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Tag: Saurabh Dhoot

  • Q1-17: Videocon d2h reports PAT, 15.5percent subscriber growth

    Q1-17: Videocon d2h reports PAT, 15.5percent subscriber growth

    BENGALURU: Videocon d2h is the second listed Indian DTH player to report a profit after tax (PAT), after the Essel group’s Dish TV that turned the numbers black last year. Videocon d2h reported PAT of Rs 2.7 crore for the quarter ended 30 June 2016 (Q1-17, current quarter). For the corresponding year ago quarter (Q1-16), the company had reported a loss of Rs 24.4 crore and for the immediate trailing quarter (Q4-16) reported loss was Rs 21.2 crore.

    The DTH major also reported 15.5 percent year-over-year (y-o-y) growth in net subscriber number growth at 122.9 lakh for Q1-17 as compared to 106.4 lakh and a 3.6 percent quarter-over-quarter (q-o-q) growth from118.6 lakh. Average revenue per user (ARPU) in the current quarter increased to Rs 219 from Rs 205 in Q1-16 and from Rs 214 in the immediate trailing quarter.

    Subscriber acquisition cost (SAC) in Q1-17 was higher at Rs 1,872 as compared to Rs 1,793 in Q1-16 and Rs 1,776 in Q4-16.

    Subscriber monthly churn in the current quarter was 0.49 percent; in Q1-16 it was slightly lower at 0.46 percent, while in the immediate trailing quarter it was much higher at 0.58 percent.

    Videocon d2h reported 23.5 percent y-o-y growth in total revenue from operations for Q1-17 at Rs 818.5 crore as compared to Rs 662.8 crore and a 6.1 percent q-o-q growth from Rs 771.5 crore.

    DAS III and IV are sunshine periods for the television carriage industry. Activation revenues have been adding to the top lines and bottom lines of most of the players. Videocon d2h subscription and activation revenue in the current quarter increased 23.9 percent y-o-y to Rs 752.3 crore from Rs 607.3 crore and increased 6.6 percent q-o-q from Rs 705.6 crore.

    Commenting on the results and company outlook, Videocon d2h executive chairman Saurabh Dhoot, said, “I’m delighted to share that the first quarter of fiscal 2017 has been a landmark quarter for our Company in its enduring journey. In this quarter, we have had a positive profit after tax and achieved free cash flow breakeven. This is a great achievement.

    “In line with our focus on paying down term loans, the Company recently pre-paid further term loans, strengthening our balance sheet further. We have significantly de-levered our balance sheet and become a stronger company going from strength to strength, reducing term loans by around $200 million since our IPO, with over $ 55 million repaid in the current fiscal year.”

    Speaking on the results, Videocon d2h CEO Anil Khera said, “We are happy to report that Adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter of fiscal year 2017 grew 32.4 percent year on year, which is primarily a result of strong subscriber growth, higher revenue realizations and better operating margins. During the quarter, we expanded our retail network in areas that come under India’s Phase III and Phase IV Digitalization program. We are happy to announce our strategic tie-up with Vodafone to enable recharge using their well-established m-pesa digital wallet and at Vodafone outlets, as it will give our customers an easy and efficient way to recharge their d2h account at their convenience.”

    Let us look at some of the other metrics reported by Videocon d2h

    Adjusted EBIDTA grew 32.4 percent y-o-y to Rs 251.9 crore (30.8 percent margin) from Rs 190.3 crore (28.7 percent margin) and grew 15 percent q-o-q from Rs 219.1 crore (28.4 percent margin). Videocon d2h reports that EBIDTA per subscriber has increased to Rs 70 in Q1-17 from Rs 61 in Q1-16 and from Rs 63 in Q4-16.

    Content costs margin in Q1-17 has reduced to 36.1 percent as compared to 37 percent in the corresponding year ago quarter and 37.5 percent in the immediate trailing quarter.

    Total expense in Q1-17 increased 19.7 percent y-o-y to Rs 739.8 crore from Rs 618.1 crore and increased 3.8 percent from Rs 721.8 crore.

    Selling and distribution expense in the current quarter increased 25.7 percent y-o-y to Rs 64 crore from Rs 50.9 crore, but declined 3.6 percent q-o-q from Rs 66.4 crore.

    Employee benefit expense in Q1-17 was 4 percent higher at Rs 32.2 crore as compared to Rs 30.9 crore in Q1-16 and 10.7 percent more than the Rs 29.1 crore in Q4-16.

    Net finance cost in Q1-17 was Rs 75.9 crore (9.3 percent of revenue from operations); in Q1-16 net finance cost was Rs 76.5 crore (11.5 percent of revenue from operations) and in Q4-16 it was Rs 77.8 crore (10.1 percent of revenue from operations).

    The company had term loans of Rs 2,187 crore and total cash and short term investments of Rs 612 crore as of June 30, 2016. Videocon d2h says that it has repaid term loans amounting to Rs 387 crore in the current fiscal year. With this, it has reduced total term loans by over Rs 1,300 crore since its IPO.

  • FY-16: Videocon d2h adds 16.8 lakh subs, Op Profit up 32.5 percent

    FY-16: Videocon d2h adds 16.8 lakh subs, Op Profit up 32.5 percent

    BENGALURU: Videocon d2h Limited (Videocon d2h) led by executive chairman Saurabh Dhoot reported 16.8 lakh net subscriber additions during the year ended 31 March 2016 (FY-16, current year). The company reported a subscriber base of 118.6 lakh at the end of the current year as compared to 101.8 at the end of the previous fiscal (FY-15), hence a growth of 16.5 percent in FY-16 as compared to FY-15. Gross subscribers increased by 26.5 lakh in FY-16. Incremental subscriber churn in the current year reduced by 7 basis points to 0.73 percent as compared to 0.80 percent in FY-16.The company claims to have added the largest number of subscribers amongst its peers in India for the sixth year in a row in FY-16.

    Videocon d2h reported simple EBIDTA (Operating Profit, Earnings before Interest-Depreciation-Tax-Amortisation) of Rs 789.52 crore (EBIDTA margin of 27.6 percent) for FY-16 which was 32.5 percent more than the Rs 595.64 crore (25.5 percent EBIDTA margin) in FY-16.

    Revenue in the current year increased 22.2 percent to Rs 2,855.86 crore from Rs 2,337.71 crore in the previous year. Subscription and Activation revenue in FY-16 grew 26.4 percent to Rs 2,607 crore compared to Rs 2,063 crore in FY-15.

    Note: 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.

    Average Revenue per User (ARPU) in FY-16 increased by Rs 11 from Rs 196 in the previous year to Rs 207 in FY-16.

    The DTH major reported a lower loss in FY-16 at Rs 92.21 crore as compared to a loss of Rs 272.66 crore in FY-15.

    Total Expenditure (TE) in FY-16 increased 17.8 percent to Rs 2,675.19 crore (93.7 percent of revenue) from Rs 2,270.75 crore (97.1 percent of revenue) in FY-15.

    Videocon d2h reported higher content costs for FY-16, which increased to 37.8 percent of revenue as compare to 36.2 percent of revenue in the previous year.

    Fourth Quarter of 2016 numbers

    The fourth quarter – quarter ended 31 March 2016 (Q4-16, current quarter), has been a great quarter for the company in terms of financial and operational performance.

    For Q4-16 Videocon d2h added 5.9 lakh net subscribers. The company reported 5.2 percent quarter-over-quarter (q-o-q) growth in subscribers for Q4-16 at 118.6 lakh as compared to 112.7 lakh in the immediate trailing quarter Q3-16. Gross subscribers increased by 7.9 lakh in Q4-16. Incremental subscriber churn in Q4-16 increased 16 basis points to 0.58 percent year-over-year (y-o-y) from 0.42 percent but declined 15 basis points q-o-q from 0.73 percent.

    Simple EBIDTA in the current quarter increased 33.7 percent y-o-y to Rs 216.20 crore (28 percent EBIDTA margin) from Rs 161.71 crore (25.9 percent margin) and increased 9.4 percent q-o-q from Rs 197.71 crore.

    Subscription and activation revenue in the current quarter grew 20.9 percent y-o-y to Rs 706 crore and grew 6.2 percent q-o-q from Rs 665 crore. SAC in the form of hardware subsidies at Rs 1,776 per subscriber during Q4-16 was higher than the Rs 1,726 in the immediate trailing quarter. SAC in FY-15 averaged Rs 1,984

    ARPU in the current quarter increased by Rs 12 y-o-y from Rs 202 in the corresponding year ago quarter to Rs 214 in Q4-16. ARPU in Q4-16 increased q-o-q by Rs 3 from Rs 211 in Q3-16.

    Videocon d2h reported lower y-o-y and q-o-q loss in Q4-16. Loss in the current quarter declined to Rs 21.18 crore as compared to a loss of Rs 75.74 crore in the corresponding year ago quarter and a loss of Rs 22.05 crore in the immediate trailing quarter.

    TE in Q4-16 increased 19.4 percent y-o-y to Rs 721.77 crore (93.6 percent of revenue) from Rs 605.55 crore (96.7 percent of revenue) and increased 5.4 percent q-o-q from Rs 684.58 crore (93.6 percent of revenue)

    Content cost in Q4-16 was lower in terms of percentage of revenue at 37.5 percent as compared to 38.4 percent in Q4-15 and 38.5 in Q3-16.

    Company speak

    Videocon d2h executive chairman Dhoot said, “Fiscal 2016 has been a landmark year for Videocon d2h, as it was the first fiscal year after our NASDAQ listing, and it has been a great journey. I am delighted to share that our strong net subscriber additions, rising revenue realization and operating leverage benefit resulted in 31.5 percent Adjusted EBITDA growth for fiscal 2016, in spite of increases in service tax rates and the implementation of a new ‘clean India initiative’ tax during the year.”

    “During the year, we accomplished numerous technological advancements, such as the development of HD Smart Connect Set Top Box, our new connected set-top box which allows customers to view normal DTH services as well as internet and over-the-top content and applications. This development demonstrates our expertise and innovation in creation, delivery and execution of technologically advanced products,” revealed Dhoot.

    Speaking on the business outlook for the DTH sector, Videocon d2h CEO Anil Khera said “There have been a series of industry developments in fiscal 2016, which we believe will provide for growth opportunities in the DTH sector in India. The implementation of Phase III digitization of the Digital Addressable Cable TV System program of the government of India that began in January 2016 was an example of such a development. It led to a surge in new subscriber additions for various distribution platforms. While the momentum slowed down as many state high courts issued a temporary stay order against digitization, we are still seeing higher subscriber additions from Phase III markets as compared to previous years.”

    “In addition, the deadline for Phase IV digitization is December 31, 2016, which we believe covers approximately 80 million (8 crore) television homes,” added Khera.

  • FY-16: Videocon d2h adds 16.8 lakh subs, Op Profit up 32.5 percent

    FY-16: Videocon d2h adds 16.8 lakh subs, Op Profit up 32.5 percent

    BENGALURU: Videocon d2h Limited (Videocon d2h) led by executive chairman Saurabh Dhoot reported 16.8 lakh net subscriber additions during the year ended 31 March 2016 (FY-16, current year). The company reported a subscriber base of 118.6 lakh at the end of the current year as compared to 101.8 at the end of the previous fiscal (FY-15), hence a growth of 16.5 percent in FY-16 as compared to FY-15. Gross subscribers increased by 26.5 lakh in FY-16. Incremental subscriber churn in the current year reduced by 7 basis points to 0.73 percent as compared to 0.80 percent in FY-16.The company claims to have added the largest number of subscribers amongst its peers in India for the sixth year in a row in FY-16.

    Videocon d2h reported simple EBIDTA (Operating Profit, Earnings before Interest-Depreciation-Tax-Amortisation) of Rs 789.52 crore (EBIDTA margin of 27.6 percent) for FY-16 which was 32.5 percent more than the Rs 595.64 crore (25.5 percent EBIDTA margin) in FY-16.

    Revenue in the current year increased 22.2 percent to Rs 2,855.86 crore from Rs 2,337.71 crore in the previous year. Subscription and Activation revenue in FY-16 grew 26.4 percent to Rs 2,607 crore compared to Rs 2,063 crore in FY-15.

    Note: 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.

    Average Revenue per User (ARPU) in FY-16 increased by Rs 11 from Rs 196 in the previous year to Rs 207 in FY-16.

    The DTH major reported a lower loss in FY-16 at Rs 92.21 crore as compared to a loss of Rs 272.66 crore in FY-15.

    Total Expenditure (TE) in FY-16 increased 17.8 percent to Rs 2,675.19 crore (93.7 percent of revenue) from Rs 2,270.75 crore (97.1 percent of revenue) in FY-15.

    Videocon d2h reported higher content costs for FY-16, which increased to 37.8 percent of revenue as compare to 36.2 percent of revenue in the previous year.

    Fourth Quarter of 2016 numbers

    The fourth quarter – quarter ended 31 March 2016 (Q4-16, current quarter), has been a great quarter for the company in terms of financial and operational performance.

    For Q4-16 Videocon d2h added 5.9 lakh net subscribers. The company reported 5.2 percent quarter-over-quarter (q-o-q) growth in subscribers for Q4-16 at 118.6 lakh as compared to 112.7 lakh in the immediate trailing quarter Q3-16. Gross subscribers increased by 7.9 lakh in Q4-16. Incremental subscriber churn in Q4-16 increased 16 basis points to 0.58 percent year-over-year (y-o-y) from 0.42 percent but declined 15 basis points q-o-q from 0.73 percent.

    Simple EBIDTA in the current quarter increased 33.7 percent y-o-y to Rs 216.20 crore (28 percent EBIDTA margin) from Rs 161.71 crore (25.9 percent margin) and increased 9.4 percent q-o-q from Rs 197.71 crore.

    Subscription and activation revenue in the current quarter grew 20.9 percent y-o-y to Rs 706 crore and grew 6.2 percent q-o-q from Rs 665 crore. SAC in the form of hardware subsidies at Rs 1,776 per subscriber during Q4-16 was higher than the Rs 1,726 in the immediate trailing quarter. SAC in FY-15 averaged Rs 1,984

    ARPU in the current quarter increased by Rs 12 y-o-y from Rs 202 in the corresponding year ago quarter to Rs 214 in Q4-16. ARPU in Q4-16 increased q-o-q by Rs 3 from Rs 211 in Q3-16.

    Videocon d2h reported lower y-o-y and q-o-q loss in Q4-16. Loss in the current quarter declined to Rs 21.18 crore as compared to a loss of Rs 75.74 crore in the corresponding year ago quarter and a loss of Rs 22.05 crore in the immediate trailing quarter.

    TE in Q4-16 increased 19.4 percent y-o-y to Rs 721.77 crore (93.6 percent of revenue) from Rs 605.55 crore (96.7 percent of revenue) and increased 5.4 percent q-o-q from Rs 684.58 crore (93.6 percent of revenue)

    Content cost in Q4-16 was lower in terms of percentage of revenue at 37.5 percent as compared to 38.4 percent in Q4-15 and 38.5 in Q3-16.

    Company speak

    Videocon d2h executive chairman Dhoot said, “Fiscal 2016 has been a landmark year for Videocon d2h, as it was the first fiscal year after our NASDAQ listing, and it has been a great journey. I am delighted to share that our strong net subscriber additions, rising revenue realization and operating leverage benefit resulted in 31.5 percent Adjusted EBITDA growth for fiscal 2016, in spite of increases in service tax rates and the implementation of a new ‘clean India initiative’ tax during the year.”

    “During the year, we accomplished numerous technological advancements, such as the development of HD Smart Connect Set Top Box, our new connected set-top box which allows customers to view normal DTH services as well as internet and over-the-top content and applications. This development demonstrates our expertise and innovation in creation, delivery and execution of technologically advanced products,” revealed Dhoot.

    Speaking on the business outlook for the DTH sector, Videocon d2h CEO Anil Khera said “There have been a series of industry developments in fiscal 2016, which we believe will provide for growth opportunities in the DTH sector in India. The implementation of Phase III digitization of the Digital Addressable Cable TV System program of the government of India that began in January 2016 was an example of such a development. It led to a surge in new subscriber additions for various distribution platforms. While the momentum slowed down as many state high courts issued a temporary stay order against digitization, we are still seeing higher subscriber additions from Phase III markets as compared to previous years.”

    “In addition, the deadline for Phase IV digitization is December 31, 2016, which we believe covers approximately 80 million (8 crore) television homes,” added Khera.

  • Videocon d2h adds Kanak news channel to its portfolio

    Videocon d2h adds Kanak news channel to its portfolio

    MUMBAI: Videocon d2h has added Kanak news channel to its Odia bouquet.  The channel will be available on channel no. 840.

    The DTH platform has 10 general entertainment, music, movie channels and services in Odia with 6 news channels.

    Videocon d2h executive director Saurabh Dhoot said, “With Kanak News we now offer the highest number of Odia channels and services in the country. This addition affirms our resolve to rein in the market by bringing in products and services that fulfill our customer needs.’’

    “Kanak News will enhance our competitiveness in Odisha market. With this channel available in our bouquet, we hope to gain traction in our market share in the state”, added Videocon d2h CEO Anil Khera.

    The platform has a line-up of more than 550 channels and services including a host of regional channels and offers a wide range of active services like smart services including Smart English, Smart Games. The other active services include d2h Hollywood HD, d2h music, d2h spice, d2h cinema in both standard definition and HD, etc.

  • Videocon d2h adds Kanak news channel to its portfolio

    Videocon d2h adds Kanak news channel to its portfolio

    MUMBAI: Videocon d2h has added Kanak news channel to its Odia bouquet.  The channel will be available on channel no. 840.

    The DTH platform has 10 general entertainment, music, movie channels and services in Odia with 6 news channels.

    Videocon d2h executive director Saurabh Dhoot said, “With Kanak News we now offer the highest number of Odia channels and services in the country. This addition affirms our resolve to rein in the market by bringing in products and services that fulfill our customer needs.’’

    “Kanak News will enhance our competitiveness in Odisha market. With this channel available in our bouquet, we hope to gain traction in our market share in the state”, added Videocon d2h CEO Anil Khera.

    The platform has a line-up of more than 550 channels and services including a host of regional channels and offers a wide range of active services like smart services including Smart English, Smart Games. The other active services include d2h Hollywood HD, d2h music, d2h spice, d2h cinema in both standard definition and HD, etc.

  • Status Report: Q3-2016: DAS Phase III deadline no great shakes for DTH industry

    Status Report: Q3-2016: DAS Phase III deadline no great shakes for DTH industry

    BENGALURU: Contrary to expectations that the sunset date of 31 December, 2015 (Q3-2016 in financial terms in India) would rake in good numbers for the DTH industry for the quarter ended 31 December, 2015 (Q3-2015, current quarter), results declared by three of the seven players in the country show not much of a change.

    Refer to Fig A below, which shows a quarter-on-quarter change in subscriber numbers. Though Airtel DTH and Videocon d2h have both shown a small spike in subscriber additions between Q2-2016 and Q3-2016, overall taking the combined addition in subscription numbers by all the three, the change was just 3.59 per cent. In the case of the third player – Dish TV, it witnessed the lowest growth over a five quarter period starting Q3-2015 until the current quarter at 2.19 per cent

    Note: (1)100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10 million = 1 crore.

    (2) This report covers only the three of the seven DTH service providers in India (as had the previous two reports) since the other four – Reliance Digital TV, Sun Direct (about 97 lakh subscribers as on 31 March, 2015), Tata Sky and DD Free Dish are not listed directly on the bourses and their financial numbers are not available, unless the principals of these companies/segments chose to reveal them. The three players – Airtel DTH, Dish TV and Videocon d2h have already been covered in our earlier reports.

    (3) Some of the players mention their financial as well as subscription numbers in millions in their financial reports/investor presentations and other documents that they make available publicly. The financial numbers have been converted to Rs crore and subscription number to lakh to an approximation, and percentages have been mentioned to the second decimal place approximation.

    (4) There could be some ambiguity about the market share of the three players. If one were to go by the latest numbers released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) in February 2016 for September 2015. TRAI’s indicator report says that the number of registered DTH subscribers as on 30 September, 2015 was 814.7 lakh. The combined subscription numbers of the three players as on the same day as reported by them individually was 351.16 lakh and hence the market share of these players works out to 43.10 per cent. However, TRAI’s report also says that the number of active DTH subscribers as on 30 September, 2015 was 410.5 lakh. Based on the second TRAI number, the combined total subscriber market share of the three players in this paper works out to 85.54 per cent. Though, the combined share of subscribers of the three players has declined between Q1-2016 and Q2-2016, based on TRAI numbers, the author contends that it is safe to assume that the three players have more than 50 per cent market share in India in terms of subscribers.

    (5) Videocon d2h EBIDTA numbers are adjusted.

    Although in absolute numbers, Q3-2016 saw probably the highest subscriber additions by the three players per quarter over the past few quarters, in percentage terms it was slightly lower at 3.59 per cent in the current quarter as compared to 3.62 per cent in Q1-2016. Overall, the three players in this report have mentioned a combined net addition of 12.6 lakh subscribers in Q3-2016. In Q1-2016, the three had reported a combined net addition of 11.99 lakh subscribers.

    Dish TV managing director Jawahar Goel said, “We continued to build our pan-India reach during the quarter. However, as expected, despite analogue sunset there was no real spike in consumer demand from Phase III markets thus making it an ordinary quarter from that perspective. Later, changing gears to align with the current industry trend, we tweaked our subscription packages to a more versatile and seemingly economical offering. Mandatory digitisation however is expected to pick up speed and our key focus going forward would be to gain market share both in terms of subscribers and profitability.”

    Of the three, Airtel DTH added the highest number of subscribers in Q3-2016, about six lakh subscribers. Further, among the three players, Dish TV has the largest subscriber base – about 140 lakh, followed by Videocon d2h with 112.7 lakh and Airtel DTH with 111.06 lakh subscribers. In terms of revenue, it is Dish TV that leads with the highest revenue, followed by Airtel DTH, with Videocon d2h among the 3 players in this report.

    Please refer to the figure below. Panel A indicates the combined numbers of the three players, Panels B, C and D indicate the playout of revenue, EBIDTA and subscription base for Airtel DTH, Dish TV and Videocon d2h respectively, panel E indicates ARPU and panel F monthly subscriber churn.

    Please refer to Panel A in the graphs above. The combined revenues of the three players in the current quarter grew 17.24 per cent year on year (YoY) to Rs 2,245.17 crore from Rs Rs 1,915.01 crore and grew 4.46 per cent quarter on quarter (QoQ) as compared to Rs 2149.32 crore. EBIDTA increased 41.35 per cent YoY in Q3-2016 to Rs 710.51 crore (31.65 per cent margin) from Rs 503.65 crore (26.25 per cent margin) and grew 4.44 per cent QoQ from Rs 680.30 crore (31.65 per cent margin). Reported Combined Subscription numbers in Q2-2016 grew 13.22 per cent YoY to 363.76 lakh from 321.3 lakh and grew 3.59 per cent QoQ from 351.16 lakh.

    Please refer to panel F above. All the three players have reported a monthly subscriber churn of around 0.7 per cent in the current quarter, as compared to a high of 1.3 per cent in Q2-2016.

    Airtel DTH

    Airtel’s DTH segment contributes about four per cent to the telecom giant’s overall revenue. Revenue for the DTH segment in Q3-2016 increased 19 per cent to Rs 742.2 crore, up 19 per cent YoY as compared to Rs 623.4 crore. EBIDTA for Q3-2016 grew 45 per cent to Rs 247.4 crore (33.3 per cent margin) as compared to Rs 170.7 crore (27.4 per cent margin).

    The segment’s subscriber base grew 13.2 per cent YoY to 111.06 lakh in the current quarter as compared to 98.10 lakh and grew five per cent as compared to 105.76 lakh in the immediate preceding quarter. Though in US dollar terms, average revenue per user (ARPU) was constant YoY and QoQ at $3.5, it has increased seven per cent YoY in Indian rupees to Rs 229 from Rs 214 and increased two per cent QoQ from Rs 224.

    Dish TV

    Dish TV added 3.17 lakh net subscribers (the least among the three) in the quarter ended 31 December, 2015 (Q3-2016, current quarter), taking its subscriber base on that date to 140 lakh. Dish TV is the largest DTH player in the country in terms of subscribers as well as revenue. The company reported 11.8 per cent YOY revenue growth in the current quarter at Rs 771.48 crore as compared to Rs 690.08 crore and 2.5 per cent more QoQ as compared to Rs 752.42 crore.

    The company reported 39.1 per cent EBIDTA growth in the current quarter at Rs 265.4 crore as compared to Rs 190.8 crore in the corresponding year ago quarter and 4.1 per cent more than the Rs 255 crore in the immediate trailing quarter. Dish TV reported PAT in Q3-2016 at Rs 68.49 as compared to a loss of Rs 2.63 crore in the corresponding prior year quarter, but a decline of 21.3 per cent as compared to Rs 86.96 crore in the previous quarter.

    ARPU in the current quarter declined by Rs 5 YoY to Rs 172, but increased by Rs 1 QoQ.

    Videocon d2h

    Videocon d2h added 6.7 lakh gross subscribers and 4.3 lakh net subscribers during the quarter. Gross subscribers totalled 149.5 lakh and net subscribers totalled 112.7 lakh as of 31 December, 2015.

    The company’s revenue from operations (TIO) increased 21.6 per cent YoY to Rs 731.49 crore in Q3-2016 as compared to Rs 601.53 crore, and increased six per cent QoQ from Rs 690.08 crore.

    Videocon d2h reported 42.2 per cent YoY growth in adjusted EBITDA at Rs 201 crore for Q3- 2016 compared to Rs 141 crore in the corresponding year ago quarter. Net loss for the quarter declined to Rs 22.05 crore as compared to the net loss of Rs 79.8 crore in Q3-2015.

    ARPU in Q3-2016 increased 8.2 per cent to Rs 211 as compared to Rs 195 in Q3-2015 and increased 2.9 per cent as compared to Rs 205 in Q2-2016.

    Closing remarks

    Dish TV, which is more of a value player when compared to the other two players in this report, which could be labelled a premium players in terms of subscription packages, could show even better results in terms of better subscriber acquisition and hence higher revenues over the next few quarters, considering the fact that it is tweaking its subscription packages to be more economical.

    Videocon d2h executive chairman Saurabh Dhoot said, “In the first few days of January 2016, we saw strong pick up in subscriber additions in cities that come under Phase III digitisation. Recently, a few state high courts issued a stay order on implementation of Phase III digitisation for one to three months. This was in line with our expectations of the digitisation being a staggered process.”

    “We estimate around 50 million television homes come under Phase III digitisation, of which 24-25 million television homes are already on the digital platform. Thus, the target market under Phase III digitisation is the remaining 25-26 million television homes that are currently on analogue cable,” added Dhoot.

    Investors in Indian DTH companies could heave a sigh of relief – Chrome figures recently released for the month of January 2016 reveal that the DTH industry is a major beneficiary of DAS phase III. If that is the case, then DTH players should report even better numbers for Q4-2016 and FY-2016. Another heartening revelation was made by Sun TV Network Limited (Sun TV) in its earnings release for Q3-2016. Sun TV says that its DTH business under the brand Sun Direct, revenue was up approximately 14 per cent. Subsidy costs for DTH set top boxes is going down, and that should help with improved bottom lines.

    Going on to 31 December, 2016, the sunset date for DAS IV, the DTH platform should be able to garner a big chunk of subscribers from DAS IV areas. The future seems good, let’s see how it plays out from the DTH industry’s perspective.

  • Status Report: Q3-2016: DAS Phase III deadline no great shakes for DTH industry

    Status Report: Q3-2016: DAS Phase III deadline no great shakes for DTH industry

    BENGALURU: Contrary to expectations that the sunset date of 31 December, 2015 (Q3-2016 in financial terms in India) would rake in good numbers for the DTH industry for the quarter ended 31 December, 2015 (Q3-2015, current quarter), results declared by three of the seven players in the country show not much of a change.

    Refer to Fig A below, which shows a quarter-on-quarter change in subscriber numbers. Though Airtel DTH and Videocon d2h have both shown a small spike in subscriber additions between Q2-2016 and Q3-2016, overall taking the combined addition in subscription numbers by all the three, the change was just 3.59 per cent. In the case of the third player – Dish TV, it witnessed the lowest growth over a five quarter period starting Q3-2015 until the current quarter at 2.19 per cent

    Note: (1)100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10 million = 1 crore.

    (2) This report covers only the three of the seven DTH service providers in India (as had the previous two reports) since the other four – Reliance Digital TV, Sun Direct (about 97 lakh subscribers as on 31 March, 2015), Tata Sky and DD Free Dish are not listed directly on the bourses and their financial numbers are not available, unless the principals of these companies/segments chose to reveal them. The three players – Airtel DTH, Dish TV and Videocon d2h have already been covered in our earlier reports.

    (3) Some of the players mention their financial as well as subscription numbers in millions in their financial reports/investor presentations and other documents that they make available publicly. The financial numbers have been converted to Rs crore and subscription number to lakh to an approximation, and percentages have been mentioned to the second decimal place approximation.

    (4) There could be some ambiguity about the market share of the three players. If one were to go by the latest numbers released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) in February 2016 for September 2015. TRAI’s indicator report says that the number of registered DTH subscribers as on 30 September, 2015 was 814.7 lakh. The combined subscription numbers of the three players as on the same day as reported by them individually was 351.16 lakh and hence the market share of these players works out to 43.10 per cent. However, TRAI’s report also says that the number of active DTH subscribers as on 30 September, 2015 was 410.5 lakh. Based on the second TRAI number, the combined total subscriber market share of the three players in this paper works out to 85.54 per cent. Though, the combined share of subscribers of the three players has declined between Q1-2016 and Q2-2016, based on TRAI numbers, the author contends that it is safe to assume that the three players have more than 50 per cent market share in India in terms of subscribers.

    (5) Videocon d2h EBIDTA numbers are adjusted.

    Although in absolute numbers, Q3-2016 saw probably the highest subscriber additions by the three players per quarter over the past few quarters, in percentage terms it was slightly lower at 3.59 per cent in the current quarter as compared to 3.62 per cent in Q1-2016. Overall, the three players in this report have mentioned a combined net addition of 12.6 lakh subscribers in Q3-2016. In Q1-2016, the three had reported a combined net addition of 11.99 lakh subscribers.

    Dish TV managing director Jawahar Goel said, “We continued to build our pan-India reach during the quarter. However, as expected, despite analogue sunset there was no real spike in consumer demand from Phase III markets thus making it an ordinary quarter from that perspective. Later, changing gears to align with the current industry trend, we tweaked our subscription packages to a more versatile and seemingly economical offering. Mandatory digitisation however is expected to pick up speed and our key focus going forward would be to gain market share both in terms of subscribers and profitability.”

    Of the three, Airtel DTH added the highest number of subscribers in Q3-2016, about six lakh subscribers. Further, among the three players, Dish TV has the largest subscriber base – about 140 lakh, followed by Videocon d2h with 112.7 lakh and Airtel DTH with 111.06 lakh subscribers. In terms of revenue, it is Dish TV that leads with the highest revenue, followed by Airtel DTH, with Videocon d2h among the 3 players in this report.

    Please refer to the figure below. Panel A indicates the combined numbers of the three players, Panels B, C and D indicate the playout of revenue, EBIDTA and subscription base for Airtel DTH, Dish TV and Videocon d2h respectively, panel E indicates ARPU and panel F monthly subscriber churn.

    Please refer to Panel A in the graphs above. The combined revenues of the three players in the current quarter grew 17.24 per cent year on year (YoY) to Rs 2,245.17 crore from Rs Rs 1,915.01 crore and grew 4.46 per cent quarter on quarter (QoQ) as compared to Rs 2149.32 crore. EBIDTA increased 41.35 per cent YoY in Q3-2016 to Rs 710.51 crore (31.65 per cent margin) from Rs 503.65 crore (26.25 per cent margin) and grew 4.44 per cent QoQ from Rs 680.30 crore (31.65 per cent margin). Reported Combined Subscription numbers in Q2-2016 grew 13.22 per cent YoY to 363.76 lakh from 321.3 lakh and grew 3.59 per cent QoQ from 351.16 lakh.

    Please refer to panel F above. All the three players have reported a monthly subscriber churn of around 0.7 per cent in the current quarter, as compared to a high of 1.3 per cent in Q2-2016.

    Airtel DTH

    Airtel’s DTH segment contributes about four per cent to the telecom giant’s overall revenue. Revenue for the DTH segment in Q3-2016 increased 19 per cent to Rs 742.2 crore, up 19 per cent YoY as compared to Rs 623.4 crore. EBIDTA for Q3-2016 grew 45 per cent to Rs 247.4 crore (33.3 per cent margin) as compared to Rs 170.7 crore (27.4 per cent margin).

    The segment’s subscriber base grew 13.2 per cent YoY to 111.06 lakh in the current quarter as compared to 98.10 lakh and grew five per cent as compared to 105.76 lakh in the immediate preceding quarter. Though in US dollar terms, average revenue per user (ARPU) was constant YoY and QoQ at $3.5, it has increased seven per cent YoY in Indian rupees to Rs 229 from Rs 214 and increased two per cent QoQ from Rs 224.

    Dish TV

    Dish TV added 3.17 lakh net subscribers (the least among the three) in the quarter ended 31 December, 2015 (Q3-2016, current quarter), taking its subscriber base on that date to 140 lakh. Dish TV is the largest DTH player in the country in terms of subscribers as well as revenue. The company reported 11.8 per cent YOY revenue growth in the current quarter at Rs 771.48 crore as compared to Rs 690.08 crore and 2.5 per cent more QoQ as compared to Rs 752.42 crore.

    The company reported 39.1 per cent EBIDTA growth in the current quarter at Rs 265.4 crore as compared to Rs 190.8 crore in the corresponding year ago quarter and 4.1 per cent more than the Rs 255 crore in the immediate trailing quarter. Dish TV reported PAT in Q3-2016 at Rs 68.49 as compared to a loss of Rs 2.63 crore in the corresponding prior year quarter, but a decline of 21.3 per cent as compared to Rs 86.96 crore in the previous quarter.

    ARPU in the current quarter declined by Rs 5 YoY to Rs 172, but increased by Rs 1 QoQ.

    Videocon d2h

    Videocon d2h added 6.7 lakh gross subscribers and 4.3 lakh net subscribers during the quarter. Gross subscribers totalled 149.5 lakh and net subscribers totalled 112.7 lakh as of 31 December, 2015.

    The company’s revenue from operations (TIO) increased 21.6 per cent YoY to Rs 731.49 crore in Q3-2016 as compared to Rs 601.53 crore, and increased six per cent QoQ from Rs 690.08 crore.

    Videocon d2h reported 42.2 per cent YoY growth in adjusted EBITDA at Rs 201 crore for Q3- 2016 compared to Rs 141 crore in the corresponding year ago quarter. Net loss for the quarter declined to Rs 22.05 crore as compared to the net loss of Rs 79.8 crore in Q3-2015.

    ARPU in Q3-2016 increased 8.2 per cent to Rs 211 as compared to Rs 195 in Q3-2015 and increased 2.9 per cent as compared to Rs 205 in Q2-2016.

    Closing remarks

    Dish TV, which is more of a value player when compared to the other two players in this report, which could be labelled a premium players in terms of subscription packages, could show even better results in terms of better subscriber acquisition and hence higher revenues over the next few quarters, considering the fact that it is tweaking its subscription packages to be more economical.

    Videocon d2h executive chairman Saurabh Dhoot said, “In the first few days of January 2016, we saw strong pick up in subscriber additions in cities that come under Phase III digitisation. Recently, a few state high courts issued a stay order on implementation of Phase III digitisation for one to three months. This was in line with our expectations of the digitisation being a staggered process.”

    “We estimate around 50 million television homes come under Phase III digitisation, of which 24-25 million television homes are already on the digital platform. Thus, the target market under Phase III digitisation is the remaining 25-26 million television homes that are currently on analogue cable,” added Dhoot.

    Investors in Indian DTH companies could heave a sigh of relief – Chrome figures recently released for the month of January 2016 reveal that the DTH industry is a major beneficiary of DAS phase III. If that is the case, then DTH players should report even better numbers for Q4-2016 and FY-2016. Another heartening revelation was made by Sun TV Network Limited (Sun TV) in its earnings release for Q3-2016. Sun TV says that its DTH business under the brand Sun Direct, revenue was up approximately 14 per cent. Subsidy costs for DTH set top boxes is going down, and that should help with improved bottom lines.

    Going on to 31 December, 2016, the sunset date for DAS IV, the DTH platform should be able to garner a big chunk of subscribers from DAS IV areas. The future seems good, let’s see how it plays out from the DTH industry’s perspective.

  • Videocon d2h to launch Wi-Fi enabled smart HD STBs

    Videocon d2h to launch Wi-Fi enabled smart HD STBs

    MUMBAI: Direct to home (DTH) platform Videocon d2h is planning to launch HD Smart set-top-box (connected set top box), which converts existing LED TVs into a Smart TV besides showing more than 500 channels & services in High Definition (HD) and Standard Definition (SD).

    While the DTH tech in it brings television channels in SD and HD, the connected STB allows one to browse content from Twitter, Facebook, Daily Motion, video on demand sites, OTT apps, news, weather etc through applications residing on the STB. 

    The HD Smart STB will work as a tool for personalisation, engagement and new customer experiences and with internet connectivity, one can convert one’s TV into a smart TV using it. 

    With this new launch, Videocon d2h has taken a step towards providing an advanced product that delivers next generation solutions as part of the idea of Internet of Things (IoT). The feature of unlimited external recording is also available, by plugging in an external storage device for recording programs.

    The HD Smart STB can be connected to the home network of mobile internet, wifi or cable broadband connection to enable data streaming. 

    Through the Daily Motion app, one can watch the latest videos trending. Additionally, users can also connect with their social media page to tweet and post updates.

    Videocon d2h executive chairman Saurabh Dhoot said, “We are proud to announce the launch of this breakthrough technology in the DTH space. This launch of gen-next HD Smart Set Top Box demonstrates our unrivalled expertise and innovation in creation, delivery and execution of technologically advanced products. This product promises to make your existing TV into a smart TV and ensure connectivity with the world. We are enabling convergence of TV, DTH & internet all in one place.”

    Videocon d2h CEO Anil Khera added, “We aim to empower people with our connected set top boxes. Our HD Smart Set Top Box offers exceptional features like internet based apps, USB recording, HD quality viewing and reverse path which enable customers to create a unique viewing experience and also stay connected. The customer benefits from an enriched viewing experience through a new user interface allowing seamless navigation.”

  • Videocon d2h to launch Wi-Fi enabled smart HD STBs

    Videocon d2h to launch Wi-Fi enabled smart HD STBs

    MUMBAI: Direct to home (DTH) platform Videocon d2h is planning to launch HD Smart set-top-box (connected set top box), which converts existing LED TVs into a Smart TV besides showing more than 500 channels & services in High Definition (HD) and Standard Definition (SD).

    While the DTH tech in it brings television channels in SD and HD, the connected STB allows one to browse content from Twitter, Facebook, Daily Motion, video on demand sites, OTT apps, news, weather etc through applications residing on the STB. 

    The HD Smart STB will work as a tool for personalisation, engagement and new customer experiences and with internet connectivity, one can convert one’s TV into a smart TV using it. 

    With this new launch, Videocon d2h has taken a step towards providing an advanced product that delivers next generation solutions as part of the idea of Internet of Things (IoT). The feature of unlimited external recording is also available, by plugging in an external storage device for recording programs.

    The HD Smart STB can be connected to the home network of mobile internet, wifi or cable broadband connection to enable data streaming. 

    Through the Daily Motion app, one can watch the latest videos trending. Additionally, users can also connect with their social media page to tweet and post updates.

    Videocon d2h executive chairman Saurabh Dhoot said, “We are proud to announce the launch of this breakthrough technology in the DTH space. This launch of gen-next HD Smart Set Top Box demonstrates our unrivalled expertise and innovation in creation, delivery and execution of technologically advanced products. This product promises to make your existing TV into a smart TV and ensure connectivity with the world. We are enabling convergence of TV, DTH & internet all in one place.”

    Videocon d2h CEO Anil Khera added, “We aim to empower people with our connected set top boxes. Our HD Smart Set Top Box offers exceptional features like internet based apps, USB recording, HD quality viewing and reverse path which enable customers to create a unique viewing experience and also stay connected. The customer benefits from an enriched viewing experience through a new user interface allowing seamless navigation.”

  • Q3-2016: Videocon d2h YoY revenue up 22% on subscriber additions, higher ARPU

    Q3-2016: Videocon d2h YoY revenue up 22% on subscriber additions, higher ARPU

    BENGALURU: Videocon d2h Limited reported 14.8 per cent YoY increase in net subscriber additions and 8.2 per cent YoY growth in ARPU for the quarter ended 31 December, 2015 (Q3-2016, current quarter). The company’s revenue from operations (TIO) increased 21.6 per cent YoY to Rs 731.49 crore in Q3-2016 as compared to Rs 601.53 crore. Subscriber addition brings in higher activation revenue.

     

    The company achieved strong subscription and activation YoY revenue growth of 26 per cent at Rs 665 crore as compared to Rs 527.9 crore in the corresponding year ago quarter.

     

    Videocon d2h added 6.7 lakh gross subscribers and 4.3 lakh net subscribers during the quarter. Gross subscribers totalled 149.5 lakh and net subscribers totalled 112.7 lakh as of 31 December, 2015. The company says that monthly churn came in at 0.73 per cent for the quarter and 0.80 per cent for the nine months ending 31 December, 2015, which was marginally ahead of the company guidance.

     

    Note: 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10 million = 1 crore.

     

    Average revenue per user (ARPU) in Q3-2016 increased 8.2 per cent to Rs 211 as compared to Rs 195 in Q3-2015 and increased 2.9 per cent as compared to Rs 205 in Q2-2016.

     

    Videocon d2h reported 42.2 per cent YoY growth in adjusted EBITDA at Rs 201 crore for Q3- 2016 compared to Rs 141 crore in the corresponding year ago quarter. Net loss for the quarter declined to Rs 22.05 crore as compared to the net loss of Rs 79.8 crore in Q3-2015.

     

    Videocon d2h executive chairman Saurabh Dhoot said, “I am delighted the company reported EBITDA growth of over 42 per cent in the quarter compared to last year. This is a result of strong subscriber and ARPU growth and our continued focus on margin improvement, in line with our expectations. We believe we are amongst the fastest growing media companies in the world delivering exceptional performance quarter after quarter. During the quarter, we continued to strengthen our content offering and added new channels on our platform. We recently added two transponders ahead of schedule. This further strengthens our content offering, which is one of our key competitive advantages. With this additional bandwidth we will continue to add more regional and HD channels to our platform in times to come.”

     

    Speaking on the Phase III digitisation implementation, Videocon d2h CEO Anil Khera said, “Phase III digitisation has begun. The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting maintained their deadline and instructed broadcasters to switch off analogue signals in Phase III digitisation areas. In the first few days of January 2016, we saw strong pick up in subscriber additions in cities that come under Phase III digitisation. Recently, a few state high courts issued a stay order on implementation of Phase III digitisation for one – three months. This was in line with our expectations of the digitisation being a staggered process.”

     

    “We estimate around 50 million television homes come under Phase III digitisation, of which 24-25 million television homes are already on the digital platform. Thus, the target market under Phase III digitisation is the remaining 25-26 million television homes that are currently on analog cable,” he added.