Dish TV Slips Into The Red In First Quarter
Dish TV reported a net loss in the April-June quarter due to higher depreciation costs.
Direct-to-home operator Dish TV on Thursday reported a net loss in the April-June quarter due to higher depreciation costs.
Net loss stood at Rs 11.67 crore for the quarter, the company said in a stock exchange filing. Total operating revenue jumped 4.3 percent sequentially to Rs 738.9 crore. Earnings before interest, depreciation and amortization rose to Rs 201.2 crore from Rs 195.1 crore in the previous quarter while EBITDA margin was flattish.
Dish TV added 1.86 lakh net subscribers during the quarter versus 1.65 lakh added in the last quarter, the filing added. This was less than the subscriber addition the company had estimated, Group Chief Executive Officer Anil Dua and Chief Financial Officer Rajiv Dalmia said in a phone interview.
The monthly average revenue per unit rose 10.2 percent on a quarter-on-quarter basis, resulting in strong subscription revenue growth of nearly 12 percent.
Here are edited excerpts from that conversation.
Did net subscriber addition this quarter met your expectations ?
Net additions came in at 1.86 lakh which was 13 percent higher than previous quarter and the churn stood at 1 percent per month, which was slightly higher than the 0.9 percent per month in Q4FY17, but remains manageable.
When do you expect the merger with Videocon to be completed?
The appointed date for the scheme is October 1, 2017. With all other approvals in place, the only remaining approval is from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The combination of Dish TV and Videocon D2h would create one of the World’s largest DTH platform.
What kind of impact do you see from the Jio feature phone ?
It is something everyone is watchful about. But the fact of the matter is whatever has been published about their offer, DTH continues to remain the preferred choice. For people who want to watch TV, I think the cost and ease of watching it is on DTH, as of now.
What is the status of TRAI’s tariff order ?
We have to wait for the judgement from Madras High Court and also Delhi High Court. In the next three months, it should see light of day.
What is the status on licence fees ?
License fee remains the way it was in the last quarter. We continue to provide at the rate of 10 percent. We are yet to hear from the government on the matter.