Dish TV Q3 net loss reduces to Rs 2.8 cr on strong EBITDA

Moneycontrol Bureau

Dish TV managed to lower its net loss at Rs 2.8 crore in the third quarter from Rs 38 crore in the year-ago period, supported by strong operational performance.

Net sales of the direct to home (DTH) television operator grew 16.5 percent to Rs 711 crore in the quarter ended December 2014 against Rs 610 crore in same quarter last fiscal, which was in line.

The loss was expected at Rs 5 crore and revenues at Rs 695 crore for the quarter, according to the average of estimates of analysts polled by CNBC-TV18.

Operational performance improved during the quarter due to lower set top box cost and stable content cost. Operating profit jumped 43 percent on yearly basis to Rs 189 crore and margin expanded by 500 basis points to 26.6 percent in October-December quarter. Analysts had expected Rs 176 crore and 25.3 percent as EBITDA and EBIDTA margin for the quarter, respectively.

Subscription revenue rose 17.5 percent year-on-year to Rs 655.4 crore on higher subscribers and ARPU additions. Even lower competitive intensity during the festive season was positive for the company.

Net subscribers' addition in Q3FY15 was 4.16 lakh, which was higher than expectation of 3.5 lakh subscribers.

At 14:47 hours IST, the stock was quoting at Rs 73.30, up Rs 2.15, or 3.02 percent on the Bombay Stock Exchange.