Tag: MSO

DEN seeks Goldman Sachs investment nod from shareholders

MUMBAI: Leading Indian multisystem cable TV operator (MSO) DEN Networks –promoted by Sameer Manchanda- which got its board’s nod to issue another 1.58 crore shares at a price of Rs 90 per share to existing investor Goldman Sachs is now seeking shareholder approval for the same through an extraordinary general meeting to be held on 14 October 2016.

DEN says it will be issuing the preferential shares to Goldman Sachs affiliate firms Broad Street Investments (Singapore) Pte Ltd and MBD Bridge Street 2016 Investments Pte Ltd. The former will subscribe to 1.30 crore shares taking its holding to 4.18 crore shares. Constituting 21.6 per cent of Den Networks equity. The latter will mop up 28.24 lakh shares and a first time investor in DEN its holding will be at 1.46 per cent.

Once completed the preferential share issue will see the promoters’ shareholding falling from 28.52 per cent to 26.19 per cent; corporate bodies from 11.53 per cent to 10.59 per cent; institutional investors from 22.20 to 20.39 per cent; private corporate bodies from 7.30 per cent to 6.71 per cent and finally the holding of foreign bodies will jump from 22.93 per cent to 29.21.

DEN Networks has said it will use the $21 million funds to pare down its debt from Rs 852 crore in June 2016 and also expand its broadband business through its subsidiary. The company’s debt stood at Rs 895 crore in March 2016 and at Rs 930 crore in March 2015. Between 31 March 2016 and June 2016, DEN Networks raised Rs 89 crore in debt and repaid Rs 132 crore.

September 24, 2016
Den Networks consolidated cable, broadband numbers up in Q1-17

BENGALURU: Indian multi system operator (MSO) Den Networks Ltd (Den) Cable business segment consolidated total revenue post activation increased 9 percent in in the quarter ended 30 June 2016 (Q1-17, current quarter) to Rs 251 crore from Rs 230 crore in Q1-16. Pre-activation revenue in the current quarter increased 3 percent to Rs 215 crore from Rs 209 crore in the corresponding year ago quarter.

Two segments contribute to Den’s revenue: Cable distribution network segment (Cable, Cable business) and Broadband segment (Boomband).

Den’s Broadband segment revenue more than tripled (3.55 times) in Q1-17 to Rs 18 crore from Rs 5 crore in Q1-16.

Cable segment

Cable subscription revenue increased 13.3 percent y-o-y to Rs 111 crore in Q1-17 from Rs 98 crore in Q1-16. Cable activation revenue increased 69 percent y-o-y to Rs 36 crore from Rs 21 crore. Placement revenue declined 15 percent y-o-y to Rs 87 crore from Rs 102 crore.

Cable segment reported EBIDTA of Rs 53 crore in Q1-17 as against and EBIDTA of Rs 14 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Please refer to the figure below for Den’s revenue break-up for Q1-7 and Q1-16.

The company reported 98 lakh DAS subscribers for Q1-17, as compared to 72 lakh in the corresponding year ago quarter and 94 lakh in the immediate trailing quarter (Q4-16). Den has a cable subscriber base of 1.3 crore.

Broadband segment

Den reported 329 percent growth in broadband customers in Q1-17 as compared to the corresponding year ago quarter Q1-16. Den reported 1,15,000 broadband customers in the current quarter as compared to 35,000 in Q1-16.

In Q4-16 Den had a broadband subscriber base of about 95,000, hence quarter-over-quarter (q-o-q) broadband subscriber base growth in Q1-17 was 21 percent. Q-o-q broadband revenue increased 20 percent in the current quarter from Rs 15 crore in Q4-16.

Broadband segment’s operating loss (EBIDTA) in Q1-17 was lower at Rs 9 crore as compared to an operating loss of Rs 18 crore in Q1-16.

Consolidated numbers

Den’s consolidated revenue increased 14 percent year-over-year (y-o-y) in the current quarter to Rs 269 crore from Rs 236 crore in Q1-16.

Consolidated loss before tax in Q1-17 was lower at Rs 35 crore as compared to a loss of Rs 48 crore in Q1-16. Net loss in Q1-17 was slightly higher at Rs 52 crore as compared to a net loss of Rs 50 crore in Q1-16.

The company reported positive post activation consolidated EBIDTA of Rs 44 crore for the current quarter as against a negative (operating loss) of Rs 4 crore in Q1-16.

Den’s consolidated total expenditure in the current quarter declined 6.3 percent to Rs 225 crore from Rs 240 crore in Q1-16.

Content costs are a major component of Den’s expenditure – Content costs in the current quarter declined 7.4 percent in the current quarter to Rs 112 crore from Rs 121 crore in the corresponding year ago quarter.

Employee (Personnel) costs declined 19.4 percent in the current quarter to Rs 25 crore from Rs 31 crore in Q1-16. Other operating expenses in Q1-17 increased 2.5 percent to Rs 81 crore from Rs 79 crore.

Goldman Sachs to pick up 1.58 crore Den equity shares

As reported, the company’s existing shareholder Goldman Sachs is picking up 1.58 crore equity shares at a price of Rs 90 per share via a preferential allotment. This will take Goldman Sachs’ equity stake in DEN up from 17.79 per cent to 24.49 per cent and involve an injection of much needed capital to the tune of Rs 142.43 crore.

Note: (1) All numbers mentioned are consolidated unless stated otherwise.

(1.1) The figures mentioned above have been rounded off and based on the numbers presented by Den in the public domain.

(2) The numbers in this paper are as per Indian Accounting System. (Ind AS)

(3) 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.

September 21, 2016
Den Networks consolidated cable, broadband numbers up in Q1-17

BENGALURU: Indian multi system operator (MSO) Den Networks Ltd (Den) Cable business segment consolidated total revenue post activation increased 9 percent in in the quarter ended 30 June 2016 (Q1-17, current quarter) to Rs 251 crore from Rs 230 crore in Q1-16. Pre-activation revenue in the current quarter increased 3 percent to Rs 215 crore from Rs 209 crore in the corresponding year ago quarter.

Two segments contribute to Den’s revenue: Cable distribution network segment (Cable, Cable business) and Broadband segment (Boomband).

Den’s Broadband segment revenue more than tripled (3.55 times) in Q1-17 to Rs 18 crore from Rs 5 crore in Q1-16.

Cable segment

Cable subscription revenue increased 13.3 percent y-o-y to Rs 111 crore in Q1-17 from Rs 98 crore in Q1-16. Cable activation revenue increased 69 percent y-o-y to Rs 36 crore from Rs 21 crore. Placement revenue declined 15 percent y-o-y to Rs 87 crore from Rs 102 crore.

Cable segment reported EBIDTA of Rs 53 crore in Q1-17 as against and EBIDTA of Rs 14 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Please refer to the figure below for Den’s revenue break-up for Q1-7 and Q1-16.

The company reported 98 lakh DAS subscribers for Q1-17, as compared to 72 lakh in the corresponding year ago quarter and 94 lakh in the immediate trailing quarter (Q4-16). Den has a cable subscriber base of 1.3 crore.

Broadband segment

Den reported 329 percent growth in broadband customers in Q1-17 as compared to the corresponding year ago quarter Q1-16. Den reported 1,15,000 broadband customers in the current quarter as compared to 35,000 in Q1-16.

In Q4-16 Den had a broadband subscriber base of about 95,000, hence quarter-over-quarter (q-o-q) broadband subscriber base growth in Q1-17 was 21 percent. Q-o-q broadband revenue increased 20 percent in the current quarter from Rs 15 crore in Q4-16.

Broadband segment’s operating loss (EBIDTA) in Q1-17 was lower at Rs 9 crore as compared to an operating loss of Rs 18 crore in Q1-16.

Consolidated numbers

Den’s consolidated revenue increased 14 percent year-over-year (y-o-y) in the current quarter to Rs 269 crore from Rs 236 crore in Q1-16.

Consolidated loss before tax in Q1-17 was lower at Rs 35 crore as compared to a loss of Rs 48 crore in Q1-16. Net loss in Q1-17 was slightly higher at Rs 52 crore as compared to a net loss of Rs 50 crore in Q1-16.

The company reported positive post activation consolidated EBIDTA of Rs 44 crore for the current quarter as against a negative (operating loss) of Rs 4 crore in Q1-16.

Den’s consolidated total expenditure in the current quarter declined 6.3 percent to Rs 225 crore from Rs 240 crore in Q1-16.

Content costs are a major component of Den’s expenditure – Content costs in the current quarter declined 7.4 percent in the current quarter to Rs 112 crore from Rs 121 crore in the corresponding year ago quarter.

Employee (Personnel) costs declined 19.4 percent in the current quarter to Rs 25 crore from Rs 31 crore in Q1-16. Other operating expenses in Q1-17 increased 2.5 percent to Rs 81 crore from Rs 79 crore.

Goldman Sachs to pick up 1.58 crore Den equity shares

As reported, the company’s existing shareholder Goldman Sachs is picking up 1.58 crore equity shares at a price of Rs 90 per share via a preferential allotment. This will take Goldman Sachs’ equity stake in DEN up from 17.79 per cent to 24.49 per cent and involve an injection of much needed capital to the tune of Rs 142.43 crore.

Note: (1) All numbers mentioned are consolidated unless stated otherwise.

(1.1) The figures mentioned above have been rounded off and based on the numbers presented by Den in the public domain.

(2) The numbers in this paper are as per Indian Accounting System. (Ind AS)

(3) 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.

September 21, 2016
Goldman Sachs to up stake in cable TV MSO DEN Networks; to invest Rs 142.43 crore

MUMBAI: MSO DEN Networks has proved the naysayers – who have been carping that the Indian cable TV sector is as insipid as dry sawdust – wrong. The company’s existing shareholder Goldman Sachs is picking up 1.58 crore equity shares at a price of Rs 90 per share via a preferential allotment. This will take Goldman Sachs’ equity stake in DEN up from 17.79 per cent to 24.49 per cent and involve an injection of much needed capital to the tune of Rs 142.43 crore. The divestment is expected to trim promoter stake in the company to 37 percent.

Board approval for this transaction came through yesterday and the company is seeking its shareholders’ nod through an extraordinary general meeting which is scheduled for 14 October 2016. DEN Networks informed the BSE about its intentions yesterday.

Media observers say that the Indian cable TV ecosystem – including the government, the regulator TRAI, broadcasters, MSOs and cable TV operators – has stumbled in the digitization process which was mandated by the ministry of information and broadcasting four years back. They have also been saying that investor sentiment towards the sector is pretty weak. Shares of most leading Indian cable TV companies have been depressed, and have been parked at lows.

However, DEN Networks has been taking steps to correct the perception. It has brought back its CEO SN Sharma who has since been working on raising revenues and profitability.

The Goldman investment should come as a shot in the arm for DEN Networks as well as the Indian cable TV sector which is grappling with reinventing its business model.

The company’s CFO Manish Dawar told CNBC TV18 that the company will be utilising the funds to invest in the broadband business as well as to reduce its debt. Earlier, this month, it had got board approval to demerge its broadband/internet service provider (ISP) business undertaking into its wholly owned subsidiary Skynet Cable Network . The company’s ISP business had a turnover of around Rs 40 crore in FY-2016.

Dawar told the business news channel that DEN’s performance is on the upswing. “In Q1 we have already turned positive on EBITDA basis and if we were to look at I am talking about pre-activation which is what the investors wanted to kind of look at, so, therefore Q1 on cable business we are already EBITDA positive. Broadband is progressing very well, we have been able to reduce our losses tremendously over the last one year,” he said. “TV-Shop we are very close to break even. So, if you were to look at on a consolidated basis also, in the current quarter and I am talking about on a like-to- like basis, last quarter we were at minus (–) Rs 5 crore and the current quarter is positive Rs 5 crore on consolidated basis.”

Investors greeted the Goldman Sachs announcement with delight. DEN Networks shares hit a high of Rs 85 during day trading yesterday only to close at Rs 80.85 – a rise of 3.5 per cent. The company’s share had hit a 52 week high of Rs 133 (21 September 2015) and it had dropped to a low of Rs 60.50 on 15 February 2016.

The company also made an investor presentation yesterday in which it stated that its digital rollout is progressing well. Of the 13 million subscribers it has, almost 9.8 million of them have upgraded to digital in Q1 2017. Five million of these are in DAS Phase I & II areas with the remainder being in Phase III and phase IV.

September 21, 2016
Goldman Sachs to up stake in cable TV MSO DEN Networks; to invest Rs 142.43 crore

MUMBAI: MSO DEN Networks has proved the naysayers – who have been carping that the Indian cable TV sector is as insipid as dry sawdust – wrong. The company’s existing shareholder Goldman Sachs is picking up 1.58 crore equity shares at a price of Rs 90 per share via a preferential allotment. This will take Goldman Sachs’ equity stake in DEN up from 17.79 per cent to 24.49 per cent and involve an injection of much needed capital to the tune of Rs 142.43 crore. The divestment is expected to trim promoter stake in the company to 37 percent.

Board approval for this transaction came through yesterday and the company is seeking its shareholders’ nod through an extraordinary general meeting which is scheduled for 14 October 2016. DEN Networks informed the BSE about its intentions yesterday.

Media observers say that the Indian cable TV ecosystem – including the government, the regulator TRAI, broadcasters, MSOs and cable TV operators – has stumbled in the digitization process which was mandated by the ministry of information and broadcasting four years back. They have also been saying that investor sentiment towards the sector is pretty weak. Shares of most leading Indian cable TV companies have been depressed, and have been parked at lows.

However, DEN Networks has been taking steps to correct the perception. It has brought back its CEO SN Sharma who has since been working on raising revenues and profitability.

The Goldman investment should come as a shot in the arm for DEN Networks as well as the Indian cable TV sector which is grappling with reinventing its business model.

The company’s CFO Manish Dawar told CNBC TV18 that the company will be utilising the funds to invest in the broadband business as well as to reduce its debt. Earlier, this month, it had got board approval to demerge its broadband/internet service provider (ISP) business undertaking into its wholly owned subsidiary Skynet Cable Network . The company’s ISP business had a turnover of around Rs 40 crore in FY-2016.

Dawar told the business news channel that DEN’s performance is on the upswing. “In Q1 we have already turned positive on EBITDA basis and if we were to look at I am talking about pre-activation which is what the investors wanted to kind of look at, so, therefore Q1 on cable business we are already EBITDA positive. Broadband is progressing very well, we have been able to reduce our losses tremendously over the last one year,” he said. “TV-Shop we are very close to break even. So, if you were to look at on a consolidated basis also, in the current quarter and I am talking about on a like-to- like basis, last quarter we were at minus (–) Rs 5 crore and the current quarter is positive Rs 5 crore on consolidated basis.”

Investors greeted the Goldman Sachs announcement with delight. DEN Networks shares hit a high of Rs 85 during day trading yesterday only to close at Rs 80.85 – a rise of 3.5 per cent. The company’s share had hit a 52 week high of Rs 133 (21 September 2015) and it had dropped to a low of Rs 60.50 on 15 February 2016.

The company also made an investor presentation yesterday in which it stated that its digital rollout is progressing well. Of the 13 million subscribers it has, almost 9.8 million of them have upgraded to digital in Q1 2017. Five million of these are in DAS Phase I & II areas with the remainder being in Phase III and phase IV.

September 21, 2016
Shareholders to meet on 15 Oct for Hathway demerger approval

MUMBAI: The court has convened meeting of Hathway Cable and Datacom Ltd equity shareholders and Hathway Broadband Private Limited and their respective shareholders and creditors on 15 October, 2016, in Mumbai.

The meeting is for the purpose of considering and, if thought fit, approving with or without modification(s), the demerger of the broadband business of Hathway Cable and its transfer to Hathway Broadband, Ajay Singh, head, legal, company secretary and chief compliance officer, at Hathway Cable, stated in a communiqué to the BSE and the NSE.

The court appointed Jagdiskumar G. Pillai, Hathway Cable managing director and CEO, to be the chairman of the said meeting. The voting period begins on 11 0ctober, 2016 , at 10.00 am and ends on Friday, 14 0ctober, 2016, at 5.00 pm. Himanshu S. Kamdar, practicing company secretary, has been appointed as the scrutinizer. The results shall be declared on 17 0ctober, 2016.

The proposed demerger of the ISP Business (defined below) from Hathway Cable to Hathway Broadband may happen upon payment of Rs. 98.05 crore by the latter to the former. The plan is to demerge the ISP Business from Hathway Cable and transfer it to vest in Hathway Broadband.

Hathway Cable is a multi-system operator (MSO) engaged in the business of distribution of television channels. Hathway Broadband is a private limited company incorporated under the Companies Act, and a wholly owned subsidiary of Hathway Cable.

September 19, 2016
Shareholders to meet on 15 Oct for Hathway demerger approval

MUMBAI: The court has convened meeting of Hathway Cable and Datacom Ltd equity shareholders and Hathway Broadband Private Limited and their respective shareholders and creditors on 15 October, 2016, in Mumbai.

The meeting is for the purpose of considering and, if thought fit, approving with or without modification(s), the demerger of the broadband business of Hathway Cable and its transfer to Hathway Broadband, Ajay Singh, head, legal, company secretary and chief compliance officer, at Hathway Cable, stated in a communiqué to the BSE and the NSE.

The court appointed Jagdiskumar G. Pillai, Hathway Cable managing director and CEO, to be the chairman of the said meeting. The voting period begins on 11 0ctober, 2016 , at 10.00 am and ends on Friday, 14 0ctober, 2016, at 5.00 pm. Himanshu S. Kamdar, practicing company secretary, has been appointed as the scrutinizer. The results shall be declared on 17 0ctober, 2016.

The proposed demerger of the ISP Business (defined below) from Hathway Cable to Hathway Broadband may happen upon payment of Rs. 98.05 crore by the latter to the former. The plan is to demerge the ISP Business from Hathway Cable and transfer it to vest in Hathway Broadband.

Hathway Cable is a multi-system operator (MSO) engaged in the business of distribution of television channels. Hathway Broadband is a private limited company incorporated under the Companies Act, and a wholly owned subsidiary of Hathway Cable.

September 19, 2016
Don’t disconnect signals to part-paying MSO, ZEEL directed

NEW DELHI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd has been directed by the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal not to disconnect the signals to Seven Star Dot Com Pvt Ltd provided the latter keeps paying the monthly subscription on the basis of invoices raised.

Listing the matter for further hearing on 16 September, the tribunal member B B Srivastava, on 2 September 2016, said that the Tribunal had been informed by Seven Star counsel Naveen Chawla that a sum of Rs 50 lakh had been paid by his client as an on-account payment.

The Tribunal said this payment would be without prejudice to the rights and contentions of both the parties and will be subject to the final order of the Tribunal.

In another case, the Tribunal adjourned to 21 September 2016 a matter by Hathway Cable and Datacom Ltd after the Tribunal was informed that Pragya Vision Pvt Ltd had only paid two cheques of Rs 1 lakh and Rs 10,000 against the demand of Rs 94,11,572. Adjourning the matter, the Tribunal directed that the Managing Director of Pragya Vision – who was present – will be present on the next date as well. The counsel for Pragya said his client would submit an affidavit about the schedule of payments.

In a third case the same day, INX News Pvt Ltd Mumbai counsel Nittin Bhatia informed the Tribunal that four instalments of the payments due to Manthan Broadband of Kolkata had been made. But, the matter was put off to 13 September 2016 as Mathan counsel Anurup Narula wanted time to respond to the reply to its miscellaneous application filed by INX.

September 7, 2016
Don’t disconnect signals to part-paying MSO, ZEEL directed

NEW DELHI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd has been directed by the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal not to disconnect the signals to Seven Star Dot Com Pvt Ltd provided the latter keeps paying the monthly subscription on the basis of invoices raised.

Listing the matter for further hearing on 16 September, the tribunal member B B Srivastava, on 2 September 2016, said that the Tribunal had been informed by Seven Star counsel Naveen Chawla that a sum of Rs 50 lakh had been paid by his client as an on-account payment.

The Tribunal said this payment would be without prejudice to the rights and contentions of both the parties and will be subject to the final order of the Tribunal.

In another case, the Tribunal adjourned to 21 September 2016 a matter by Hathway Cable and Datacom Ltd after the Tribunal was informed that Pragya Vision Pvt Ltd had only paid two cheques of Rs 1 lakh and Rs 10,000 against the demand of Rs 94,11,572. Adjourning the matter, the Tribunal directed that the Managing Director of Pragya Vision – who was present – will be present on the next date as well. The counsel for Pragya said his client would submit an affidavit about the schedule of payments.

In a third case the same day, INX News Pvt Ltd Mumbai counsel Nittin Bhatia informed the Tribunal that four instalments of the payments due to Manthan Broadband of Kolkata had been made. But, the matter was put off to 13 September 2016 as Mathan counsel Anurup Narula wanted time to respond to the reply to its miscellaneous application filed by INX.

September 7, 2016
Hearing of DAS cases in Delhi HC put off to Oct

NEW DELHI: The hearing of the first bunch of cases relating to the stay orders on Phase III of Digital Addressable System has been adjourned by the Delhi High Court to 5 October as the court did not assemble after the lunch break.

The cases were listed before Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva, who is also scheduled to hear on 13 September three more cases including that of Home Systems Pvt Ltd of Mumbai and another by Digiana Pvt Ltd which have been transferred to the Court.

The application by the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) for being impleaded in the case also did not come up for hearing. However, it is expected that this may be mentioned on 13 September.

Some of the cases scheduled for hearing today included the Rohtak Cable Operators’ Association, Andhra Pradesh MSOs Welfare Federation, Multi System Operators’ Welfare Association, Sai Big Star Welfare Association, Sree Devi Digital Systems, Federation of Telangana MSO, DEN Manoranjan Satellite, Victory Digital, Sri Chowdeshwary Cable Network, Shyam Baba Cable Network, Panchajanya Media, Bharat Digital Cable Network, Nashik Zilla Cable Operators Association, Bhima Riddhi Digital Services and Yogesh Cable Networks.

A total of 62 cases had been filed by multi-system operators (MSOs) in various courts for extension in the deadline of Phase lll. Of these, 12 cases had been disposed of by respective courts and three cases had been withdrawn by the petitioners.

In the 16th Task Force meeting, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry (MIB) had for the first time admitted that the Law Ministry had observed that the order passed by the Andhra Pradesh High Court staying Phase III “appears to have all lndia applicability”.

(The Ministry had sought this opinion in view of the Bombay High Court making a reference to the Kusum Ingots case which had said that if one high court gives an order, others can give similar orders if similar circumstances exist. indiantelevision.com had reported in January this year that the MIB had told the Punjab and Haryana high court that it had ‘decided not to press the requirement of having a STB as for now till the decision of the cases which are pending before various other high courts’).

The meeting had been told that there were no cases in twenty states but the MIB was not in a position to issue orders in view of the advice given by the law ministry.

Earlier, the Indian Broadcasting Foundation had withdrawn its petition after the Supreme Court said that the order of the Bombay High Court did not imply any pan-India stay.

Cases are pending in the High Courts of Bombay, Hyderabad (with separate petitions for Telengana and Andhra Pradesh), Allahabad, Assam, Odisha, and Chhattisgarh for the entire states, apart from Tamil Nadu where prolonged legal cases have been pending since Phase I.

In Karnataka, three individual stakeholders got stay orders in Mangalore and Mysore areas while there is no state-wide stay.

September 7, 2016