Dish TV Q4-FY12: Adds 415,000 Subscribers, Rs 524.7 Cr Revenues

Dish TV, the Direct to Home television services operator, has reported operating revenues of Rs 524.7 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2012, up by 21.2% from the corresponding quarter last fiscal. The EBITDA for the quarter stood at Rs. 144.2 crore, a significant 59.9% increase from the same quarter last year. EBITDA margin for the quarter stood at 27.5%. For the fiscal 2012, Dish TV posted standalone revenues of Rs. 1957.8 crore, up by 39.5% YoY. The EBITDA for the fiscal 2012 stood at Rs 498.4 crore and EBITDA margin of 25.5%.

The net loss for the quarter was Rs. 49 crore, up from Rs 43 crore loss reported in the previous quarter. The company says that the loss was due to the negative impact of a foreign exchange loss of Rs. 6.5 crore. For the fiscal 2012, the net loss was Rs 158.8 crore which was due to the negative impact of a foreign exchange loss of Rs. 51 crore.

Highlights

Dish TV informed that it has added 415,000 new subscribers in the quarter ended March 31, 2012, taking the total number of gross subscribers to 12.9 million subscribers and net subscribers to 9.6 million. The company said that it had added 10.5 million subscribers in the fiscal 2012, as compared to 13.3 million in the fiscal 2011.

Subscriber Acquisition Cost (SAC) stood at Rs. 2,127, up from Rs 2,124 in the last quarter.

Average Revenue Per User: The annual average revenue per user (ARPU) for DishTV stood at Rs 153, despite a higher subscriber base.

Subscription revenues for the quarter was at Rs. 433.8 crore, a growth of 19.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

In February 2012, Dish TV launched Dish truHD+, an HD set top box with digital recording capabilities and support to any external USB device, enabling consumers to keep an unlimited recordings of their favourite programmes.

According to Jawahar Goel, MD of the company, there was a slowdown in the customer adoption rate in the DTH category after a price hike at the entry level, however it has witnessed a marked improvement in its key metrics following the price hike. He said that Dish TV’s monthly churn number in the fourth quarter matched its internal benchmark with quality subscribers coming on board in recent times.

He expressed hope that the upcoming mandatory digitization of cable networks will bring about a much needed change in the overall television distribution segment with metrics like churn rate and ARPU no longer susceptible to metrics from analog cable and HD services are likely to generate significant consumer interest going forward.

Dish TV India Limited claimed to be the largest DTH Company in India and Asia Pacific and one of the largest DTH platforms worldwide.

Download: Press Release | Financials