TV18 Broadcast slips after Q4 PAT drops 13% YoY to Rs 144 cr

Shares of the media house declined 3.39% to Rs 51.25 after the company reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 143.61 crore in Q4 FY22 as against a net profit of Rs 165.88 crore Q4 FY21, recording a de-growth of 13.4% year-on-year (YoY).

Revenue from operations in the fourth quarter stood at Rs 1,496.22 crore, up 11% from Rs 1,347.94 crore reported in the same period last year. Profit before tax declined 8.7% to Rs 247.30 crore in Q4 March 2022 over Q4 March 2021.

The company reported consolidated operating EBITDA stood at Rs 254 crore in Q4 March 2022, falling 9% from Rs 279 crore posted during the same period last year. Operating EBITDA margin stood at 17% in Q4 FY22 as against 20.7% in Q4 FY21.

News revenue grew 10% YoY while the margin was at 21.4%. Entertainment business revenue grew 11% YoY and margin was at 16%

On full year baisis, the company reported a 28.3% increase in net profit to Rs 584.50 crore on a 22.9% rise in net sales to Rs 5,526.18 crore in FY22 over FY21.

TV18 Broadcast recorded a strong show in News and Entertainment segments. The company reported its highest-ever EBITDA of Rs 1,039 crore while operating margins stood at 18.8% in FY22.

The FY22 revenues grew 14% YoY led by growth in advertising revenues across all 3 segments Business, Regional and National News. Operating margins improved by 470 bps to 20.7%, as it continued its cost controls limited growth in expenses to only 8% YoY, helping the business realise operating leverage. The margin expansion was helped by continued improving performance of regional news business.

News business EBITDA and margins have increased continuously for the last 4 years, with EBITDA growing more than 7x and margins becoming 5x.

Entertainment business delivered an annual EBITDA of Rs 777 crore while maintaining its margins of 18.2%. 26% increase in FY22 revenues was driven by the strong growth in advertising and movie business revenues. Advertising growth on a YoY basis was helped by a lower base but even compared to FY20, the business delivered a strong growth. Subscription revenue remained flat during the year and movies revenue returned to a semblance of normalcy in the second half.

Entertainment Business delivered more than 18% margins despite the costs going up significantly, as investments in content across markets were scaled up.

On Wednesday, 27 April 2022, Viacom18 announced a partnership with Reliance and Bodhi Tree Systems (a platform of James Murdoch’s Lupa Systems and Uday Shankar).

As part of this partnership, Rs 15,145 crore will be infused by Bodhi Tree Systems (Rs 13,500 crore) and Reliance (Rs. 1,645 crore through Reliance Projects & Property Management Services, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance). In addition, the JioCinema OTT app (currently owned by RPPMSL) will be transferred to Viacom18. This partnership between Reliance, Paramount Global and Bodhi Tree Systems, will enable Viacom18 to transform into one of the largest TV and digital streaming companies in India.

Speaking on the quarterly results, Adil Zainulbhai, the chairman of TV18 Broadcast, said, FY22 was a remarkable year, not only from the perspective of financial performance, but in terms of building a strong foundation on which the business can continue to grow for the foreseeable future. Media presents a long-term growth opportunity enabled by improving infrastructure, rising disposable incomes and increasing content quality. We have set ourselves an ambitious target to become a leading player in the digital space while strengthening our core TV offering. We will continue to solidify our ‘Digital First, TV Always’ proposition, leveraging our existing strengths to grow in segments where we are present and breaking ground in new markets with new and innovative offerings. The strategic partnership we have struck for Viacom18 is a big step in this direction which will help set the Company on a long-term growth trajectory and create one of India’s leading content company.

TV18 Broadcast, a subsidiary of Network18 manages its primary business of broadcasting. TV18 runs the largest news network in India, spanning business news, general news and regional news channels. Business Standard