Dish TV India Limited yesterday announced the financial results for the quarter ending March 31, 2020. Dish TV reported a net loss of Rs 14,562 million in Q4 FY 20 due to exceptional items of Rs 19,155 million caused by the impairment testing of goodwill allocated to d2h cash generating unit (CGU) at the balance sheet date.
Results at a glance
- Subscription revenues at Rs 7,766 million
- Additional marketing, promotional fee and bandwidth charges at Rs 302 million
- Advertisement income at Rs 121 million
- Net loss at Rs 14,562 million due to exceptional items at Rs 19,155 million
Dish TV’s operating revenue in Q4 FY 20 stood at Rs 8,691 million, up from Rs 8,678 million in Q3 FY 20. The subscription revenues in Q4 FY 20 stood at Rs 7,766 million, down from Rs 7,982 million in the preceding quarter. Additional marketing, promotional fee and bandwidth charges stood at Rs 302 crore in Q4 FY 20, down from Rs 120 crore in Q3 FY 20.
The net loss in Q4 FY 20 stood at Rs 14,562 million, up from Rs 13,613 million in Q4 FY 19. The loss in both quarters were attributed to exceptional items. The profit before exceptional items and tax for FY20 was Rs. 1,281 million as against Rs. 268 million in FY19.
Dish TV India Limited paid balance of the overdue loan amount of Rs. 2,500 million during the quarter. The Company paid Rs. 4,459 million in total during the quarter thus reducing its overall debt to Rs. 18,175 million at the end of fiscal 2020 as compared to Rs. 27,695 million at the close of fiscal 2019.
Dish TV saw a surge in renewals and recharges with digital mediums consisting 76% of subscriptions received by the company. UPI and e-wallets became the preferred online, real time payment modes for customers.
Dish TV’s in-house OTT platform, Watcho saw a rise in subscription from 1 million plus in January 2020, to 3 million subscribers at the end of fourth quarter, and then 5 million plus at the end of May 2020. Watcho will be releasing content in different Indian languages to reach out to subscribers who prefer content in local languages.
Dish TV further states that it has become the first private sector company to start a Ku band teleport which would allow it to unique niche channels in Ku band. The facility will help it distribute channels in a highly cost effective manner once fully commercialized.
“Though our revenues were positively impacted by the higher number of win backs and recharges during the initial days of the lockdown, we could not be complacent during such trying times and went all out to scan every cost-centre for greater operational efficiencies. Our all-time high EBITDA and EBITDA margin recorded during the quarter was a result of operational resilience demonstrated by the business.”
Mr. Anil Dua, Group CEO, Dish TV India Limited
Mr. Jawahar Goel, CMD, Dish TV India Limited, said, “Brands like Dish TV and d2h which have a strong rural connect could hope to get new connections and re-activations as value conscious subscribers reach hinterlands where, unlike cities, cable television may not be an option.”
“The other scenario could be that we may have to fight for subscriber share with free-to- air platforms. Another challenge could be in the form of rural unemployment where the consumer is unable to spend on entertainment even if he wants to. We expect rural recovery to be a tailwind in either scenario,” added Mr. Goel.
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