Siti Networks' FY21 consolidated rev declines 4.4% to Rs 1536.9 crore

Multi system operator (MSO) Siti Networks' consolidated revenue from operations for the fiscal ended 31st March 2021 has declined 4.4% to Rs 1536.9 crore from Rs 1608.3 crore in the previous fiscal. The company's net loss for the full fiscal jumped 12.7% to Rs 241.4 crore from Rs 214.1 crore.

The company's expenses saw flat growth of 1.6% at Rs 1769.9 crore compared to Rs 1799.8 crore. Pay channel, carriage sharing, and related costs saw a minor increase to Rs 860.6 crore from Rs 854 crore.

For the fourth quarter ended 31st March, the company's revenue from operations fell 15.8% at Rs 380.5 crore as against Rs 452 crore in the same quarter of the previous fiscal. Subscription revenue stood at Rs. 251.4 crore. Net loss widened 35.6% to Rs 103.9 crore from Rs 76.6 crore.

Total expenses declined by almost 6% to Rs 471.2 crore from Rs 501.1 crore. Pay channel, carriage sharing, and related costs jumped to Rs 213.2 crore compared to Rs 206.6 crore.

Siti's Q4 FY21 Operating EBITDA stands at Rs. 40.3 crore on the back of building up operating efficiencies and strict control over costs. The company's Operating EBITDA Margin for Q4 FY21 moved to 10.4% through control of various cost elements.

Siti Broadband's net base increased 26% y-o-y to 2 lakh, while its Revenue surged 20% y-o-y to Rs. 101.8 crore at the end of the fiscal.

The fourth quarter also saw the launch of Siti Playtop Magic, the next-generation Android TV Set-Top Box (STB) and Mobile App. The Siti PlayTop Magic, Android TV certified 4K HDR Set-Top Box, can make any TV smart by enabling customers to use all Android TV features along with their Siti Digital Cable TV using a single remote on their existing TV.

Siti has also finalised an industry-first Infrastructure sharing tie-up with Hinduja Group's Headend in the Sky (HITS) platform NXTDigital. Siti will leverage the HITS infrastructure to deliver its signals to its Local Cable Operators (LCOs), thus providing its services to semi-urban and rural subscribers while expanding its footprint across the country through satellite.

While commenting on the results, Siti Networks CEO Anil Malhotra mentioned, "Siti has been continuously working on strengthening our focus on operational efficiencies and strict control over expenses. Our focus has ensured our Operating EBITDA moving to Rs. 40.3 crore and Operating EBITDA margins at 10.4% in Q4 FY21. Siti Broadband's base increased 26% y-o-y to 2 lakhs, while its Revenue surged 20% y-o-y at the end of FY21.

"We have finalized our tie-up with NXT Digital to leverage the HITS infrastructure to deliver our signals to our Local Cable Operator partners while expanding our footprint across the country through satellite. We also launched our Siti Playtop Magic Android TV certified 4K HDR Set-Top Box and app. The next-generation set-top box can make any TV smart."

Meanwhile, the company has announced that Sanjay Berry has resigned as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) effective from close of business hours on June 30, 2021. If further stated that Berry has resigned due to certain personal contingencies.

The company's board has approved the appointment of Gulshan Khandelwal as CFO, effective from July 1, 2021.