Tag: IPO

Hathway Cable files GTPL details with BSE

BENGALURU: Among the largest cable television operators in India, the listed Hathway Cable and Datacom Limited (Hathway) has a number of subsidiaries and partnership in the television signal carriage and broadband ecosystems in the company. The company has various levels of investments in these associations. One of its most profitable associations, and probably one of the largest contributors (besides Hathway itself) to Hathway’s consolidated numbers across major financial and operational parameters is GTPL Hathway Limited (GTPL), a material subsidiary, in which Hathway owns a 50 per cent stake.

Besides Hathway, another major shareholder of GTPL is its co-founder, Aniruddhasinhji Jadeja who directly owns 14.6 per cent and controls another 29.1 per cent through another shareholding entity Gujarat Digi Com Private Limited which is majority owned by him. The other co-founder Kanaksinh Rana owns 5.2 per cent shares of GTPL.

As reported by us earlier, the Hathway board has given approval to the initial public offering (IPO) proposal which seeks to raise funds for GTPL through a fresh issue of equity shares while giving an option to existing GTPL shareholders to sell their holdings. Hathway holds around 90 lakh shares in GTPL, according to a filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange, over the weekend.

Operational Matrices of GTPL

According to the presentation, GTPL is the largest MSO in Gujarat with 67 per cent market share and the second largest MSO in Kolkata and Howrah with a 24 per cent market share (in 2015, based on cable television subscribers).

As of 30 September 2016 (Q2-17),GTPL had active relationships with 13,775 local cable operators (LCOs). It says it has added 4,004 and 1,286 LCOs on a net basis in FY-16 and FY-15 respectively, and another 2,507 LCOs on a net basis as of 30 September 2016

As of Q2-17,GTPL is present in 169 towns across ten states of the country. The company claims a cable subscriber universe of 74.3 lakhas of 31 August 2016 of which 54.1 lakh (72.8 per cent) were active subscribers. GTPL claims to have seeded 61.9 lakh set top boxes or 83.3 per cent of its cable universe. Primary cable ARPU as on Q1-17 is Rs 220.34 and has been increasing steadily as per Hathway’s investor presentation submitted to the bourses.Currently in Gujarat, GTPL offers various monthly pay channel packages, including HD packages, to its digital cable television subscribers ranging from Rs 250 to Rs 470, including all applicable taxes.

It has 2.2 lakh broadband internet (broadband) subscribers and a broadband ARPU of Rs 463.87. Data consumption has been increasing steadily. Broadband ARPU has been increasing steadily over the past few years as per the Hathway’s investor presentation submitted to the bourses.

GTPL owns and operates 28 channels offering localised content across a wide range of genres including religious, culture, film, music and education.

Financial Performance

Please refer to Figure A below for GTPL’s revenue break-up over a five a period starting FY-12 (year ended 31 March 2012) until FY-16 (year ended 31 March 2016) as well as for the quarter ended 30 June 2016 (Q1-17). Further, Figure B below shows revenue breakup in Rs crore for the five year period starting FY-12 until FY-16.

In absolute rupees, all revenue or income heads have been increasing. In terms of per centage of operational revenue, this is not always the case.

As is obvious, contribution from activation revenue to operational revenue has been increasing with the implantation of DAS from FY-12 to FY-16 in terms of percentage of revenue, as well as in absolute rupees. However, contribution from activation revenue has declined in Q1-17. Broadband internet is another service that MSO’s have been offering for increase of overall ARPU, that has shown an upward trend, both in absolute rupees as well as in terms of percentage of operational revenues.

Though contribution from Placement/Carriage income to operational revenues has been declining in terms of per centage of revenue, it has been increasing steadily in absolute rupees.

The company has been a profitable one – both in terms of operating profits as well as in terms of profit after tax and has been earning money for its shareholders as is evident from its EBIDTA as well as profit after tax (PAT) numbers for the past five years and Q1-17 as well. Margins have been improving as is evident from Figure C below.

Notes: (1) 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.
(2) While the author has referred to an investor presentation submitted by Hathway to the Stock Exchanges, the surmise and opinions expressed in this report is his own. The author has no material stake in Hathway or GTPL or other associated or subsidy entities of Hathway or GTPL.

December 26, 2016
India’s second radio operator MBL seeks to list

MUMBAI: Music Broadcast Ltd (MBL), the FM radio unit of the media house Jagran Prakashan backed by the private equity giant Blackstone, on Monday, filed draft documents with the capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India for an initial public offering.

ICICI Securities is the sole financial adviser for the issue. The IPO will comprise of a fresh issue aggregating upto Rs. 4,000 million (Rs 400 crore) and an offer for sale of up to 2,658,518 equity shares by certain existing shareholders of MBL. JPL is not selling any of its shareholding in MBL under the offer for sale portion.

MBL will be the second radio operator to list on BSE after Times Group’s Entertainment Network India Ltd, which runs Radio Mirchi, India’s top FM radio business label.

Jagran entered the radio segment with the acquisition of Music Broadcast Pvt Ltd in December 2014 from Rupert Murdoch-controlled 21st Century Fox’s Star Group and the private equity company India Value Fund Advisors.

The company plans to use the proceeds to redeem non-convertible debentures, repay inter-corporate deposits as well as for general corporate purposes.

MBL has a presence in 29 cities. Its radio stations include eight Radio Mantra stations. The company says its radio stations reached out to 49.60 million listeners in 23 cities covered by AZ Research as on 31 March 2016.

November 29, 2016
India’s second radio operator MBL seeks to list

MUMBAI: Music Broadcast Ltd (MBL), the FM radio unit of the media house Jagran Prakashan backed by the private equity giant Blackstone, on Monday, filed draft documents with the capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India for an initial public offering.

ICICI Securities is the sole financial adviser for the issue. The IPO will comprise of a fresh issue aggregating upto Rs. 4,000 million (Rs 400 crore) and an offer for sale of up to 2,658,518 equity shares by certain existing shareholders of MBL. JPL is not selling any of its shareholding in MBL under the offer for sale portion.

MBL will be the second radio operator to list on BSE after Times Group’s Entertainment Network India Ltd, which runs Radio Mirchi, India’s top FM radio business label.

Jagran entered the radio segment with the acquisition of Music Broadcast Pvt Ltd in December 2014 from Rupert Murdoch-controlled 21st Century Fox’s Star Group and the private equity company India Value Fund Advisors.

The company plans to use the proceeds to redeem non-convertible debentures, repay inter-corporate deposits as well as for general corporate purposes.

MBL has a presence in 29 cities. Its radio stations include eight Radio Mantra stations. The company says its radio stations reached out to 49.60 million listeners in 23 cities covered by AZ Research as on 31 March 2016.

November 29, 2016
30 large sites average earnings/year in 2013 was $4.4 million from advertising-financed piracy in US

NEW DELHl: Advertising-financed piracy was an extremely profitable business as an economic study of the US market alone showed estimated pirate website ad revenue at $227 million annually.

In a presentation on ‘Online Advertising, Brand Integrity and Content Creation: Problems and Solutions’, Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA) Chief Policy Officer John Medeiros said the 30 largest sites had earned an average of $4.4 million per year in 2013 and even small sites could easily have earned $100,000. Barriers to entry awere low and attracting a user base required little effort or investment.

Speaking at a FICCI conference on ‘Digital Advertising: Protecting Brand Integrity & Stimulating Content Creation’, he said Invalid Traffic (IVT) hosts were using online systems to generate non-human traffic (NHT) to illegitimately increase profit and high rates of IVT were seen 50 times more frequently among illegitimate sites than legitimate ones. He added that the growing problem of online ad misplacement was not only resulting in financially encouraging various illegal activities but was also causing serious damage to the integrity of major brands when they appeared on illegal sites.

Meanwhile, the session was informed that the British Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU)’s Operation Creative law enforcement programme was coming down hard on online pirates to combat the menace of digital piracy.

City of London police detective chief superintendent David Clark said PIPCU’s aim was to investigate, disrupt and serious and organized intellectual property crime which causes significant harm or damage to the UK economy or the general public.

Clark said the strategic objectives of the UK police were to address IP crime through prosecution and disruption; use a problem-solving approach to address the international threat; maintain an intelligence-led capability; support enforcement activity with effective media coverage; develop a PREVENT strategy with the IPO and other organizations; and reduce IP crime through a partnership approach with stakeholders.

He added that there was an urgent need for behavioral change as well in consumers who should realize that buying illegal products was a crime.

A Digital Trading Standards Group (DTSG) had been established to ensure that digital display advertising was not supporting inappropriate or illegal content/services in the United Kingdom, he added.

UK Good Practice Principles had also been drafted which integrated the industry-police approach. Highlighting the achievements of the UK police, Clark said 8,500 counterfeit websites have been suspended since PIPCU’s inception in 2013.

21 Century Fox senior vice president for government relations Joe Welch said FICCI’s advocacy on IPR policy had led to many significant and effective changes in the policies related to IP. He added that a sound policy dialogue to appropriately tackle the menace of piracy and a conducive environment to invigorate investment climate for the creative industry in India will definitely benefit and project India globally as a preferred destination for investments by the creative industries of the world.

After the inaugural session, discussions on the critical issue of misplaced ads resulting in funding of illegal activities were held and potential solutions that could be adopted by India to curtail this practice were explored to help digital advertising and the creative industries co-exist and flourish in today’s innovative and investment-led economy.

April 5, 2016
30 large sites average earnings/year in 2013 was $4.4 million from advertising-financed piracy in US

NEW DELHl: Advertising-financed piracy was an extremely profitable business as an economic study of the US market alone showed estimated pirate website ad revenue at $227 million annually.

In a presentation on ‘Online Advertising, Brand Integrity and Content Creation: Problems and Solutions’, Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA) Chief Policy Officer John Medeiros said the 30 largest sites had earned an average of $4.4 million per year in 2013 and even small sites could easily have earned $100,000. Barriers to entry awere low and attracting a user base required little effort or investment.

Speaking at a FICCI conference on ‘Digital Advertising: Protecting Brand Integrity & Stimulating Content Creation’, he said Invalid Traffic (IVT) hosts were using online systems to generate non-human traffic (NHT) to illegitimately increase profit and high rates of IVT were seen 50 times more frequently among illegitimate sites than legitimate ones. He added that the growing problem of online ad misplacement was not only resulting in financially encouraging various illegal activities but was also causing serious damage to the integrity of major brands when they appeared on illegal sites.

Meanwhile, the session was informed that the British Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU)’s Operation Creative law enforcement programme was coming down hard on online pirates to combat the menace of digital piracy.

City of London police detective chief superintendent David Clark said PIPCU’s aim was to investigate, disrupt and serious and organized intellectual property crime which causes significant harm or damage to the UK economy or the general public.

Clark said the strategic objectives of the UK police were to address IP crime through prosecution and disruption; use a problem-solving approach to address the international threat; maintain an intelligence-led capability; support enforcement activity with effective media coverage; develop a PREVENT strategy with the IPO and other organizations; and reduce IP crime through a partnership approach with stakeholders.

He added that there was an urgent need for behavioral change as well in consumers who should realize that buying illegal products was a crime.

A Digital Trading Standards Group (DTSG) had been established to ensure that digital display advertising was not supporting inappropriate or illegal content/services in the United Kingdom, he added.

UK Good Practice Principles had also been drafted which integrated the industry-police approach. Highlighting the achievements of the UK police, Clark said 8,500 counterfeit websites have been suspended since PIPCU’s inception in 2013.

21 Century Fox senior vice president for government relations Joe Welch said FICCI’s advocacy on IPR policy had led to many significant and effective changes in the policies related to IP. He added that a sound policy dialogue to appropriately tackle the menace of piracy and a conducive environment to invigorate investment climate for the creative industry in India will definitely benefit and project India globally as a preferred destination for investments by the creative industries of the world.

After the inaugural session, discussions on the critical issue of misplaced ads resulting in funding of illegal activities were held and potential solutions that could be adopted by India to curtail this practice were explored to help digital advertising and the creative industries co-exist and flourish in today’s innovative and investment-led economy.

April 5, 2016
Tata Group’s Cyrus Mistry plans Rs 2,000 crore IPO for Tata Sky

MUMBAI: In 2012 Tata Group chairman Cyrus Pallonji Mistry is believed to be offering Rs 2,000 crore for the Tata Sky’s amount of issue, according to a report.

Mistry had had initiated the process to sell part of Tata Sky in his first initial public offering (IPO) move after becoming the group chairman and a recent report by Times of India says Tata Sky will also be the 30th publicly listed company from the Tata Group which currently has a combined market cap of nearly Rs 7.2 lakh crore.

Early next week, the company’s investors, management, underwriters and counsel will hold the kickoff meeting to thrash out the red herring prospectus, Times of India reported.

To take matters forward, Morgan Stanley, Citi and Kotak Mahindra Capital will manage the DTH provider’s offering in which Tata Sons owns 51per cent, media mogul Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox has 30 per cent, Singapore state investor Temasek 10 per cent, and Tata Opportunities Fund holds 9 per cent.

Mistry has revived the plan to list Tata Sky on the domestic stock market, which will help the 47-year-old to part-monetize the asset by bringing in fresh funds to fuel the conglomerate’s growth plans and trim its debt. In fiscal 2015, its loss stood at Rs 267 crore.

The report also stated that there are prospects of sale of new shares as well as of existing shares held by promoters including Tata Sons and Temasek, which has remained invested in Tata Sky since 2007. According to the report, Temasek wants to encash some of its holdings in the 12-year-old Tata Sky, which will have a gross profit of Rs 1,000 crore in fiscal 2016. Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox intends to retain its ownership, while Tata Opportunities Fund is undecided whether it wants to sell a stake in the IPO, the person added.

Tata Sky intends to use the proceeds from the share sale to beef up its balance sheet. The company, which has emerged as the leader in the DTH field, will break even this financial year.

March 25, 2016
Tata Group’s Cyrus Mistry plans Rs 2,000 crore IPO for Tata Sky

MUMBAI: In 2012 Tata Group chairman Cyrus Pallonji Mistry is believed to be offering Rs 2,000 crore for the Tata Sky’s amount of issue, according to a report.

Mistry had had initiated the process to sell part of Tata Sky in his first initial public offering (IPO) move after becoming the group chairman and a recent report by Times of India says Tata Sky will also be the 30th publicly listed company from the Tata Group which currently has a combined market cap of nearly Rs 7.2 lakh crore.

Early next week, the company’s investors, management, underwriters and counsel will hold the kickoff meeting to thrash out the red herring prospectus, Times of India reported.

To take matters forward, Morgan Stanley, Citi and Kotak Mahindra Capital will manage the DTH provider’s offering in which Tata Sons owns 51per cent, media mogul Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox has 30 per cent, Singapore state investor Temasek 10 per cent, and Tata Opportunities Fund holds 9 per cent.

Mistry has revived the plan to list Tata Sky on the domestic stock market, which will help the 47-year-old to part-monetize the asset by bringing in fresh funds to fuel the conglomerate’s growth plans and trim its debt. In fiscal 2015, its loss stood at Rs 267 crore.

The report also stated that there are prospects of sale of new shares as well as of existing shares held by promoters including Tata Sons and Temasek, which has remained invested in Tata Sky since 2007. According to the report, Temasek wants to encash some of its holdings in the 12-year-old Tata Sky, which will have a gross profit of Rs 1,000 crore in fiscal 2016. Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox intends to retain its ownership, while Tata Opportunities Fund is undecided whether it wants to sell a stake in the IPO, the person added.

Tata Sky intends to use the proceeds from the share sale to beef up its balance sheet. The company, which has emerged as the leader in the DTH field, will break even this financial year.

March 25, 2016
Imax China files for IPO in Hong Kong

MUMBAI: Imax Corporation’s subsidiary Imax China Holding has submitted a listing application on Form A1 in connection with an initial public offering (IPO) and listing of its shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

In a statement, Imax said, “The securities referred to herein have not been and will not be registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration under the Securities Act or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act and applicable state securities laws.”

Imax China, incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands, was established by to oversee the expansion of Imax’s business throughout Greater China.

May 28, 2015
UFO Moviez sets IPO price band at Rs 615 – 625 per share

MUMBAI: Digital cinema company UFO Moviez India has announced its Rs 600 crore initial public offering (IPO), which will open between 28-30 April.

Each share of face value of Rs 10 is priced at a Rs 615 – 625 per share. The minimum bid lot is 24 equity shares and in multiples of 24 thereafter.

Earlier this month, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) had approved UFO Moviez’ IPO application.

The company’s existing shareholders are selling the shares not just to offer them an exit but also increase visibility for the company.

Fifty per cent of the offer will be allocated to institutional shareholders. Non-institutional investors are allocated 15 per cent, and retail investors will get 35 per cent allocation.

While Axis Capital and Citigroup Global Markets are the merchant bankers handling the issue, 3i Research and P5 Asia Holding Investments are the selling shareholders.

April 21, 2015
Ortel reports respectable maiden numbers for FY-2015 & Q4-2015

BENGALURU: At the time of its IPO earlier in March 2015, Ortel Communications had to withdraw a part of the promoter’s quota to prevent undersubscription. In its maiden financial numbers, Ortel reported fairly respectable numbers for FY-2015 as well as Q4-2015 and hence justified the faith that investors put in it. The company was listed on 19 March, 2015.

For FY-2015, Ortel reported total income from operations (TIO) of Rs 154.79 crore for FY-2015, 20.5 per cent more than the Rs 128.50 crore in the preceding financial year. The company reported a profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 5.65 crore in FY-2015 as compared to a loss of Rs 11.28 crore in FY-2014.

Notes: 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10 million = 1 crore

The numbers mentioned in this report are standalone.

Cable subscription fees in FY-2015 grew four per cent to Rs 79 crore from Rs 75.7 crore in FY-2014, while internet subscription fees grew five per cent to Rs 27 crore from Rs 25.8 crore in FY-2014.

In Q4-2015, the company’s TIO at Rs 44.91 crore was a healthy 34.4 per cent more than the Rs 33.41 crore in the corresponding quarter of last year and 13.9 per cent more than the Rs 39.44 crore in Q3-2015. The company reported a PAT of Rs 5.65 crore in Q4-2015, as compared to a loss of Rs 1.23 crore in Q4-2014 and more than 20 times (20.64 times) the PAT for Q3-2014 which was reported as Rs 0.27 crore.

Revenue generating units (RGU)

Two main segments add to the company’s numbers – Cable TV and Broadband, with a big chunk of numbers also being added by unallocated segments.

Ortel reported total RGUs of 530,111 in FY-2015 as compared to 515,835 in FY-2014 and 486,255 in FY-2013. Of these, total cable RGUs in FY-2015 were 471,592, in FY-2014 they were 461,408, and in FY-2013 they were 435,628.

Correspondingly, Broadband RGUs were 58,519 in FY-2015, 54,427 in FY-2014 and 50,627 in FY-2013.

Cable TV segment

In FY-2015, Cable TV segment reported 11.5 per cent growth in revenue from Rs 97.35 crores in the previous year to Rs 108.52 crore in FY-2015. Cable TV segment reported 12.1 per cent growth in operating profit to Rs 49.32 crore in FY-2015 from Rs 43.98 crore in FY-2014.

Within this segment, besides subscription fees, cable connection fees grew 161 per cent to Rs 3.1 crore in FY-2015 from Rs 1.2 crore in FY-2014. Channel carriage fees grew 29 per cent in FY-2015 to Rs 26.4 crore from Rs 20.5 crore from FY-2014.

Cable TV reported 9.7 per cent y-o-y growth in revenue to Rs 27.87 crore from Rs 25.41 crore in Q4-2014 and 2.2 per cent growth from Rs 27.27 crore in Q3-2015. The segment reported more than triple the operating profits in Q4-2015 at Rs 11.21 crore as compared to the Rs 3.61 crore in the corresponding quarter of last year and 8.3 per cent more than the Rs 10.36 crore in Q3-2015.

Broadband segment

Broadband segment revenue grew 5.2 per cent during the corresponding period to Rs 28.89 crore in FY-2015 from Rs 27.47 crore in FY-2014. Operating profit from Broadband segment grew a healthy 43.3 per cent to Rs 20.89 crore from Rs 14.57 crore in FY-2014. Within this segment, internet connection fees grew 12 per cent in the current year to Rs 1.9 crore from Rs 1.7 crore in FY-2014.

Broadband segment reported revenue of Rs 7.44 crore in Q4-2015, which was 5.9 per cent more than the Rs 7.02 crore in Q4-2014 and 4.5 per cent more than the Rs 7.12 crore in Q3-2015. The segment reported almost eight times (7.61 times) operating result of Rs 7.95 crore in Q4-2015 as compared to the Rs 1.04 crore in Q4-2014 and 68.9 per cent more than the Rs4.71 crore in the immediate trailing quarter.

Unallocated

Revenue from unallocated segment grew almost four fold (3.73 times) to Rs 17.38 crore in the current year from Rs 3.67 crore in FY-2014. Operating profit credited to unallocated segment grew 3.7 per cent from Rs 3.07 crore in FY-2014 to Rs 3.19 crore in FY-2015.

In Q4-2015, revenue from unallocated revenue grew almost tenfold (9.79 times) to Rs 9.61 crore from Rs 0.98 crore in Q4-2014 and 90.1 per cent more than the Rs 5.06 crore in Q3-2015. Unallocated operating profit grew 4.2 per cent in Q5-2015 to Rs 0.81 crore from Rs 0.78 crore in Q4-2014 and grew 2.8 per cent from Rs 0.79 crore in Q3-2015.

Average revenue per user (ARPU)

The company has reported a slight reduction in average revenue per user (ARPU) in all cases when compared to the previous year, except for digital cable. Analog TV ARPU in FY-2014 was 145 per month as compared to Rs 147 in FY-2014 and Rs 136 in FY-2013.

Digital TV ARPU in FY-2015 was Rs 186 as compared to Rs 177 in FY-2014 and Rs 157 in FY-2013.

Retail broadband ARPU stood at Rs 356 in FY-2015 as compared to Rs 373 in both FY-2014 and FY-2013. Corporate broadband ARPU had the highest fall. In FY-2015, corporate broadband ARPU was Rs 2851 as compared to Rs 3487 in FY-2014 and Rs 3998 in FY-2013. Data usage per month has gone up relatively, hence indicating lowering of charges for data – in FY-2015, it was 3143 MB, in FY-2014 it was 3126 MB and in FY-2013 it was 2666 MB.

Ortel President and CEO Bibhu Prasad Rath said, “I am pleased to report that the company delivered healthy performance during the quarter and full year on the back of growth in Revenue Generating Units (RGUs) in Cable and Broadband businesses and robust contribution from Infrastructure Leasing segment. Our EBITDA margins stood strong at 37 per cent in FY-2015 as compared to 31 per cent in FY-2014. We anticipate further improvement in margins going forward as a result of deeper penetration in the Cable business along with our continued focus on the high-margin Broadband segment. Ortel Communications’ Direct-to-Consumer offering with full control over the ‘last mile’ network has enabled us to emerge as a dominant regional player in the cable TV and broadband business. With increasing penetration in our core and emerging markets along with the inorganic LCO (Local Cable Operator) buy out strategy, we believe we are well-positioned to achieve our immediate target of ~1 million RGUs by the end of FY-2017. I am also proud to share that we successfully concluded the Initial Public Offering (IPO) of the company by raising Rs 108.6 crore during the quarter. The capital infusion will also enable us to accelerate growth and deliver much stronger financial and operational performance in the coming years.”

Click here to read the investor presentation

April 20, 2015