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Tag: Reliance Jio Infocomm

  • Jio Platforms Ltd reports robust financial performance and strategic advancements

    Jio Platforms Ltd reports robust financial performance and strategic advancements

    Mumbai: Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has reported a remarkable financial performance for the year ended 31 March 2024 highlighting Jio Platforms Ltd’s (JPL) financial results. As per reports company reported quarterly revenue of Rs 33,835 crore, marking a significant increase of 13.3 per cent year-over-year (YoY). The quarterly EBITDA reached Rs 14,360 crore, reflecting a 12.5 per cent YoY growth.

    JPL demonstrated exceptional subscriber growth, adding 42.4 million net new subscribers during FY24. This growth, coupled with the expansion of 5G and home services, drove data traffic to approximately 148 exabytes for the year, a substantial 31 per cent increase YoY.

    As per the report Jio has maintained its leadership in India’s 5G transition, boasting over 108 million 5G subscribers, which represents around 28 per cent of Jio’s wireless data traffic. This achievement positions Jio as having the largest 5G subscriber base for any operator outside China. Additionally, JioAirFiber has seen robust demand across approximately 5,900 towns, leading to the highest-ever quarterly home connects.

    In terms of digital services, Jio Platforms has achieved a remarkable 64 per cent increase in standalone quarterly revenue YoY. The annual performance highlights include double-digit revenue growth driven by significant subscriber additions in mobility and an expanded wireline services portfolio. The company’s strong EBITDA growth is attributed to higher revenues and consistent margin improvements. Increased depreciation resulted from higher network utilization and additions to the gross block, while finance costs remained broadly flat due to stable leverage.

    For the quarterly performance comparison between 4Q FY24 and 4Q FY23, operating revenue growth continued to be fueled by robust subscriber increases in mobility and home services, along with an improved ARPU mix. EBITDA growth was driven by healthy revenue increases and operating leverage. Depreciation saw an increase due to heightened network utilisation and gross block additions, with finance costs remaining stable.

    Operationally, Jio’s average revenue per user (ARPU) stood at Rs 181.7, with a better subscriber mix partially offset by a growing share of promotional 5G traffic. Data and voice traffic experienced increases of 35.2 per cent and 9.7 per cent YoY, respectively.

    Jio has successfully rolled out its True5G network across India, with over 108 million subscribers now migrated to the 5G network. The True5G network now carries approximately 28 per cent of Jio’s wireless data traffic, facilitated by Jio’s own 5G+4G combo core. The JioAirFiber services, available in around 5,900 cities and towns, continue to attract strong customer demand due to its unique entertainment-first proposition combined with high-quality broadband connectivity. AirFiber subscribers have an average daily data usage of approximately 13 GB, which is 30 per cent higher than JioFiber users. The network slicing on the Standalone 5G network and Jio’s point-to-multipoint deployment are transforming fixed broadband infrastructure in India.

    As per the report, Jio introduced several new offers, including the IPL Dhan Dhana Dhan offer for new JioBharat device users, which provides an additional two months of free service with a recharge of the new two-month plan. Additionally, Jio launched the Dhan Dhana Dhan 50-day free service offer for all mobility users who subscribe to new JioAirFiber or JioFiber connections. New JioAirFiber Plus subscribers also enjoy three times the speed for two months.

    The company has also introduced affordable international roaming and in-flight packs, offering bundled voice and data services for seamless travel across top destinations including the USA, UAE, and other top-50 countries. These in-flight packs are available in partnership with 22 airlines.

    Reliance Jio Infocomm chairman  Akash M Ambani said, “Jio continues to maintain its network leadership and offer innovative digital solutions to multiple customer cohorts. This is driving consistent outperformance in terms of subscriber additions and engagement levels. Continued acceleration in the growth of JioAirFiber subscriber base and ramp-up of digital services will sustain industry-leading growth for Jio.”

    As per the report, Reliance BP Mobility Ltd (RBML), operating under the Jio-bp brand, runs 1,729 retail fuel outlets across the country. The brand recently launched a country-wide campaign titled “You Deserve More,” which showcases pioneering customer value propositions (CVPs). This campaign highlights high-performance HSD and MS, powered by bespoke active technology, available at prevailing market prices across the network.

    RBML has expanded its partnerships with international airlines and is benefiting from the rapidly growing Indian aviation sector. In line with its decarbonization efforts, RBML has emphasized the expansion of its EV and CBG/CNG networks. Under the Jio-bp Pulse initiative, RBML has grown its network to over 4,520 live charging points, including 26 of India’s largest charging hubs with over 100 charging points each, located at 330+ unique sites with industry-leading charger uptime.

  • TAM AdEx: Top 10 brands contributed 10 per cent share of TV ad volumes

    TAM AdEx: Top 10 brands contributed 10 per cent share of TV ad volumes

    Mumbai: TAM AdEx India has released a television advertising half-yearly report for Jan-Jun’24.

    Jan-Jun’24 saw a minor three per cent drop in ad volumes on television over Jan-Jun’23.

    In Jan-Jun’24, ‘food & beverage’ (24 per cent) was on top followed by ‘personal care/personal hygiene’ sector with 16 per cent share. ‘BFSI’ is the only newly entered sector in the top 10 list during Jan-Jun’24. The top 10 sectors contribute nearly 90 per cent of the ad volume share in Jan-Jun’24.

    The top 10 categories together added 32 per cent share of ad volumes in Jan-Jun’24. In the period from Jan-Jun’24, the categories ranked third, seventh, eighth, and ninth showed a positive shift in rank compared to the same period in 2023. ‘Rubs and balms’ was the new entrant among the top 10 categories during Jan-Jun’24. Categories on rank three, seven and ten were from the ‘food & beverages’ sector.

    The ‘milk beverages’ category saw the highest increase in ad secondages with growth of 24 per cent followed by ‘rubs and balms’ with 40 per cent growth during Jan-Jun’24 compared to Jan-Jun’23.

    ‘HUL’ topped the list followed by ‘Reckitt’ during Jan-Jun’24. The top 10 advertisers together added 45 per cent share of ad volumes during Jan-Jun’24. ‘Reliance Jio Infocomm’ observed a positive rank shift along with ITC and Wipro.

    The top 10 brands contributed 10 per cent share of television ad volumes. During Jan-Jun’24, total 7.8K plus brands were present on television.

    Five out of the top 10 brands were from ‘Reckitt Benckiser’ and two were from ‘HUL’.

    During Jan-Jun’24, ‘GEC’ outperformed ‘news’ channels as the leading genre for advertising, similar to the same period in 2023. The top five channel genres accounted for more than 90 per cent share of ad volumes during both Jan-Jun’24 and Jan-Jun’23.
     

  • Vodafone Idea lost 4 mn wireless subscribers in September 2022: Trai

    Vodafone Idea lost 4 mn wireless subscribers in September 2022: Trai

    Mumbai: As per subscription data by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), Reliance Jio added 0.72 million wireless subscribers at the end of September 2022. Bharti Airtel added 0.41 million subscribers during the same period. Vodafone Idea, on the other hand, lost 4 million wireless subscribers.

    The total number of wireless subscribers decreased to 1,145.45 million at the end of September 2022, in comparison to 1,149.11 million at the end of August 2022.

    The number of wireless subscribers in urban areas increased from 627.09 million to 627.14 million for the same period, while in rural areas it decreased from 522.02 million to 518.31 million.

    In September 2022, as per Trai data, there were 1,013.97 million active wireless subscribers. Reliance Jio had the highest number of active wireless subscribers at 386.08 million during the period, followed by Bharti Airtel at 358.99 million and Vodafone Idea at 212.19 million. From public-sector units, BSNL had 56.23 million active wireless subscribers.

    As per information received from 846 operators in September 2022, Trai found that total broadband subscribers increased from 813.94 million to 816.24 million. In September 2022, the broadband subscribers comprised 783.99 million mobile device users, 31.09 million wired subscribers, and 1.15 million fixed wireless subscribers.

    The top five service providers constituted 98.36 per cent of the total broadband subscribers at the end of September 2022. These service providers were Reliance Jio Infocomm with 426.80 million subscribers, followed by Bharti Airtel (225.09 million), Vodafone Idea (123.20 million), BSNL (25.62 million), and Atria Convergence (2.14 million).

    The top wired broadband service providers included are Reliance Jio Infocomm with 6.83 million subscribers, followed by Bharti Airtel (5.27 million), BSNL (3.91 million), Atria Convergence (2.14 million), and Hathway Cable & Datacom (1.13 million).

    Reliance Jio Infocomm, with 419.97 million subscribers, is followed by Bharti Airtel (219.82 million), Vodafone Idea (123.20 million), BSNL (21.71 million), and Intech Online (0.23 million) in the list of the top five wireless broadband service providers.

    The number of wireline subscribers increased from 25.97 million in September 2022 compared to 26.47 million in August 2022.

    The number of telephone subscribers decreased from 1,175.08 million to 1,171.92 million during the same period.

    Both urban and rural telephone subscribers recorded increases in numbers from 651.07 million to 651.61 million and 524.01 million to 520.30 million, respectively, at the end of September 2022.

    Also, during the same period, a total of 11.97 million requests were received for mobile number portability (MNP).

  • Reliance Jio adds 3.28 mn wireless subscribers in August : Trai

    Reliance Jio adds 3.28 mn wireless subscribers in August : Trai

    Mumbai: As per subscription data by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), Reliance Jio added 3.28 million wireless subscribers at the end of August. Bharti Airtel added 0.32 million during the same period. In August, Vodafone Idea lost 1.95 million wireless subscribers.

    The total number of wireless subscribers increased from 1,148.03 million to 1,149.11 million in August. The number of wireless subscribers in urban areas increased from 626.74 million to 627.09 million. However, wireless subscriptions in rural areas increased from 521.29 million to 522.02 million.

    As per Trai data, there were 1013.46 million active wireless subscribers during the month. Reliance Jio had the highest number of active wireless subscribers at 384.63 million, followed by Bharti Airtel at 357.66 million and Vodafone Idea at 214.29 million. BSNL had 56.23 million active wireless subscribers.

    As per information received from 767 operators in August, Trai found that total broadband subscribers increased from 807.42 million to 813.94 million. The broadband subscribers comprised 782.46 mobile device users, 30.37 million wired subscribers, and 1.11 million fixed wireless subscribers.

    The top five broadband service providers were Reliance Jio Infocomm with 425.80 million subscribers, followed by Bharti Airtel (223.98 million), Vodafone Idea (123.12 million), BSNL (25.80 million), and Atria Convergence (2.13 million).

    The top five wired broadband service providers were Reliance Jio Infocomm with 6.56 million subscribers, followed by Bharti Airtel (5.13 million), BSNL (3.88 million), Atria Convergence (2.13 million) and Hathway Cable & Datacom (1.13 million).

    The top five wireless broadband service providers were Reliance Jio Infocomm (419.24 million), Bharti Airtel (218.85 million), Vodafone Idea (123.12 million), BSNL (21.92 million) and Intech Online (0.23 million).

    The number of wireline subscribers increased from 25.63 million to 25.97 million in August.

    The number of telephone subscribers in India increased from 1,173.66 million to 1,175.08.66 million. Urban telephone subscriptions increased from 650.40 million to 651.07 million. However, rural subscriptions also increased from 523.26 million to 524.01 million.

    During August, a total of 11.35 million requests were received for mobile number portability (MNP).

  • Reliance Jio adds 2.9 mn wireless subscribers in July: Trai

    Reliance Jio adds 2.9 mn wireless subscribers in July: Trai

    Mumbai: Reliance Jio added 2.9 million wireless subscribers at the end of July, as per subscription data by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai). Bharti Airtel added 0.51 million wireless subscribers during the same period. Vodafone Idea lost 1.54 wireless subscribers in July.

    The total number of wireless subscribers increased from 1,147.39 to 1,148.03 million in July. The number of wireless subscribers in urban areas decreased from 625.49 million to 626.74 million. However, wireless subscriptions in rural areas increased from 521.90 million to 521.29 million.

    As per Trai data, there were 1,013.18 million active wireless subscribers during the month. Reliance Jio had the highest number of active wireless subscribers at 382.17 million, followed by Bharti Airtel at 356.17 million and Vodafone Idea at 216.92 million. BSNL had 52.27 active wireless subscribers.

    As per information received from 694 operators in July, Trai found that total broadband subscribers increased from 800.94 million to 807.42 million. The broadband subscribers comprised 776.81 mobile device users, 29.47 million wired subscribers, and 1.14 million fixed wireless subscribers.

    The top five broadband service providers were Reliance Jio Infocomm with 422.23 million subscribers, Bharti Airtel with 222.12 million subscribers, Vodafone Idea with 122.98 million subscribers, BSNL with 25.25 million subscribers, and Atria Convergence with 2.13 million subscribers.

    The top five wired broadband service providers were Reliance Jio Infocomm with 6.27 million subscribers, Bharti Airtel with 4.99 million subscribers, BSNL with 3.85 million subscribers, Atria Convergence with 2.13 million subscribers, and Hathway Cable and Datacom with 1.13 million subscribers.

    The top five wireless broadband service providers were Reliance Jio Infocomm with 415.96 million, Bharti Airtel with 217.13 million, Vodafone Idea with 122.97 million, BSNL with 21.39 million, and Intech Online with 0.22 million.

    The number of wireline subscribers increased from 25.57 million to 25.63 million in July.

    The number of telephone subscribers in India increased from 1,172.96 million to 1,173.66 million. Urban telephone subscriptions increased from 649.09 million to 650.40 million. However, rural subscriptions decreased from 523.87 million to 523.26 million.

    During July, a total of 10.23 million requests were received for mobile number portability (MNP).

  • Akshay Paul joins Newgen Gaming founding team as CMO

    Akshay Paul joins Newgen Gaming founding team as CMO

    Mumbai: Homegrown gaming and esports company Newgen Gaming on Wednesday named Akshay Paul as the co-founder and chief marketing officer (CMO). Newgen Gaming operates in esports with its brand, Penta Esports.

    Paul will be working closely with the other co-founders and the executive team alike to chart out strategies, forge partnerships and lead the branding and marketing initiatives, said the company in a statement.

    Prior to joining Newgen Gaming, Paul worked with health and wellness company GOQii as head of marketing and before that, as marketing lead for games at Reliance Jio Infocomm.

    Newgen Gaming, co-founder and CEO, Anurag Khurana said, “Our plan is to scale up the business rapidly and contribute to the fast-moving esports industry. With his immense experience, we are confident that Akshay will lead the team to successfully mark our place in the growing esports ecosystem.”

    Paul has more than a decade of rich experience in product and marketing management and has been a part of known brands like Ubisoft, Reliance Games, and JetSynthesys, among others.

    Talking about his new role, Paul said, “I have been a gamer and an esports enthusiast since I can remember. Having played competitively myself, I know the thrills of the sport. I am excited to join the amazing team at Newgen Gaming – Penta Esports, who have some exciting plans for the esports ecosystem in India.”

  • Hathway profits up on lower revenue in second quarter

    Hathway profits up on lower revenue in second quarter

    BENGALURU: The Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani controlled MSO and broadband internet services provider Hathway Cable and Datacom Limited (Hathway) reported consolidated profit after tax (PAT) at Rs 52.33 crore for the quarter ended 30 September 2020 (Q2 2021, quarter or period under review) against loss of Rs 2.42 crore for the corresponding year-ago quarter Q2 2020 (y-o-y). PAT for the period under review was 20.8 percent lower quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) than the Rs 66.06 crore the company had posted for the immediate trailing quarter Q1 2021. However, consolidated operating EBDITA for the period under review at Rs 120.39 crore (27.9 percent of operating revenue) grew 14.7 percent y-o-y from Rs 105.71 crore (23.8 percent of operating revenue) and was also 1.9 percent higher q-o-q than the Rs 118.18 crore (28.2 percent of operating revenue) in Q1 2021.

    Hathway’s consolidated operating revenue fell 2.5 percent y-o-y in Q2 2021 to Rs 431.24 crore from Rs 442.11 crore in Q2 2020, but was 2.8 percent higher q-o-q than Rs 419.56 crore. Consolidated total income (total revenue) during the quarter fell 9.8 percent y-o-y to Rs 460.66 crore from Rs 510.77 crore, and was 5.6 percent lower q-o-q than Rs 488.22 crore.

    Broadband and CATV segment numbers for Q2 2021

    Hathway has two major segments – broadband internet services (BB) and cable television or CATV.

    BB segment saw operating revenue increase 10 percent y-o-y in Q2 2021 to Rs 153.34 crore from Rs 139.36 crore in the corresponding year ago quarter and grew 4.7 percent q-o-q from Rs 146.51 crore in Q1 2021. The segment’s operating result (operating profit) in Q1 2021 was Rs 6.68 crore as compared to an operating loss of Rs 25.10 crore in Q1 2020, but was 14.8 percent lower than the operating profit of Rs 7.84 crore in Q1 2021.

    CATV segment revenue declined 8.2 percent y-o-y in Q2 2021 to Rs 277.90 crore from Rs 302.75 crore in Q2 2020, but was 1.8 percent more q-o-q than the Rs 273.05 crore for Q1 2021 The segment reported more than two-fold increase in operating result (operating profit) – which grew 116 percent y-o-y in Q2 2021 to Rs 21.32 crore from Rs 9.87 crore in Q2 2020 and was 25 percent higher q-o-q than Rs 17.06 crore in the immediate trailing quarter/

    Let us look at the other numbers reported Hathway for Q2 2021

    All numbers in this report are consolidated unless stated otherwise.

    Total expenditure in Q2 2021 declined 19.9 percent y-o-y to Rs 407.90 crore from Rs 509.50 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year and was 4.7 percent lower q-o-q than Rs 427.92 crore in Q1 2021.

    Pay channel cost during the quarter under review declined 4.4 percent y-o-y to Rs 132.46 crore from Rs 138.55 crore, but was almost flat (up 0.2 percent) q-o-q as compared to Rs 132.18 crore for Q1 2021. Employee cost in Q2 2021 declined 3.6 percent y-o-y to 24.44 crore from Rs 25.36 crore, but was 0.6 percent higher q-o-q than Rs 24.30 crore in Q2 2020. Operational expenses in Q2 2021 grew 19.8 percent y-o-y to Rs 81.65 crore from Rs 68.18 crore and were 5.1 percent more q-o-q than Rs 77.67 crore in Q1 2021.

    Finance cost was less than one-twelfth (declined 91.8 percent) y-o-y to Rs 4.27 crore from Rs 51.87 crore in the corresponding quarter of last year and was a little more than one-eighth (declined 87 percent) than the Rs 32.96 crore in Q1 2021. Other expenses in Q2 2021 declined 31.5 percent y-o-y to Rs 72.30 crore from Rs 105.01, but were 7.5 percent higher q-o-q than the Rs 67.23 crore in Q1 2021.

  • Hathway reports higher profits despite lower revenue

    Hathway reports higher profits despite lower revenue

    BENGALURU: The Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani-controlled MSO and broadband internet services provider Hathway Cable and Datacom Ltd (Hathway) reported consolidated profit after tax (PAT) at Rs 66.06 crore for the quarter ended 30 June 2020 (Q1 2021, quarter or period under review) against loss of Rs 9.38 crore for the corresponding year ago quarter Q1 2020 (y-o-y). Consolidated operating EBITDA for the period under review at Rs 118.18 crore (28.2 percent of operating revenue) grew 26.9 percent y-o-y from Rs 83.14 crore (20.7 percent of operating revenue).

    Hathway’s consolidated operating revenue fell 6.7 percent y-o-y in Q1 2021 to Rs 419.56 crore from Rs 449.78 crore in Q1 2020. Consolidated total income (total revenue) during the quarter fell 3.6 percent y-o-y to Rs 514.46 crore from Rs 506.68 crore.

    Hathway has two major segments – broadband internet services (BB) and cable television or CATV.

    BB segment saw operating revenue increase 9.5 percent y-o-y in Q1 2021 to Rs 146.51 crore from Rs 133.81 crore in the corresponding year ago quarter. The segment’s operating result (operating profit) declined 14.2 percent y-o-y in Q1 2021 to Rs 7.84 crore from Rs 9.14 crore.

    CATV segment revenue declined 13.6 percent y-o-y in Q1 2021 to Rs 273.05 crore from Rs 315.97 crore in Q1 2020. The segment reported more than six-fold increase in operating result (operating profit) – which grew 505 percent y-o-y in Q1 2021 to Rs 17.06 crore from Rs 2.82 crore in Q1 2020.

    Let us look at the other numbers reported Hathway for Q1 2021

    All numbers in this report are consolidated unless stated otherwise.

    Total expenditure in Q1 2021 declined 17.6 percent y-o-y to Rs 427.92 crore from Rs 519.61 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year. Pay channel cost during the quarter under review increased 1.6 percent y-o-y to Rs 152.70 crore from Rs 130.06 crore. Employee cost in Q1 2021 grew 2.8 percent y-o-y to Rs 24.30 crore from Rs 23.63 crore in Q1 2020. Operational expenses in Q1 2021 grew 0.7 percent (almost flat) y-o-y to Rs 77.67 crore from Rs 77.13 crore. Finance cost was less than half (declined 59.7 percent) y-o-y to Rs 32.96 crore from Rs 81.79 crore in the corresponding quarter of last year. Other expenses in Q1 2021 declined 46.6 percent y-o-y to Rs 67.23 crore from Rs 125.82 crore.

  • Cable business drives Hathway’s return to profitability

    Cable business drives Hathway’s return to profitability

    BENGALURU: Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Limited-owned Indian multi-system operator and internet services provider Hathway Cable and Datacom Limited (Hathway) reported consolidated profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 105.47 crore for the year ended 31 March 2020 (FY 2020, year under review) as compared to a loss of Rs 187.67 crore for FY 2019. The company’s cable division reported a consolidated operating profit of Rs 84.77 crore and operating revenue of Rs 1,230.71 crore as compared to a consolidated operating loss of Rs 457.46 crore on operating revenue of Rs 1,030.66 crore in FY 2019. Cable business revenue for the year under review grew 19.4 per cent as compared to FY 2019.

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    The other business of Hathway – broadband internet services saw operating revenue grow 7.6 per cent in FY 2020 to Rs 567.59 crore from Rs 527.63 crore in the previous year. The internet services business incurred an operating loss of Rs 20.54 crore in FY 2020 as compared to an operating profit of Rs 42.01 crore in FT 2019.

    Hathway’s consolidated operating revenue in FY 2020 grew 15.4 per cent to Rs 1,798.39 crore from Rs 1,558.29 crore in FY 2019. Consolidated total income for the year grew 26.2 per cent to Rs 2044.14 crore from Rs 1,619.20 crore in the previous year.

    For the quarter ended 31 March 2020 (Q4 2020, quarter under review), Hathway reported consolidated operating revenue of Rs 455.68 crore, which was 19.6 per cent more than the Rs 381.04 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year Q4 2019 (Y-o-Y). Consolidated PAT for the quarter under review grew more than sevenfold (up 642.5 per cent) in Q4 2020 Y-o-Y to Rs 49.08 crore from Rs 6.61 crore.

    Cable business operating revenue for Q4 2020 increased 22.4 per cent to Rs 304.36 crore Y-o-Y from Rs 248.61 crore. Hathway reported operating profit of Rs 39.04 crore as compared to an operating loss of Rs 333.89 crore for Q4 2019. Internet services business revenue for the quarter under review grew 14.3 per cent Y-o-Y to Rs 151.32 crore from Rs 132.43 crore. Internet services business saw an operating profit of Rs 1.24 crore in Q4 2020 as compared to an operating loss of Rs 18.11 crore in Q4 2019.

    Let us look at the other numbers reported by the company

    All numbers in this report are consolidated unless stated otherwise.

    Total expenditure in FY 2020 grew 7.6 per cent to Rs 1,960.53 crore from Rs 1,822.72 crore in the previous year. Pay channel cost during the year under review declined 8.1 per cent to Rs 560.56 crore from Rs 609.85 crore. Employee cost in FY 2020 grew 14.4 per cent to Rs 94.79 crore from Rs 82.86 crore. Other operational expenses in FY 2020 grew 21.1 per cent to Rs 306.62 crore from Rs 253.30 crore. Finance cost grew 2.5 per cent to Rs 226.37 crore from Rs 220.80 crore. Other expenses in FY 2020 grew 32.2 per cent to Rs 401.09 crore from Rs 303.50.

    Total expenditure in Q4 2020 grew 5.2 per cent Y-o-Y to Rs 458.53 crore from Rs 435.97 crore. Pay channel cost during the period under review increased 16.25 per cent Y-o-Y to Rs 152.70 crore from Rs 131.41 crore. Employee cost in Q4 2020 reduced 3.1 per cent Y-o-Y to Rs 21.53 crore from Rs 22.22 crore. Other operational expenses in Q4 2020 grew 20.4 per cent Y-o-Y to Rs 79.72 crore from Rs 66/23 crore. Finance cost declined 22.1 per cent Y-o-Y to Rs 43.13 crore from Rs 55.38 crore. Other expenses in Q4 2020 grew 5.5 per cent Y-o-Y to Rs 81.70 crore from Rs 77.45 crore.

  • Cable TV subscription drives Hathway revenue growth in Q1 FY 2020

    Cable TV subscription drives Hathway revenue growth in Q1 FY 2020

    BENAGLURU: Hathway Cable and Datacom Ltd (Hathway) reported 38 percent growth in subscription revenue from its cable TV business (CATV) for the quarter ended 30 June 2019 (Q1 2020, quarter or period under review) as compared to the corresponding year ago quarter (y-o-y) Q1 2019. CATV subscription revenue for Q1 2020 grew 28 percent as compared to the immediate trailing quarter Q4 2019 (q-o-q). CATV subscription revenues for the period under review, the corresponding year ago quarter and the immediate trailing quarter were Rs 216.7 crore, Rs 157.4 crore and Rs 169.9 crore respectively.

    Placement revenue in Q1 2020 grew 5 percent y-o-y to Rs 78.7 crore from 75.2 crore and grew 35 percent q-o-q from Rs 58.2 crore. Activation revenue declined 13 percent y-o-y to Rs 15.3 crore from Rs 17.6 crore and declined 3 percent q-o-q from Rs 15.7 crore. The split of placement and activation revenues for iCATV and Broadband business has not  been mentioned.

    Overall, CATV business revenue in Q1 2020 grew 24 percent y-o-y to Rs 315.97 crore from Rs 254.91 crore and grew 27.1 percent q-o-q from Rs 248.51 crore. The company reported an operating profit (segment result) of Rs 2.82 crore from CATV business for Q1 2020 as compared to an operating loss of Rs 31.16 crore in Q1 2019 and an operating loss of Rs 333.89 crore for Q4 2019. The high losses for Q4 2019 were due to exceptional items to the extent of Rs 410.74 that included impairment of trade receivables, advances and exposure to certain entities including joint ventures, write down to property plants and equipment and expenses relating to equity infusion. The exceptional items for Q4 2019 were a one time expense and had non-routine material impact on financial statements says the company. Q1 2020 is the first full quarter after the implementation of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) New Tariff Order.

    Comparatively, the broadband business revenue of the country’s now fourth largest wired broadband internet services provider grew 3.1 percent y-o-y and 1 percent q-o-q. Hathway reported Rs 133.81 crore, Rs 129.8 crore and Rs 132.43 crore as broadband revenue for Q1 2020, Q1 2019 and Q4 2019 respectively. Hathway reported less than half the operating profit (segment result) from its Broadband business at Rs 9.14 crore for Q1 2020 as compared to an operating profit of Rs 19.89 crore for Q1 2019. The company had reported an operating loss of Rs 18.11 crore for the immediate trailing quarter from its broadband business.

    The company says that it has deployed 60 lakh (6 million, 0.06 crore) set top boxes and claims 8.4 lakh (0.84 million, 0.084 crore) broadband internet subscriber base at the end of the quarter under review in an investor presentation. Comparative broadband subscribers for Q1 2019 and Q4 2019 were 7.7 lakh (0.77 million, 0.077 crore) and 8.1 lakh (0.81 million, 0.081 crore) respectively. While data consumption per user has gone up, broadband ARPU has declined in Q1 2020 to Rs 650 in Q1 2020 from Rs 690 in Q1 2019 and from Rs 662 in Q4 2019. It says further that FTTH markets will be leading growth in customer acquisition and that its focus will be on doubling net additions momentum Q2 2020 onward.

    Let us look at the other numbers reported by the company

    All numbers in this report are consolidated unless stated otherwise.

    Hathway’s total operating revenue for Q1 2020 grew 16.9 percent y-o-y to Rs 449.78 crore from Rs 384.71 crore and grew 18 percent q-o-q from Rs 381.04 crore. Total income or revenue for Q1 2020 grew 29.2 percent y-o-y to Rs 506.68 crore from Rs 392.18 crore and grew 20 percent q-o-q from Rs 422.10 crore. The company reported a loss of Rs 9.38 crore for Q1 2020 as compared to a loss of Rs 51.72 crore for Q1 2019 and profit after taxes (PAT) of Rs 6.61 crore in Q4 2019.

    The company reported EBITDA growth of 15 percent y-o-y in its investor presentation for Q1 2020 to Rs 104.38 crore (23.2 percent margin) from Rs 90.5 crore (23.5 percent margin) and growth of 37 percent q-o-q from Rs 76.1 crore (20 percent margin). Simple EBITDA calculated from the company’s numbers reported to the bourses was Rs 93.14 crore (20.7 percent margin) for Q1 2020 which was 30.6 percent higher y-o-y than Rs 71.32 crore (18.5 percent margin) reported for Q1 2019 and was 11.2 percent more than the Rs 83.73 crore (22 percent margin) for Q4 2019.

    Total expenditure in Q1 2020 grew 16.1 percent y-o-y  to Rs 519.61 crore from Rs 447.52 crore and grew 19.2 percent from Rs 435.97 crore.

    Pay channel cost during the period under review declined 15.5 percent y-o-y to Rs 130.06 crore from Rs 153.88 crore and declined 1 percent q-o-q from Rs 131.41 crore. Employee cost in Q1 2020 grew 15.6 percent y-o-y to Rs 23.63 crore from Rs 20.45 crore and grew 6.3 percent q-o-q from Rs 22.22 crore. Operational cost in Q1 2020 grew 29.6 percent y-o-y to Rs 77.13 crore from Rs 59.51 crore and grew 16.5 percent q-o-q from Rs 66.23 crore. Finance cost grew 58.7 percent y-o-y to Rs 81.79 crore from Rs 51.53 crore and grew 47.7 percent q-o-q from Rs 83.28 crore. Other expenses in Q1 2020 grew 58.2 percent y-o-y to Rs 125.82 crore from Rs 79.55 crore and grew 62.5 percent q-o-q from Rs 77.45 crore.