment reported EBIT (Earnings before interest and tax) of Rs 184.3 crore (6.3 per cent operating margin) as compared to a negative EBIT of Rs 158.1 crore in FY-2015.

    The segment’s EBIT for Q4-2016 grew almost 9 fold (8.9 times) YoY to Rs 72 crore (9.2 per cent EBIT or operating margin) from Rs 8.1 crore (1.3 per cent operating margin) and increased 33.8 per cent QoQ from Rs 53.8 crore (7.2 per cent operating margin).

    Subscription numbers

    Airtel DTH added 16.52 lakh (16.4 per cent YoY growth) net subscribers in FY-2016 to bring its subscriber base to 117.25 lakh from 100.73 lakh in the previous year. Average revenue per user (ARPU) increased to Rs 229 as compared to Rs 214 in the corresponding quarter last year. Airtel DTH reported a monthly subscriber churn of 0.8 per cent in Q4-2016 as compared to a churn of 1 per cent for the corresponding quarter of last year and a slightly lower 0.7 per cent for the immediate trailing quarter.

    Capex

    DAS III has resulted in Airtel’s increasing the capex for its DTH segment for FY-2016 by 40 per cent (Rs 313.8 crore) as compared to the previous year. The company’s capex spend in FY-2016 was Rs 1098 crore as compared to Rs 784.2 crore in FY-2015. The company’s cumulative investments into Airtel DTH increased 20 per cent to Rs 6,490.6 crore in the current year as compared to Rs 5,410.9 crore in the previous year.

    Bharti Airtel Limited numbers

    Airtel DTH contributes just about 4 per cent to Bharti Airtel’s Limited. Bharti Airtel reported total revenue of Rs 96,619.2 crore in FY-2016, 4.9 per cent more than the Rs 92,135 crore in FY-2015. Revenue in Q4-2016 grew 8.4 per cent YoY to Rs 24,983.1 crore as compared to Rs 24,013.4 crore  and grew 4 per cent QoQ as compared to Rs 23,039.8 in Q3-2016.

    The company reported a profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 5,484.2 crore (5.7 per cent margin) in the current year as compared to Rs 5,183.5 crore (5.6 per cent margin) in the previous year. PAT in Q4-2016 2.8 per cent YoY to Rs 1,290.3 crore (5.2 per cent margin) as compared to Rs 1255.3 crore (5.4 per cent margin) and grew 15.5 per cent QoQ as compared to Rs 1,116.9 crore (4.7 per cent margin).

  • FY-2016: Airtel DTH revenue up 18 percent; adds 16.5 lakh subscribers

    FY-2016: Airtel DTH revenue up 18 percent; adds 16.5 lakh subscribers

    BENGALURU: DAS phase III has been a boost for the carriage industry in subscriber additions, revenues, and operating profits, more so during the last two quarters of FY-2016. Buoyed by the government’s decision to stick to deadlines for digitisation, the DTH industry in India is continuing its bloom run, if one were to go by the results reported by Bharti Airtel Limited about its Digital TV services (Airtel DTH) for the quarter  and year ended 31 March 2016 (Q4-2016, current quarter, FY-2016, current year).

    Revenue in FY-2016 increased 17.8 per cent to Rs 2,917.8 crore as compared to Rs 2,475.9 crore in the previous year.

    Note: 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.

    Revenue in Q4-2016 increased 23.6 percent year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 784 crore as compared to Rs 634.2 crore and increased 5.6 per cent quarter-on quarter (QoQ) from Rs 742.2 crore.

    Airtel’s DTH segment reported EBIT (Earnings before interest and tax) of Rs 184.3 crore (6.3 per cent operating margin) as compared to a negative EBIT of Rs 158.1 crore in FY-2015.

    The segment’s EBIT for Q4-2016 grew almost 9 fold (8.9 times) YoY to Rs 72 crore (9.2 per cent EBIT or operating margin) from Rs 8.1 crore (1.3 per cent operating margin) and increased 33.8 per cent QoQ from Rs 53.8 crore (7.2 per cent operating margin).

    Subscription numbers

    Airtel DTH added 16.52 lakh (16.4 per cent YoY growth) net subscribers in FY-2016 to bring its subscriber base to 117.25 lakh from 100.73 lakh in the previous year. Average revenue per user (ARPU) increased to Rs 229 as compared to Rs 214 in the corresponding quarter last year. Airtel DTH reported a monthly subscriber churn of 0.8 per cent in Q4-2016 as compared to a churn of 1 per cent for the corresponding quarter of last year and a slightly lower 0.7 per cent for the immediate trailing quarter.

    Capex

    DAS III has resulted in Airtel’s increasing the capex for its DTH segment for FY-2016 by 40 per cent (Rs 313.8 crore) as compared to the previous year. The company’s capex spend in FY-2016 was Rs 1098 crore as compared to Rs 784.2 crore in FY-2015. The company’s cumulative investments into Airtel DTH increased 20 per cent to Rs 6,490.6 crore in the current year as compared to Rs 5,410.9 crore in the previous year.

    Bharti Airtel Limited numbers

    Airtel DTH contributes just about 4 per cent to Bharti Airtel’s Limited. Bharti Airtel reported total revenue of Rs 96,619.2 crore in FY-2016, 4.9 per cent more than the Rs 92,135 crore in FY-2015. Revenue in Q4-2016 grew 8.4 per cent YoY to Rs 24,983.1 crore as compared to Rs 24,013.4 crore  and grew 4 per cent QoQ as compared to Rs 23,039.8 in Q3-2016.

    The company reported a profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 5,484.2 crore (5.7 per cent margin) in the current year as compared to Rs 5,183.5 crore (5.6 per cent margin) in the previous year. PAT in Q4-2016 2.8 per cent YoY to Rs 1,290.3 crore (5.2 per cent margin) as compared to Rs 1255.3 crore (5.4 per cent margin) and grew 15.5 per cent QoQ as compared to Rs 1,116.9 crore (4.7 per cent margin).

  • Hinduja Ventures declares 175 per cent interim dividend for FY-2016

    Hinduja Ventures declares 175 per cent interim dividend for FY-2016

    BENGALURU: Hindustan Ventures Limited (HVL), the holding company of one of India’s largest integrated media companies, – IndusInd Media & Communications Limited (IMCL) and Grant Investrade Limited which has launched the headend in the sky (HITS) platform, announced an interim dividend of 175 per cent (Rs 17.50 per equity share of face value of Rs 10) for the current financial year.  The dividend will result in a pay out of Rs 4329.53 lakh. (100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10 million = 1 crore)

    HVL had announced a standalone net profit after tax of Rs 86.41 crore for the nine month period ended December 31, 2015 as compared to a PAT of Rs 74.82 crore in the corresponding year ago period. The interim dividend will be paid on or after March 29, 2016.

    HVL’s HITS platform was launched on September 16,2015 by the Union Minister of Finance, Corporate Affairs and Ministry of Information & Broadcasting Arun Jaitley, under the brand name NXT DIGITAL. The Hinduja‐HITS Network will enable seamless transition from analogue to digital in phase III and IV markets.

    At the time of filing of this report, share price of HVL on the Bombay Stock Exchange was up by Rs 12, or 2.88 percent higher than the previous close of Rs 416 with a total turnover of 2.65 lakh. The share had opened today at Rs 425, with a high if Rs 428 and a low of Rs 421.50.

  • Hinduja Ventures declares 175 per cent interim dividend for FY-2016

    Hinduja Ventures declares 175 per cent interim dividend for FY-2016

    BENGALURU: Hindustan Ventures Limited (HVL), the holding company of one of India’s largest integrated media companies, – IndusInd Media & Communications Limited (IMCL) and Grant Investrade Limited which has launched the headend in the sky (HITS) platform, announced an interim dividend of 175 per cent (Rs 17.50 per equity share of face value of Rs 10) for the current financial year.  The dividend will result in a pay out of Rs 4329.53 lakh. (100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10 million = 1 crore)

    HVL had announced a standalone net profit after tax of Rs 86.41 crore for the nine month period ended December 31, 2015 as compared to a PAT of Rs 74.82 crore in the corresponding year ago period. The interim dividend will be paid on or after March 29, 2016.

    HVL’s HITS platform was launched on September 16,2015 by the Union Minister of Finance, Corporate Affairs and Ministry of Information & Broadcasting Arun Jaitley, under the brand name NXT DIGITAL. The Hinduja‐HITS Network will enable seamless transition from analogue to digital in phase III and IV markets.

    At the time of filing of this report, share price of HVL on the Bombay Stock Exchange was up by Rs 12, or 2.88 percent higher than the previous close of Rs 416 with a total turnover of 2.65 lakh. The share had opened today at Rs 425, with a high if Rs 428 and a low of Rs 421.50.