Dish TV posts Rs 2,032 cr loss for Q4, revenue down 14.5%

Direct-to-home firm Dish TV India Ltd on Monday reported widening of its consolidated net loss to Rs 2,031.99 crore for the fourth quarter ended in March 2022 on account of exceptional items which include impairment charges.

The company had reported a net loss of Rs 1,415.23 crore in the January-March quarter a year ago, Dish TV said in a BSE filing.

Its revenue from operations was down 14.50 per cent to Rs 642.70 crore during the quarter under review as against Rs 751.75 crore of the corresponding quarter.

”EBITDA for the quarter was Rs 352.5 crore. Profit before exceptional items and tax was Rs 41.8 crore as against a loss of Rs 199.3 crore in the fourth quarter last fiscal,” it said.

Total expenses were at Rs 607.56 crore, down 36.35 per cent in Q4/FY 2021-22, as against Rs 954.57 crore in the corresponding quarter.

”Exceptional items for the quarter and fiscal ended March 2022 in consolidated financial results include Rs 203 crore as an impairment charge on intangible assets under development and related advances, Rs 1,616.9 crore and Rs 717.7 crore respectively as an impairment charge on the goodwill and intangible assets acquired from Videocon d2h Limited in 2017-18 and Rs 116.3 crore recognised as a foreign exchange fluctuation loss due to the ongoing economic crisis in Sri Lanka,” said Dish TV.

During the quarter Dish TV’s subscription revenues were at Rs 574.8 crore, down 16.1 per cent as against Rs 685.2 crore of Q4/FY 2020-21.

”Subscription revenues during the quarter were lower compared to the same quarter last year mainly due to volatile viewing habits, the emergence of the third wave of the pandemic, high inflation, and conservative spending. The resultant average revenues per user (ARPU) declined as well,” it said.

Its advertisement revenue was at Rs 14.8 crore, up 14.5 per cent as against Rs 12.9 crore.

The revenue from ‘Additional marketing, promotional fee and bandwidth charges’ was at Rs 39 crore as against Rs 36.2 crore.

Commenting on the results Dish TV India Group CEO & Executive Director Anil Dua said:”Pay-TV consumer sentiment has been oscillating between indulging on content to sometimes being frugal with it. Consumers have been choosier than ever, often moving between linear and streaming content, as a result renewing their subscriptions less regularly. Dish TV values customers’ changing tastes and preferences and is working towards adapting to and leveraging these emerging trends.” For the fiscal year ended March 2022, Dish TV’s net loss was at Rs 1,867.23 crore. It had reported a net loss of Rs 1,189.86 crore in the previous fiscal.

Its revenue from operations was at Rs 2,802.49 crore in 2021-22. This is 13.75 per cent lower than Rs 3,249.36 crore in the year-ago period.

Shares of DishTV India Ltd on Monday settled at Rs 13.40 on BSE, up 6.35 per cent from the previous close. PTI