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Tag: NXTDigital

  • NXTDigital turns around its business with Rs 13.66 crore profit in Q4

    NXTDigital turns around its business with Rs 13.66 crore profit in Q4

    KOLKATA: NXTDigital has turned its business profitable by raking in Rs 13.66 crore profit after tax (PAT) for the fourth quarter. The company has reported Rs 277.96 crore consolidated revenue for the quarter.

    It posted Rs 0.32 crore PAT in the previous quarter and a loss after tax of Rs 43.43 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. The revenue also grew by 6.95 per cent over the previous quarter of Rs 259.90 crores and by 22.38 per cent over the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

    The Earnings Before Interest Taxes Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) for the quarter at Rs 67.54 crores was higher by 8.10 per cent over the EBITDA of the previous quarter of Rs 62.47 crores and a 167 per cent growth over the EBITDA of the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

    For overall FY 21, the company recorded an EBITDA of Rs 232.08 crore, growing by 6.16 per cent over the EBITDA of the previous year of Rs 218.62 crores (excluding one-time revenues of Rs 123.12 crores in the previous year. Consolidated revenue for the year remained consistent at Rs 1,008.5 crores, marginally down from Rs 1,038 crores –due to a reduction in the low-margin non-core trading business.

    “The stellar performance can be attributed to the company’s focus on uninterrupted customer service during the lockdown and after, innovative products and solutions to combat the myriad of ground challenges, driving close to a 100 per cent digital mode of collections on a prepaid basis and the unstinting and tireless efforts of all our employees and our Last Mile partners – all of whom rose to the occasion, without exception,” NXTDigital MD & CEO Vynsley Fernandes said.

    The company will continue to focus on its transformation to an “all-digital” services company, driving a host of new products and solutions, whilst expanding into new geographies. One of the key growth drivers for the future will be its recently launched infrastructure sharing PaaS or Platform-as-a-Service offering.

  • NXTDIGITAL & Siti Networks ink industry-first pact for infra sharing

    NXTDIGITAL & Siti Networks ink industry-first pact for infra sharing

    NEW DELHI: Hinduja Group’s Headend-in-the-Sky (HITS) platform NXTDIGITAL and multi-system operator (MSO) Siti Networks have inked a first-ever infrastructure sharing agreement in the MSO space in the country. The move, the first of its kind, will have two conventional competitors share infrastructure, heralding a new era of collaboration in the digital platforms space.

    The potential market for such PaaS (Platform-as-a-Service) or infrastructure sharing services in India is estimated at over 60 million cable TV subscribers; connected to around 1,000 MSOs – largely independent or regional players, who often face such cost, connectivity and quality challenges.

    NXTDIGITAL MD & CEO Vynsley Fernandes commented, “With significant investments in technology, our HITS platform was designed to facilitate MSOs deliver digital content across India. We’re happy that Siti Networks, India’s biggest and most progressive MSO, has chosen to work with us, sharing our infrastructure to deliver their services in markets where conventional connectivity remains a challenge. Our HITS PaaS solution, in line with the government’s support for our industry is the right step in this direction, helping MSOs save on connectivity costs whilst improving their quality of service; and we are sure this tie-up with Siti will be a landmark moment in the industry.”

    This move is in line with Siti strategy of enhancing its operational efficiencies and providing high up-time and quality services to its customers across the country. Financially, this move will help Siti control its connectivity costs and deliver uninterrupted services to existing and new markets.

    Siti will leverage the HITS infrastructure to deliver its signals to its local cable operators (LCOs), thus providing its services to semi-urban and rural subscribers while also expanding its footprint across the country through satellite. For this integration, NXTDIGITAL’s PaaS vertical has worked with Siti Networks’ existing set-top boxes to provide services with the HITS platform wherever required.

    Siti Networks CEO Anil Malhotra said this infrastructure sharing initiative forms an integral part of the government’s digital India strategy and would help in the spread of other services like broadband to the last mile faster.

    “Siti has been focusing on enhancing its operational efficiencies. With the government approving Infrastructure sharing in our domain, this tie-up with NXTDIGITAL is a natural progression and helps us overcome the difficulties of a terrestrial network in some markets through the HITS approach. Operational efficiencies, along with uninterrupted services, will help improve our customer experience. Both Siti and NXTDIGITAL have integrated the HITS infrastructure with Siti’s existing subscriber management and conditional access systems while ensuring that the existing capex is better sweated. Both teams have ensured all necessary testing and compliances. We do believe that evaluation of more such Infrastructure sharing,” he detailed

    Through the PaaS model, NXT expects to see MSOs faced with challenges of rising connectivity costs and quality – transition to a robust and independent sustainable model with better quality of service.

  • NXTDigital’s broadband subsidiary OneOTT surpasses 600K subscribers

    NXTDigital’s broadband subsidiary OneOTT surpasses 600K subscribers

    KOLKATA: NXTDigital’s broadband subsidiary OneOTT intertainment Ltd (OIL) has surpassed 100,000 home broadband subscriber additions in the fourth quarter of the financial year 2020-21.

    According to a press statement issued by the company, OIL has attained a momentum of more than 1,000 subscribers-a-day on its way to crossing the 600,000+ mark, to retain its position in the top five private ISPs in India.

    OIL CEO Yugal Kishore Sharma believes that the dependence on internet has never been so high. “Internet use cases have moved beyond browsing and social networking to work-from-home (WFH), on-line education, OTT entertainment and gaming, online-shopping, online-health, e-governance and others. This requires broadband connections to deliver real ‘high speed’ to support multiple users, devices and sessions with consistency and near 100 per cent availability.”

     OIL has implemented unique business models to facilitate its rapid growth. The concept of “DST” or direct sales team has now evolved into digital sales teams, where the company is supplementing the traditional ‘push’ method of sales with digital mediums.

    On strategy for growth, Sharma shares, “We have imbibed learnings from the evolution of the telecom sector, not just in India, but globally – and we’ve applied a lot of those learnings to our own business model to ensure robustness and sustainability.” OIL has in fact achieved 42X growth over the last five years – with commensurate growth in revenues.

    Additionally, the broadband provider has adapted to the surge in consumption by doubling its internet capacity on the supply side without passing the additional cost to its customers to maintain customer experience.

    NXTDigital MD & CEO Vynsley Fernandes remarked, “Team ONE has redefined the business of broadband in India through innovative modelling, getting in the right skillsets and developing a performance centric organisation culture. The results of a focused strategy of OIL as demonstrated is visible in OIL’s consistently raising the bar on Q/Q basis.”

    OIL has also been steadily leveraging the cable television and HITS (Headend-In-The-Sky) subscriber base of NXTDigital – by expanding its footprint across the country.

  • One Broadband crosses half-a-million customers

    One Broadband crosses half-a-million customers

    KOLKATA: ONEOTT iNTERTAINMENT Ltd (OIL), a subsidiary of NXTDigital Ltd the integrated media vertical of the Hinduja Group, has achieved yet another milestone by crossing half-a-million home broadband customers to enter in the top five private wired ISPs in India, joining groups like Reliance JIO combine, Bharti Airtel, Voda-Idea and ACT.

    OIL’s vision is to continue to drive the digital inclusion agenda in India by connecting homes and offices online while following its core values of employee first, customer responsiveness, innovation, joyfulness and simplicity. The company in the final stages of launching smart security, smart lighting and IoT solutions for smart living, thereby, bringing ‘Future-To-The-Home powered on a Fiber-Optic To The Home (FTTH)’.

    OIL CEO Yugal Kishore Sharma said, “OIL has consistently strived to transform the lives of its customers by providing a seamless internet experience backed by a proactive & responsive customer care over ONE Wire using ONE Device for ONE Home aligned with our brand identity – ONE. OIL has had a stupendous 32x growth with its customer base crossing the half-a-million mark in the last 4 years of its operation with commensurate growth in revenues. From being a small player in the over 50+ ISPs about 4 years back to now moving into the top five Private wired ISPs, this is an achievement by any yardstick.”

    OIL looks to leverage this huge opportunity where the usage of internet in these Covid2019 pandemic times has moved beyond browsing and social networking to work-from-home, on-line education, OTT entertainment & gaming, online-shopping, online-health, e-governance, others. Coping-up with the ever-increasing demand for the internet, OIL has adapted to this consumption surge by doubling its internet capacity on the supply side without passing the additional cost to its customers to maintain the customer experience that has led OIL to add at an average of about a thousand customers a day during the pandemic.

    OIL plans to consolidate its operations and work on equitable partnerships with last-mile owners or LMOs. NXTDigital today connects 5.38 million video subscriber homes in 1500+ cities and  towns of India through its digital cable television (CATV) and headend-in-the-sky (HITS) platforms, served by over 9,000 LMOs. The company is leveraging this huge synergy to upsell and bundle internet services to each of these video homes. Enabling these high potential growth markets with high-speed-internet and digital platform services with LMOs is the key to OIL’s go-to-market strategy.

    It has successfully evolved its inorganic growth model by leveraging operational synergies with smaller ISP strategic partners. The organization will lead the on-demand economy wave by offering convergent solutions, such as internet, OTT and voice over one wire one device for one family.

    Yugal Sharma also shared that, in 2019, OIL announced a strategic partnership with Facebook to provide Wi-Fi hotspots across Mumbai. OIL’s ‘ONE Express Wi-Fi by Facebook’ Hotspots extend an umbrella coverage across Dharavi in Mumbai, enabling consumers to access free 2GB data per day for first 30 days to serve its vision to lead contribution to lead contribution to the digital inclusion in India.

  • ‘Foes to friends’: NXTDigital ramps up focus on collaboration & infra sharing

    ‘Foes to friends’: NXTDigital ramps up focus on collaboration & infra sharing

    KOLKATA: With the evolution of the media and entertainment industry, the boundary between friends and foes is fading away. The future is not about competition, but collaboration for long term sustainability, NXTDigital media group CEO Vynsley Fernandes believes. Moreover, the future of the distribution industry lies in consolidation and bundling all bills together, he says.

    Fernandes, an old face in the cable distribution industry, has recently been elevated as media group CEO of Hinduja group’s NXTDigital. The new role not only includes digital cable, HITS but also broadband and content business. To drive the growth of all businesses, he is looking to synergise cable TV or HITS service with broadband. While the video segment has got around 5.38 million customers, the broadband business nets 0.0408 million subscribers currently. He notes that the company has already seen good traction in combination service during Q2.

    However, NXTDigital is looking at pushing the product in selective markets where it already has a strong presence and a qualitative need for video and broadband is noticeable. The company has a stronghold in Mumbai, the rest of the west market, as well as Bengaluru and Delhi. Adding to its bastions, it has now set sights on West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana market. Fernandes emphasises that bundling products and solutions is very important at this point in time for the entire industry. Additionally, one of the biggest benefits of bundling is cost optimisation. During Diwali, NXTDigital has launched its hybrid device NXT Connect, which offers linear as well as OTT.

    “We are looking at penetrating our own customers of cable TV and HITS. We are looking for broadband to grow as it has been growing. The broadband segment has seen 16 per cent quarter-on-quarter growth in Q2. We are hoping for double-digit growth over the next two quarters in terms of broadband as a function of synergy. On the cable subscription side, we are not going to pursue revenue at the cost of profitability. We are not just rolling out discounted packages as ours is a qualitative product,” he comments.

    The ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB) has recently amended the HITS guidelines by allowing the sharing of infrastructure by HITS operators with MSOs. Hence, Fernandes identifies it as a big area of growth. As infrastructure sharing can reduce the cost of connectivity significantly, he is of the belief that many operators would like to ride on their platform. Currently, they are exploring how to leverage this opportunity in the B2B model. He also mentions that competitors will have no hesitation in partnering with them thanks to the transparency brought in by the new tariff order.

    “One of the benefits of infrastructure sharing will be cost-optimisation. Before NTO, the biggest cost was content. You had to negotiate with the broadcaster. Thanks to NTO, the whole model is changed and there is transparency. The second biggest cost for everyone is connectivity. We believe connectivity costs can be leveraged by more and more operators joining together to share infrastructure and share services like our own infrastructure sharing. If they cut down the cost, they will have a better bottom line,” he explains.

    Among other options, there is still a huge opportunity for value-added service (VAS) as well, he adds. The main reason is the availability of various content in the linear model and in different regional languages. He also mentions that content provided by One Take Media and Shemaroo Entertainment is quite unique. As the company has seen good traction in the last few years, it has kept on continuing those services along with adding new ones. The MSO looks at three metrics for VAS — age, group and genre.

    According to Fernandes, the first half of the financial year 2020 had several positive as well as negative impacts on the sector, owing to the Covid2019 crisis. The lockdown brought greater engagement, higher viewership. For instance, kids programming has seen good offtake during the period while IPL has boosted TV viewership in the latter half. But labour migration, economic pressure did not bode well for the industry. However, he maintains that TV has a long future ahead with a continuous cycle of consumer evolution, gradually moving the ladder from FTA to pay TV, and the combination of HD and OTT.

  • NXTDigital posts strong Q2 results

    NXTDigital posts strong Q2 results

    NEW DELHI: NXTDigital has posted a year-on-year EBITDA growth of 15.8 per cent at Rs 50.7 crores for the second quarter, an improvement of 2.7 per cent over the previous quarter.

    While revenues remained stable despite the impact of the Covid2019 pandemic, the company posted an EBIDTA of Rs 102.1 crores for the half year ended 30 September 2020, a growth of 8.7 per cent over the corresponding period of the previous year. By laying greater focus on operational efficiency rather than pure revenue growth at the cost of profitability, it was able to improve EBIDTA margins to 21.7 per cent for the half year, compared to 19.2 per cent in the corresponding period of the previous year.

    NXTDigital has not only been able to maintain its subscriber base but grow its video and data businesses, in spite of the serious negative sentiments of the pandemic. The company has maintained its collection efficiency of over 99.5 per cent under its prepaid collection model.

    The board has designated Vynsley Fernandes as media group chief executive officer of NXTDigital with oversight of all the media businesses of the group encompassing cable TV, HITS and broadband. He will be responsible for leading the overall business and operations of the group as it continues to expand across the media spectrum.

    With NXTDigital being the only HITS platform in the country, it’s expected to get a boost from  the sharing of HITS infrastructure with other Multi-System Operators (MSOs) across the country, as recently notified by the ministry of information & broadcasting. The potential for infrastructure sharing or managed services stands at over 69 million cable TV households today – comprising smaller independent and regional MSOs.

    NXTDigital CEO Vynsley Fernandes said “The focus in Q2 was to lay greater emphasis on operational efficiency, rather than pure revenue growth at the cost of profitability. Our strategy was to continue enhancing customer engagement whilst rolling out innovative solutions and driving cross-selling relentlessly. The result is manifested in our key performance indices – where not only has our EBIDTA grown both year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter; but has also seen growth in margins.”

    Going forward, NXTDigital will continue to focus on consolidating and growing its serviced subscriber base, expected to cross 10 million; including onboarding of more than 5 million of managed services customers. It will also continue to drive cross-selling of digital video, broadband and value-added services whilst offering innovative bundled products and packages in diverse geographies.

    The company will also roll out its NXTCONNECT device, which is a single device for customers to access live television channels, OTT content, social and other apps, games & much more, to commemorate the festival season. The launch will be coupled with the rollout of NXTGO, an innovative dongle-type device that can be plugged into an OTT set top box or an Android-based television and provide immediate access to live television channels securely. 

  • NXTDigital launches new consumer connect program for Durga Puja

    NXTDigital launches new consumer connect program for Durga Puja

    KOLKATA: As the country gears up to welcome Goddess Durga,  NXTDigital, the media arm of the Hinduja Group, has come up with a new consumer connect program – ‘ NXTDigital DURGOTSAV’. The program has been launched with the goal of spreading the message that though the festivities may be diluted due to the challenges posed by Covid2019, one can still celebrate the homecoming of Maa Durga through the company’s Durga Puja initiative.

    As part of this initiative,  NXTDigital is encouraging consumers to record videos of themselves performing under three categories, namely –  song, dance and recitation and upload the same on durgotsav.nxtdigital.in starting 17 October 2020. Entries will be open till 23 October. This will be further promoted across  NXTDigital's social media channels and website.

    Select participants will get a chance to feature on the television channels of INDigital and  NXTDigital network as a part of this video contest during the 5 days of the festival. Moreover, video entries will be judged and the top three videos in the three categories stand a chance to win attractive gifts by answering a simple question.

    NXTDigital Ltd marketing and brand head Rajdeep Rudra said: “The unprecedented success of a similar initiative Ganpati Bappa Morya to celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi earlier this year, spurred us into extending the model to celebrate the festival of Ma Durga. We want to help our customers feel connected to the goddess and commemorate her in the same way as it has been done before, from the comfort of their homes. Through this initiative, our aim is to capture the essence of the festival, promote the feeling of joy and one-ness and spread the message of building a safe environment – even if it is done virtually.”

    Shortlisted videos will also be edited and broadcast on INDigital and NXTDigital (HITS) channels from 22 Oct to 25 Oct i.e. the entire duration of Durga Puja.

  • Vynsley Fernandes becomes CEO NXTDigital

    Vynsley Fernandes becomes CEO NXTDigital

    Vynsley Fernandes has been known as the CEO of Hinduja group-owned Indusind Media & Communications which runs cable TV MSO InCable TV, a position he took up in August 2018. As of last month, his role and designations have changed: he has been redesignated as CEO of the theheadend in the sky (HITS) venture NXTDigital and president of IndusInd Media.

    Since joining, Vynsley or Vyns as he is known has managed to return the struggling NXTDigital businesses to profitability, thanks to better management at IMCL which he headed

    On a consolidated basis, revenues grew at NXTDigital by 65 per cent over FY19, from Rs 704.62crore to Rs 1,162.10crore; operating EBIDTA rose significantly to Rs 218.01crore against a loss of Rs 72.61crore; its PAT is a healthy Rs 110.05 crore as against a loss of Rs 303.43 crore in FY19.

    Thanks to the great showing, Vyns got elevated to CEO of NXTDigital with the additional responsibility of IMCL.

    Vyns updated his designation on linkedin today. 

     

  • Ashok Mansukhani bids adieu to NXTDigital

    Ashok Mansukhani bids adieu to NXTDigital

    KOLKATA: Ashok Mansukhani is departing from NXTDigital putting an end to a 24 year long association with the Hinduja group.The industry veteran will retire on 30 September. 

    According to a BSE filing, his term as managing director and key managerial personnel was extended on 29 April 2020  until NXTDigital's next annual general meeting (AGM). The company recently announced its AGM date to the BSE as 30 September 2020. 

    Mansukhani joined the Hinduja group in 1996 when was appointed as a director of the cable TV venture IndusInd Media & Communications. He was then appointed executive director before becoming its managing director. The group later went in for reorganisation of the business through a process of demerger, merger and further integration of Indusind Media and its HITS operation under Grant Investrade with their parent Hinduja Ventures, which he was heading. Hinduja Ventures was later rechristened as NXTDigital. Mansukhani oversaw the group and the companies through this entire process. 

    Read more news on Ashok Mansukhani

    His last postion with Hinduja Ventures was as managing director. Mansukani has over the years handled various senior responsibilities in the group’s media and corporate sphere.

    The Delhi University alumnius had spent the first half of his career in central government as an Indian Revenue Service officer.

    During the course of restructuring NXTDigiatl CFO Amar Chintopanth has been appointed as whole-time director.

  • NXTDIGITAL’s revenue grows by 3.4% to Rs.234.82 crore in Q1

    NXTDIGITAL’s revenue grows by 3.4% to Rs.234.82 crore in Q1

    KOLKATA: NXTDIGITAL announced its results for the first quarter of the current financial year – a quarter that was significantly impacted by the Covid2019 pandemic. Against this challenging backdrop, the company continued its growth story, with revenues for Q1 standing at Rs. 234.82 crores.

    On a consolidated basis, revenues grew by 3.4 per cent on a sequential basis over the previous quarter and 2.7 per cent over the same quarter of the previous year. The company posted an EBIDTA of Rs.50.36 crore for the quarter; posting a growth of 99 per cent on a sequential basis over the previous quarter and 2.6 per cent on a year-on-year basis. 

    The company has not only been able to maintain its subscriber base but even grow its video and data businesses, in spite of the serious negative sentiments of the pandemic. It has maintained its collection efficiency of over 99.5 per cent under its prepaid collection model.

    The board considered  a capital raising exercise in the agenda and has constituted a committee of directors to analyse and explore various options including Preferential Allotment, Rights Issue or such other means as the Board may consider appropriate for an amount up to Rs.500 crore.

    Performance Drivers

    NXTDIGITAL launched a series of key initiatives during Q1 to counter the challenges of the pandemic, while ensuring the safety of all its personnel, its franchisees and other ecosystem partners. The company looked to focus on three key aspects during the difficult quarter.

    Accelerated “digital payment” adoption by subscribers – the company worked actively to ensure nation-wide adoption of “digital” and “contactless” subscription collection models. Over 85 per cent of the franchisee base, today collects subscriptions from customers digitally, including using “Easebuzz”, a digital collection platform that NXTDIGITAL partnered with, even before the lockdown was implemented.

    Focused on content innovation to ensure subscribers remained connected and had access to their favorite content – launched innovative content packages like the “Vishesh Manorajan Pack” where customers could enjoy over 400 channels for a small fee; while facilitating a credit period for Local Cable Operators (LCOs) facing challenges to physically collect

    NXTDIGITAL Ltd. CEO Vynsley Fernandes reiterated that “As an essential service providing critical video and data connectivity, it was and is imperative to step up and deliver uninterrupted services to customers whilst ensuring, without exception, the safety of our personnel, our partners and the ecosystem. The performance in Q1 against the challenging backdrop is a reflection of those carefully thought out and implemented strategies, consistent innovation, and singular commitment to our customer base.”

    Vision for Growth

    NXTDIGITAL continues to focus on consolidating and growing its serviced subscriber base, expected to cross 10 million; including onboarding of more than 5 million of managed services customers. The potential base for managed services stands at over 69 million cable TV customers today – comprising smaller independent and regional MSOs. A significant portion of these customers are in semi-urban, semi-rural and rural markets; where the company has a growing presence by virtue of being able to deliver digital services to any part of the country through its HITS platform.

    It is also developing innovative products and solutions to leverage the onset of the festival season and help customers derive maximum value. The “NXTGO” solution is an innovative dongle-type device that can be plugged into an OTT Set Top Box (STB) or an Android-based television and provide immediate access to “live” television channels – securely. The “NXTCONNECT” STB, a next-generation solution, is a single device for customers to access “live” television channels, OTT content, social and other apps, games, and much more.

    The company is also working with partners to launch a Cloud-based mobile app – allowing customers to gain easy access to local services in their community, managed by NXTDIGITAL LCOs. The objective is to build a strong ecosystem of local merchants around the LCO – connecting merchants to consumers, seamlessly; thereby facilitating a new revenue stream for its thousands of LCOs.