BENGALURU: Indian multi system operator (MSO) Hathway Cable and Datacom Limited (Hathway) reported 18.8 per cent growth in Total Income from operations (TIO) and 11.9 percent growth in operating profits (EBIDTA) for the quarter ended 30 September 2016 (Q2-17, current quarter). The company reported TIO of Rs 321.07 crore in Q2-17 as compared to Rs 270.35 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

The company’s EBDITA including other income in the current quarter was Rs 54.9 crore (17 percent EBIDTA margin) and was Rs 49.05 crore (17.9 percent EBIDTA margin) in Q2-16. The company’s loss in the current quarter increased to Rs 40.45 crore from a loss of Rs 31.99 crore in Q2-16.

High growth in Cable subscription revenue, Activation fees and Broadband revenue are chiefly responsible for the improved performance says the company. The company’s broadband segment has been performing very well, as a matter of fact, among the national level MSOs’ Hathway has the highest subscription and revenue numbers among all of them. Within Hathway, in Q2-17, Broadband subscription had the highest contribution to revenue, even more than Cable TV subscription revenue

Hathway’s broadband subscriber base increased to 8 lakh in Q2-17 from 7 lakh in the immediate trailing quarter. Consolidated broadband revenue in the current quarter as per IND AS increased 67 percent to Rs 120.3 crore from Rs 71.9 crore in the previous year. Broadband ARPU in the current quarter increased to Rs 643 from Rs 616 in the corresponding quarter of the previous year, but declined from Rs 670 in the immediate trailing quarter.

Consolidated reported CATV subscription revenue as per IND AS in the current quarter increased 12 percent to Rs 120.2 crore from Rs 107.5 crore in Q2-16 Hathway says that it has achieved a milestone of deployed 18 lakh STBs, of which 8 lakh STBs were deployed in Phase III & IV areas during Q1- 17. The company says that it has now digitized 92 percent of its cable TV universe. CATV ARPU in DAS Phase I increased to Rs 105 from Rs 100 in the corresponding year ago quarter.CATV ARPU in Phase II areas increased to Rs 90 from Rs 80 in Q2-16. ARPU from phase III areas was Rs 30.

Placement revenue as per IND AS in the current quarter declined 23 percent to Rs 65.4 crore from Rs 84.8 crore in Q2-16.
Activation revenue as per IND AS increased 37 percent y-o-y in Q2-17 to Rs 20.2 crore from Rs 14.7 crore in Q2-16.
Other revenue as per IND AS declined 5 percent in Q2-17 to Rs 4.8 crore from Rs 5.1 in Q2-16.

Hathway’s Standalone Total Expenditure in Q2-17 increased 19 percent to Rs 340.49 crore (99.6 percent of TIO) from Rs 286.19 crore (105.9 percent of TIO) in the previous year.

Standalone Pay channel cost in the current quarter increased 22.3 percent to Rs 104.31 crore (32.2 percent of TIO) from Rs 85.56 crore (31.3 percent of TIO) in FY-15. Standalone Employee Benefit expense in Q2-17 increased 46.9 percent y-o-y to Rs 23.53 crore from Rs 16.02 crore.

Note: The unit of currency in this report is the Indian rupee - Rs (also conventionally represented by INR). The Indian numbering system or the Vedic numbering system has been used to denote money values. The basic conversion to the international norm would be:

(a) 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10,000,000 = 10 million = 1 crore.

(b) 10,000 lakh = 100 crore = 1 arab = 1 billion.