BENGALURU: Saurabh-Dhoot led Indian DTH player Videocon d2h reported profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 168 million for the quarter ended 30 September 2017 (Q2 FY 2017-18). The company had reported PAT of Rs 12 million for the immediate trailing quarter (Q1 FY 2017-18) and PAT of Rs 148 million for the corresponding year ago quarter (Q2 FY 2016-17). Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBIDTA) increased by 6.9 percent year-on-year (y-o-y) during the quarter under review to Rs 2,805 million from Rs 2,625 million. Adjusted EBIDTA less capital expenditure increased by 29.4 percent y-o-y to Rs 1,174 million as compared with Rs 907 million.

Videocon d2h revenue from operations increased by 7.5 percent y-o-y during the quarter to Rs 8,346 million from Rs 7,762 million. Subscription and activation revenue increased by 8.4 percent y-o-y to Rs 7,701 million from Rs 7,107 million.

Subscriber matrices

The company’s subscriber base increased by 0.21 million during Q2 FY 2017-18 to 13.25 million from 13.04 million in the immediate trailing quarter. The company had a subscriber base of 12.52 million in Q2 FY 2016-17. Videocon d2h reported a quarterly subscriber churn of 0.62 percent, which was less than half the churn of 1.27 percent reported for Q1 FY 2017-18. Subscriber churn for Q2 FY 2016-17 was 0.95 percent. The company has reported higher average revenue per user (ARPU) of Rs 212 for the quarter under review as against Rs 198 for the immediate trailing quarter and Rs 209 for the corresponding year ago quarter.

A look at the other numbers

Total expenses rose by 7.5 percent y-o-y to Rs 7,357 million in Q2 FY 2017-18 from Rs 6,843 million Operating expenses increased by 8.4 percent y-o-y to Rs 4,391 million from Rs 4,052 million. Administration and other expenses jumped up by 50.8 percent y-o-y to Rs 276 million from Rs 183 million. Employee benefits expenses declined by 23.8 percent y-o-y to Rs 240 million from Rs 315 million. Selling and distribution expenses increased by 4.3 percent y-o-y to Rs 633 million from Rs 607 million.

Company speak

Videocon d2h executive chairman Dhoot said, “I am delighted to report that we have delivered a strong quarter and have reported the highest ever quarterly adjusted EBITDA in the history of Videocon d2h at INR 2.81 billion. More importantly, adjusted EBITDA per subscriber grew by double digits from the last quarter and came in at INR 71 per subscriber per month, supported by better revenue realisations and higher operational efficiencies.”

He added, “We remain optimistic on the future outlook of the company as we merge with Dish TV India Ltd in the coming weeks, subject to receipt of approval from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The businesses of Videocon d2h and Dish TV India will be amalgamated for financial reporting purposes from October 1, 2017, the date appointed by the Honorable National Company Law Tribunal. We believe that the merged entity would be one of the largest pay TV platforms in the world in terms of subscriber base, according to company estimates. We are excited about the growth prospects of the merged entity given its large scale, solid business fundamentals, and a healthy balance sheet.”