Dish TV turns debt-free but Q1 operating revenue down 18%
Manoj Dobhal to assume charge as Chief Executive Officer, replacing Anil Dua
Dish TV India’s operating revenue for the first quarter ended June 30, 2023, has declined by 17.7 % to Rs 500.2 crore from Rs 608.6 crore in the corresponding quarter last fiscal.
Subscription revenue of Dish TV also dropped by 27 % to Rs 397.4 crore in Q1 FY24 from Rs 545.3 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.
Dish TV India’s Q1 EBITDA stood at Rs. 212.7 crore, down from Rs 323.8 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. However, profit after tax for the quarter was Rs. 20.5 crore, up 15.1% Y-o-Y basis.
The company also said that it has become a zero-debt organisation after paying off the last tranche of its outstanding debt of Rs 725 million during the first quarter of the current fiscal.
Anil Dua, the outgoing CEO, Dish TV India Limited, said, “The merger of d2h into Dish TV India Limited back in March 2018 had opened up several strategic opportunities for us; but it had also swelled up our debt by more than three times. The combined net debt had to be brought down without letting go of customer acquisitions and market share.
“However, in the absence of fresh credit availability due to reasons beyond our control, we had to restrict capital expenditure to be able to stay on course to pay down debt, which eventually did cost us our market share. Today, we are glad to have achieved the net zero debt status despite all the ups and downs that we have witnessed over the years. We have been already accelerating our new subscriber additions and I am sure that the debt-free status and the resultant stronger balance sheet would open new avenues for the Company going forward.”
Manoj Dobhal will be assuming charge as Chief Executive Officer of Dish with effect from August 23, replacing Anil Dua.
Dish TV India’s gross additions in subscribers during the first quarter were 36% higher than the corresponding quarter last fiscal, but during July the company witnessed no subscription period.
“Unlike the retail-happy first two months of the quarter, July was full of heavy monsoon downpours leading to periods of no-subscription and resultant overall negative net additions, the company said in its statement,” it said in the statement.
The company's expenditure was up by nearly 1% this Q1 to Rs 287.5 crore from Rs 284.8 crore in the same quarter last fiscal. The cost of goods and services was down 1.1 % to Rs 151.8 crore in Q1 FY24 from Rs 153.6 crore in Q1 FY23.
Dish TV India’s OTT business, which started with Watcho ‘Exclusives,’ has been seeing steady progress and hit 80 million users by July 2023.
In September 2022, Dish TV India expanded its OTT services portfolio by launching Watcho ‘Super App’ , its OTT aggregation and distribution service.
“Bidding adieu, I am content knowing the fact that Dish TV India Limited is on the right track to firmly establish itself as a platform of choice amongst video viewers who prefer diverse and abundant content at the right price.
“Compared to a few quarters earlier, the Company is now on a stable wicket both financially and from a product offering perspective. With an able and experienced leadership team at the helm, I am confident that Dish TV India Limited would continue to delight its customers while striving to create shareholder value,” Dua said.
