ITV

Tag: Infomedia18

  • TV18 news biz turns net positive in FY’11

    TV18 news biz turns net positive in FY’11

    MUMBAI: The news business of Television 18 India (TV18), showing signs of recovery, has turned positive at the net profit level for the fiscal ended 31 March 2011.

    The company, which runs the news channels CNBC TV18 and CNBC Awaaz, has posted a standalone net profit of Rs 390 million for the fiscal compared to a net loss of Rs 600 million in the year-ago period.

    Revenue from news operations has gone up 12.1 per cent to Rs 3.06 billion, as against Rs 2.73 billion in the previous fiscal. Expenditure at Rs 2.19 billion was marginally down compared to Rs 2.23 billion that the company had incurred in FY’10.

    Meanwhile, operating profit rose to Rs 870 million, from Rs 500 million a year ago.

    For the three-month period ended 31 March, the company has, however, seen a dip in the net profit. The standalone net profit for the quarter stood at Rs 170 million, down from Rs 240 million it had reported in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.

    Revenue rose 13 per cent to Rs 950 million (from Rs 840 million), while expenses grew marginally to Rs 670 million (from Rs 620 million).

    The firm’s operating profit for the quarter was Rs 280 million, up from Rs 220 million in the previous fiscal quarter.

    On a consolidated basis, TV18 reduced its full fiscal net loss to Rs 210 million, from a net loss of Rs 1.17 billion in FY’10. The revenue of the company rose to Rs 5.90 billion from Rs 5.53 billion (FY’10), while operating expenses stood stagnant at Rs 5.27 billion.

    The consolidated result also includes financials of Web18, Newswire18 and Infomedia18.

    Web18:

    Web18, which houses the web properties of the group including in.com, Moneycontrol.com and bookmyshow.com, turned profitable on operational level for the full fiscal. It reported an operating profit of Rs 10 million, as against an operating loss of Rs 90 million a year ago.

    Revenue generated from operations increased by 16.44 per cent to Rs 850 million, as against Rs 730 million (FY’10). Expenses were at Rs 840 million, up from Rs 820 million.

    For the fiscal fourth-quarter, Web18 posted operating profit of Rs 30 million (Rs 20 million in Q4FY10). Revenue stood at Rs 250 million (from Rs 230 million), while expenses were at Rs 220 million (from Rs 200 million).

    Newswire18:

    Newswire18 also posted operating profit for the full fiscal as well as the fourth-quarter. Revenue stood at Rs 390 million (from Rs 330 million in previous fiscal) while operating profit remained constant at Rs 20 million. For the quarter, revenue and expenses stood at Rs 100 million each.

    Infomedia18:

    Infomedia18, meanwhile, saw net loss widening to Rs 420 million for the fiscal (from Rs 40 million in FY’10). Revenue fell to Rs 1.60 billion, from Rs 1.74 billion in FY10. Expenses, meanwhile, were at Rs 1.87 million, from Rs 1.91 billion in FY’10.

    Operating losses increased to Rs 270 million, from Rs 170 million.

    Even in Q4, the company posted net loss of Rs 100 million, as against a net profit of Rs 100 million. Income from operations fell to Rs 480 million, from Rs 760 million. Operating expenses fell to Rs 540 million, from Rs 800 million.

    Operating profit, meanwhile, rose to Rs 60 million, from Rs 40 million in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.

    Shares of TV18 closed Monday at Rs 75.25 on the BSE, down 0.99 per cent.

  • TV18 standalone Q3 net profit at Rs 120 mn

    TV18 standalone Q3 net profit at Rs 120 mn

    MUMBAI: Television18, the company that houses business news channels CNBC-TV18 and CNBC Awaaz, has posted a better third-quarter result due to an upswing in revenues.

    For the three months ended December, TV18 has posted a standalone net profit (after tax and minority interest, before ESOP charge out) of Rs 120 million compared to a net loss of Rs 150 million in the previous year quarter. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 90 million in the trailing quarter.

    Revenue from news operations at Rs 790 million stands 17.91 per cent higher than the year-ago period. For the trailing quarter, TV18‘s standalone revenue was at Rs 680 million.

    Operating expenses for the quarter stood at Rs 560 million (from Rs 510 million a year ago). However, it is much higher than the trailing quarter, which was at Rs 470 million.

    Meanwhile, TV18 improved its operating margins to 29 per cent from prior year’s 25 per cent.  
         
      On a consolidated basis, TV18, which also includes financials of Web18,
    Infomedia18 and Newswire18, has posted a net profit (after tax and minority interest, before ESOP charge out) of Rs 80 million. For the same quarter of the previous year, the net loss stood at Rs 400 million.

    Revenue from consolidated operations went up to Rs 1.47 billion as compared to Rs 1.29 billion a year ago. Expenses stood at Rs 1.27 billion, from Rs 1.20 billion in the earlier year.

    Meanwhile, Web18, the subsidiary that houses all the websites of the group, has seen operational breakeven in the quarter under review. The revenue from operations grew to Rs 220 million, while expenses also remained at 220 million.

    In Infomedia18, the net loss for the quarter stood at Rs 70 million, down from Rs 90 million in the corresponding quarter of previous fiscal.

    Revenue jumped to Rs 360 million (from Rs 330 million), while expenses stood at Rs 410 million, from Rs 380 million a year ago.

    In Newswire18, revenue rose to Rs 100 million, from Rs 80 million a year ago. The company did not disclose net profit (or loss) of the segment. The expenses were at Rs 90 million while operating profit was at Rs 20 million.
     

  • TV18 Q2 standalone net at Rs 90 mn, revenue up 5%

    TV18 Q2 standalone net at Rs 90 mn, revenue up 5%

    MUMBAI: Television18, which runs leading business news channels CNBC-TV18 and CNBC Awaaz, has managed a second consecutive profitable quarter, signaling a rebound in the economy.

    On a standalone basis, TV18 has posted a net profit (after tax and minority interest, before ESOP charge out) of Rs 60 million for the quarter ended 30 September, as compared to a net loss of Rs 330 million a year ago.

    Recovering from the slow down, revenue from news operations saw a marginal 4.6 per cent increase to Rs 680 million, as against Rs 650 million in the corresponding quarter of FY‘10.

    On a sequential basis, the company’s revenue has increased 6.25 per cent as compared to Rs 640 million in Q1.

    Operating expenses were kept under check (down 19 per cent) at Rs 470 million in the quarter under review on Y-o-Y basis (as compared to Rs 580 million).

    Meanwhile, the operating margin of the company jumped to 31 per cent in the quarter under review, compared to 11 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 140 million. For the same quarter of the previous year, net loss stood at Rs 560 million.

    Total revenue from consolidated operations jumped 17 per cent to Rs 1.45 billion, as compared to Rs 1.24 billion a year ago. Expenses stood at Rs 1.33 billion, up 3.11 per cent.

    The company announced that all its business have seen revenue growth – five per cent in News Operations, 21 per cent in Web18, 24 per cent in Newswire18 and 35 per cent in Infomedia18.

    The company has also posted an operating profit of Rs 120 million, as against operatin loss of Rs 50 million. However, it said that profits “offset by continued investments” in Infomedia18 and Web18.

    Web18, the subsidiary that houses all the websites of the group, posted a revenue of Rs 190 million (from Rs 160 million a year ago), while expenses remained almost flat at Rs 200 million (from Rs 210 million) during the quarter. The operating loss narrowed to Rs 10 million, from Rs 50 million in the year-ago period.

    In Infomedia18, however, the net loss has increased to Rs 160 million, from Rs 40 million in the corresponding quarter of FY ’10. Revenue has increased to Rs 480 million, from Rs 350 million, while expenses climbed to Rs 570 million from Rs 420 million a year ago.

    In Newswire18, revenue has grown to Rs 100 million, while expenses also stood at Rs 100 million, making it a no profit-no loss unit.

  • TV18 Q1 sets trend for double-digit growth

    TV18 Q1 sets trend for double-digit growth

    MUMBAI: Television18 (TV18), which runs a clutch of business news channels, has posted a standalone net profit of Rs 50 million, reversing the year ago net loss of Rs 280 million, as the Indian economy has recovered from a slowdown and the financial sector has rebounded.

    Revenue from news operations at Rs 640 million stands 13 per cent higher than the prior-year period. This, though, is less than the trailing quarter when TV18’s standalone revenue was at Rs 840 million due to the advertising gains from the Budget.

    Operating profit at Rs 160 million was higher than Rs 60 million posted in the first quarter of FY’10. TV18 also improved its operating margins to 24 per cent from prior year’s 11 per cent.

    Operating expenses, including the revenue it shares with CNBC, stood at Rs 490 million, down from Rs 510 million in the comparative quarter.

    On the consolidated front, TV18 posted a revenue of Rs 1.2 billion, up 12 per cent, while expenses stood at Rs 1.12 billion, from Rs 1.07 billion in the earlier year.

    Web18, the subsidiary that houses all the websites of the group, has curtailed its operating loss to Rs 30 million, as against Rs 40 million a year ago. Revenue from operations grew 26 per cent to Rs 180 million, while expenses were at Rs 210 million (from Rs 180 million).

    In Infomedia18, the net loss for the quarter increased to Rs 80 million, from Rs 20 million in the corresponding quarter of FY’10. Revenue, however, remained flat at Rs 290 million, while expenses increased to Rs 350 million (from Rs 310 million).

    In Newswire18, revenue rose to Rs 90 million, from Rs 70 million a year ago. The company posted an operating profit of Rs 10 million.

    As on 30 June, TV18 has reduced its net debt to Rs 2.24 billion.

  • TV18: FY10 tots up losses, but Q4FY10 shows turnaround signs

    TV18: FY10 tots up losses, but Q4FY10 shows turnaround signs

    MUMBAI: Is the Raghav Bahl-promoted Television Eighteen India (TV18) on a recovery trail? If one goes by the results over Q3 and Q4 FY10, things seemed to be looking up at the company which runs the news channels -CNBC TV18 and CNBC Awaaz. Revenues have gone up, operational costs seem to be being kept under control and a positive bottomline has been reported.

    Revenues in Q4 were up to Rs 840.6 million (Rs 674 million in Q3 FY10) and operating profit too has gone up to Rs Rs 254.3 million (Rs 204.4 million). However, the company would have only made a marginal net profit had it not booked its entire ‘other income’ of Rs 217.4 million in Q4 FY10. For the record the company generated a net profit after deferred tax of Rs 238.7 million.

    On an annual basis, the company has seen a rise in its net loss on a standalone basis for the year ended 31 March 2010. The net loss was at Rs 597.3 million, as compared to Rs 528.9 million in the previous fiscal. Revenues too have almost stayed stagnant at Rs 2.73 billion in the whole of FY10 (Rs 2.80 billion in FY09). Observers are questioning if the company has hit a ceiling as far as revenue potential is concerned in the financial and business TV news channel segment.

    The firm’s operating profit for FY10 was Rs 648.1 million which is a turnaround from the loss of Rs 48.4 million it incurred last fiscal.

    The comapny’s other income also dropped by 68.81 per cent, from Rs 697 million (FY09) to Rs 217.4 million (FY10). The firm also lost out in terms of income earned from investments, which saw a fall of 45.29 per cent from Rs 392.6 million (FY09) to Rs 214.8 million (FY10). However, on a quarterly basis the income from investments went up to Rs 75.5 million in Q4FY10 from a loss of Rs 210.6 million in the corresponding quarter last fiscal.

    The company net loss increased further in FY10 even though they did better at the PAT level, due to a deferred tax outgo wherein the company had to spend Rs 50.4 million this fiscal as compared to a savings of Rs 159.5 million it made last fiscal.

    On a consolidated basis, TV18 reduced its net loss for the fiscal by 29.55 per cent to Rs 1.17 billion from Rs1.66 billion in FY09. The revenue for the firm went up from Rs 4.85 billion (FY09) to Rs 5.53 billion (FY10). This coupled with reduced operating expenses led the firm to post an operating profit of Rs 403.1 million this fiscal, a major improvement from the operating loss of Rs 813.1 million it posted last fiscal.

    The consolidated result also includes financials of Web18, Newswire18 and Infomedia18.

    A look at these segments individually:

    Web18: 
    Web18, which houses the web properties of the group including in.com, reduced its net loss by 51.99 per cent for the fiscal at Rs 266.9 million from last fiscal’s Rs 555.9 million. The revenues generated from operations increased by 11.28 per cent to Rs 728.2 million (FY10) from Rs 654.4 million (FY09). The operating loss of the firm also reduced by 74.1 per cent from Rs 357.5 million (FY09) to Rs 92.7 million (FY10).

    However, in Q4FY10 the firm registered a net profit of Rs 37.4 million, on account of its minority interest income of Rs 71.8 million and revenues were at Rs 229.1 million.

    Newswire18:
    Newswire18 also reduced its losses in FY10, bringing it to Rs 40.8 million from last fiscal’s Rs 129.8 million. The firm’s revenues went up by 42.5 per cent to Rs 329.6 million (FY10) from Rs 231.3 million (FY09). At an operational level the company showed a profit of Rs 18.4 million as compared to last fiscal’s loss of Rs 76.8 million. This turnaround was aided by Newswire 18’s increased revenues especially in Q4FY10 when it earned Rs 92.5 million

    Infomedia 18:
    Infomedia 18 too reduced its losses this fiscal bringing these down from Rs 448.9 million in FY09 to Rs 35 million in the year ended 31 March, 2010. The firm’s revenues went up to Rs 1.74 billion in FY10 from Rs 1.17 billion in FY09. This helped them reduce their operating losses by 48.27 per cent to Rs 170.8 million (FY10) from Rs 330.2 million (FY09).

  • TV18 eases financial pain in Q3, eyes turnaround

    TV18 eases financial pain in Q3, eyes turnaround

    MUMBAI: Television18 has eased its financial pain in the fiscal third-quarter due to some upswing in revenues while costs are kept under strict control.

    For the three months ended December, TV18 has posted a standalone net loss (after tax and minority interest, before ESOP charge out) of Rs 146.64 million, narrowing it from Rs 246.95 million in the previous quarter.

    The company, which operates leading business news channels CNBC TV18 and CNBC Awaaz, had posted a net profit of Rs 72.71 million in the earlier year.

    Revenue from news operations at Rs 674.02 million stands 9.69 per cent higher than the year-ago period. For the trailing quarter, TV18’s standalone revenue was at Rs 647.43 million.

    “The fourth quarter revenue should be higher than the trailing quarter due to the Budget. When the market fully recovers, TV18 should be in a position to grab the lion’s share of the growth as it has managed to protect its ratings share even after the launch of ET Now,” says a media analyst who tracks the news broadcasting business.

    Operating expenses for the quarter stood at Rs 469.59 million (from Rs 469.09 million a year ago). We have brought down the operating cost to Rs 450-460 million. “We do not expect that to increase. We are watching that number like a hawk,” TV18 managing director Raghav Bahl told analysts.

    TV18 also improved its operating margins to 30.33 per cent from prior year’s 23.66 per cent. The company said that the “high operating margins” are likely to be maintained.

    During the quarter, TV18 cut 12 per cent of its permanent staff and merged the broadcast operations of its two business news channels in a bid to take corrective measures at a time when the ad market was going through a slump. The company has taken a one time restructuring charge Of Rs 45 million on account of rationalisation of its workforce.

    On a consolidated basis, TV18, which also includes financials of Web18, Infomedia18 and Newswire18, has posted a net loss (after tax and minority interest, before ESOP charge out) of Rs 373.03 million. For the same quarter of the previous year, the net loss stood at Rs 306.03 million.

    Revenue from consolidated operations fell marginally to Rs 1.29 billion compared to Rs 1.30 billion a year ago. Expenses stood at Rs 1.16 billion, from Rs 1.39 billion in the earlier year.

    “We are happy to share that we continue to build on the turnaround in operations that started a couple of quarters back. Business news channels have returned to healthy operating margins along with drastically reducing net losses. Web18 revenues are showing strong traction as we endeavour to keep costs under control. EBITDA break-even should be achieved shortly. Newswire18 continues to strengthen revenues and operating margins. Informedia18 revenues should start growing in forthcoming quarters as new launches are being well received by customers,” says Bahl.

    Web18, the subsidiary that houses all the websites of the group, has curtailed its net loss to Rs 123.25 million, as against Rs 214.08 million a year ago. Revenue from operations grew 12.56 per cent to Rs 196.93 million, while expenses dropped 35.62 per cent to Rs 224.90 million in the quarter.

    In Infomedia18, the net loss for the quarter stood at Rs 92.32 million, down from Rs 103.75 million in the corresponding quarter of FY ’09. Revenue, however, decreased to Rs 334.35 million from Rs 450.86 million, while expenses were at Rs 384.37 million, down from Rs 493.71 million a year ago.

    In Newswire18, revenue rose to Rs 83.77 million, from Rs 64.63 million a year ago. Net loss has narrowed to Rs 9.82 million compared to Rs 31.91 million in the third quarter of FY’09.

    TV18 expects to return to black soon as the market recovers. The company plans to bring down its high interest payout by reducing the net debt from Rs 6 billion to Rs 2 billion in FY’11.

  • 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.”

  • Slowdown hurts TV18, Q1 net loss at Rs 242.5 million

    Slowdown hurts TV18, Q1 net loss at Rs 242.5 million

    MUMBAI: The economic downturn continues to hurt news channels even in the first quarter of the fiscal. TV18 has slumped into net loss of Rs 242.46 million, compared to a profit of Rs 126.60 million a year ago, as revenue has slowed with companies cutting advertising spending in a recession-ridden market.

    TV18, which owns and operates business news channels CNBC TV18 and CNBC Awaaz, has seen a 24.53 per cent decline in the first-quarter revenue to Rs 568.57 million, as against Rs 753.35 million in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

    Operating expenses stood at Rs 471.20 million, as against Rs 469.65 million in the first quarter of FY’08.

    Says TV18 MD Raghav Bahl, “While our business news channels have continued to build on their dominant positions in the face of new launches, revenues have yet to recover fully.”

    On a consolidated basis, TV18 posted a net loss (profits after tax and before minority interest and ESOP charge out) of Rs 416.35 million for the quarter ended 30 June 2009. This is higher than the year ago loss of Rs 57.65 million.

    The consolidated results include financials of Web18, Newswire18 and Infomedia18.

    Consolidated revenue for the quarter went up by 15.41 per cent to Rs 1.07 billion, as against Rs 929.92 million in the previous fiscal. Operating expenses surged 41.46 per cent to Rs 1.04 billion (from Rs 732.31 million).

    Says Bahl, “We are happy to report an incipient turnaround in the company’s operations, after two extra-ordinarily tough quarters.”

    Web18, which houses the web properties of the group including in.com, has reported a net loss of Rs 88.23 million as against a net loss of Rs 81.41 million. Revenue from operations were up marginally at Rs 142.10 million, from Rs 131.58 million in the same period of the previous fiscal.

    “Web18 has cut its operating losses sharply, as it moves out of investment phase. In.com, Moneycontrol.com and ibnline.com have strengthened their leadership positions, while other portals are acquiring new audiences,” says Bahl.

    Newswire18, on the other hand, has shown a 65.55 per cent rise in revenue at Rs 74.48 million (against Rs 44.99 million). The net loss of the company came down to Rs 14.37 million in the quarter, as compared to Rs 38.04 million.

    “Newswire18 revenues have been buoyant, and its operations are close to breaking even,” adds Bahl.

    Infomedia18 has posted a revenue of 288.12 million and operating loss of Rs 21.97 million. The net loss (before minority interest) was at Rs 71.30 million.

    Says Bahl, “Infomedia18’s operations have been restructured, cutting down operational losses to a fraction of earlier levels. Forbes India has generated a strong launch momentum with paid copies and subscription numbers tracking ahead of business plan. We are satisfied that the operational turnaround is proceeding according to our expectations.”

  • Fitch downgrades TV18

    Fitch downgrades TV18

    MUMBAI: Credit ratings agency Fitch has downgraded TV18, raising concerns over the company’s financial profile over the nine-month period of the current fiscal and deployment of large cash balances to support subsidiaries and group companies.

    TV18’s operating loss in FY’09 on a consolidated basis has been primarily due to the significant launch expenses and development costs of Web 18, and to some extent due to expenses related to its print media businesses including one time charges.

    Also disturbing is the pressure on profitability on TV18’s core news operations business due to a significant slowdown in the renewal of advertising contracts.

    “The company has utilised a substantial portion of its liquid balances (around Rs 6.76 billion as of FY’08 and Rs 2.6 billion as of 9-month period of FY’09) in investments in group companies, primarily in Infomedia18 and direct investments into other group companies,” Fitch said.

    Fitch has downgraded the rating to ‘BBB’ from ‘A.’ It has also lowered its rating outlook to negative from stable.

    Fitch ratings on the following instruments
    Rs 1.25 billion long-term loan – Downgraded to BBB (from A)
    Rs 670.1 million term-loan – Downgraded to BBB (from A)

    Rs 850 million fund-based working capital limits – Downgraded to BBB/F2 (from A/F1)

    Rs 70 million non fund-based working capital limits – Downgraded to F2 (from F1)

    Rs 250 million commercial paper/short-term debt programme – Downgraded to F2 (from F1)

    TV18 has raised fresh debt to meet the increased requirement of working capital and support its investments. “Net debt levels increased substantially to Rs 6.6 billion at the 9-month period of FY’09 compared to negative net debt levels at FY’08,” Fitch said.

    On the positive note, however, is the possible gain of advertising revenues from the upcoming elections and the budget coverage after the new government is formed.

    “TV18 has also been actively undertaking cost cutting measures across its businesses, which along with the one-time nature of some of Web18’s losses due to initial launch expenses and charging off development costs, could help stem operating losses. In addition, TV18 has put on hold its earlier investment/expansion plans into new businesses such as print media, which could reduce the extent of negative free cash flows to be funded through FY’10,” Fitch said.

    “Realisation of benefits from the company’s ongoing operational initiatives, coupled with a revival in advertising revenues materially benefiting credit metrics could lead to the outlook being revised back to stable, as could material reductions in net debt levels through equity infusions and/or monetisation of equity stakes in subsidiaries/group companies,” the ratings agency added.

  • TV18 Q2 net loss at Rs 245.57 million

    TV18 Q2 net loss at Rs 245.57 million

    MUMBAI: TV18 has posted a consolidated net loss of Rs 245.57 million (after ESOP charge out) for the quarter ended 30 September 2008, as against a profit of Rs 49.67 million in the year ago period.

    During the quarter, the company’s income has increased from Rs 1.30 billion as compared to Rs 882.98 million in the corresponding quarter last fiscal.

    The company has taken control of the board of directors of Infomedia18 Limited on 21 August and consequently the results of Infomedia18 Limited have been consolidated for the period from 21 August to 30 September on the basis of the management control.

    TV18 MD Raghav Bahl said: “We have managed to grow our business news revenues in a very tough operating environment. That is a splendid testimony to the robust programming, audience loyalty and brand premium built by CNBC-TV18 and CNBC-Awaaz. Although operating margins have dropped from the steady 50 per cent seen during the preceding bull market, we are satisfied by the fact that we have managed to hold around the 40 per cent mark, and have grown both our revenues and operating margins compared to the previous quarter. We hope to maintain the current performance of our business news operations for the rest of the year.”

    Net profit (after Esop charge out) from news operations of the company, which include CNBC TV18 and CNBC Awaaz, has slipped to Rs 76.06 million in the second quarter of this fiscal, from Rs 156.93 million in the prior year quarter.

    Revenue from news operations has seen a downfall to Rs 808.23 million, from Rs 735.05 million in the year ago period.

    Newswire18’s net loss stood at Rs 40.26 million in the second quarter. Revenue from Newswire18 has seen a growth of 107 per cent to stand at Rs 51.20 million, from Rs 24.69 million in the year ago period. It is planning to distribute terminals in overseas market.

    Infomedia’s net loss stood at Rs 1.10 million while revenue earned from operations is Rs 290.48 million.