TV18 Broadcast Q1 net at Rs 23 cr vs loss year ago, operating profit doubles

TV18 Broadcast posted a profit of Rs 23 crore for the quarter ended June 2019, against loss of Rs 7 crore during the same period last year.

Consolidated operating revenue during the quarter grew 10 percent year-on-year to Rs 1,198 crore, and operating profit almost doubled to Rs 77 crore from Rs 39 crore in the year ago period.

"Q1FY20 revenues grew 10 percent YoY amidst a weak advertising environment, led by election advertising and strong growth in subscription income post implementation of new tariff order (NTO). EBITDA jumped sharply on operating leverage accentuated by cost controls," the company said in its filing to the stock exchanges.

Subscription revenue increased significantly by 48 percent to Rs 424 crore in June quarter.

Viewership share for pay channels overall was impacted following implementation of NTO. However, TV18’s channels managed to maintain portfolio ranks even against free to air (FTA) peers. News viewership share was 10.1 percent, up from 9.3 percent post NTO implementation. News revenues grew 29 percent. Advertising revenues jumped YoY on election spends, but broad spending dried up in June.

Advertising revenues for Hindi News nearly doubled YoY during the quarter. Profitability of the news business rose sharply, with operating profit for the quarter at Rs 20 crore, compared to an operating loss during the same period last year. Losses in the regional channels have been reducing.

In the entertainment segment, revenue rose 5 percent to Rs 899 crore amidst weakness in overall ad-spends and a sharp reduction in ad-revenue of channels after they became pay. Operating profit rose 40 percent to Rs 57 crore, largely driven by subscription growth and cost controls. Adjusting for operating loss from recently launched channels and loss in VOOT subscription models, operating profit was up 66 percent YoY to Rs 68 crore.

Viacom18’s share of overall entertainment viewership fell to 9 percent. Overall, the aggregate entertainment share of top 4 broadcasters has fallen by around 9 percent to roughly 55 percent since the implementation of NTO implementation.

Sports events like IPL and World Cup had a roughly 4 percent impact on the share of general entertainment channels. In addition, ad revenue for entertainment channels was affected by shift from FTA to Pay.

The stock was quoting at Rs 23.20, down Rs 0.30, or 1.28 percent on the BSE at 1510 hours IST.

(Disclaimer: TV18 Broadcast is a part of Network 18, which also publishes Moneycontrol.)