India’s largest Direct to Home television services operator, Dish TV has added 0.2 million subscribers for the quarter ending March 31, 2013, taking its total net subscribers to 10.7 million subscribers. This is the company’s lowest subscriber addition in the past 23 quarters. Dish TV had last recorded similar additions in the quarter ending June 30, 2007 (Q1-2007) where it had registered (pdf) 0.18 million subscriber additions.
Need To Know
– Subscriber Acquisition Cost (SAC) was at Rs 1,996, down from Rs 2,201 in the previous quarter. The company attributed this decline to the price hikes.
– Average Revenue Per User: The annual average revenue per user (ARPU) for DishTV stood at Rs 157, down from Rs 160 in the previous quarter. Goel attributed this increase to the price hike in the second quarter.
– Subscription revenues for the quarter was at Rs 500.1 crore, up 15.3% year-on-year (YoY).
– Average Churn was at 0.8% per month for the quarter, down from 1% in the previous quarter.
– Dish TV added 5 new HD Channels from April 2013 and claims to offer the highest number of HD channels, offering 25 HD channels and 17 HD services on its platform.
Financials
Dish TV reported an operating revenue of Rs 555.4 crore for the quarter, down from Rs 557.8 crore in the previous quarter, but up 7.6% from Rs 516.44 crore in the same quarter last year. The net loss declined to Rs 43.6 crore for the quarter, down from Rs 49 crore loss in the same quarter last year.
Its EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization) for the quarter stood at Rs 120 crore, up 6.5% YoY. The EBITDA margin for the quarter was at 21.6%.
For the financial year ending March 31, 2013 (FY13), Dish TV reported an operating revenue of Rs 2,166.8 crore, up from Rs 1,957.9 crore in the FY12. The net loss declined to Rs 66 crore in FY13, down from Rs 133.1 crore in FY12, while the EBITDA for the fiscal was at Rs 575.9 crore, up 16.8% from Rs 496 crore in FY12. The EBITDA margin for the fiscal was at 26.7%.
Other Highlights
– During the current year, Direct Media Distribution Ventures Private Limited divested 14.74% stake in the company, following which it is no longer the holding company of Dish TV India limited. It currently holds 45.24% stake in Dish TV India Limited.
– The name of Dish TV Singapore was changed to Digital Network Distribution Pte Limited on March 12, 2013. The company entered into a Share purchase agreement with a party for SGD 12,000 (around Rs 5.28 lakh) on March 19, 2013 and the share holding was transferred on April 1, 2013.
– Jawahar Goel, Managing Director, Dish TV said that the DTH industry is still reeling under multiple taxation and in the absence of an enforceable contract for set-top box recovery, it is now looking to move to a virtually zero subsidy model over the medium term.
Download: Press Release | Financials
Updates: Error in Headline has been corrected
