Cable TV
Q3-2015: Den Network reports 18 per cent y-o-y growth in cable subscription revenue
BENGALURU: Den Networks Ltd’s (Den Networks) cable business subscription revenues net off LCO share grew 18 per cent, up 11 per cent y-o-y to Rs 116 crore in the current quarter from Rs 97 crore in Q3-2014 and its cable business operation margin was maintained at 19 per cent q-o-q.
Den added 1,97,000 set top boxes (STB) in Q3-2015, taking the total STBs deployed to approximately 68 lakh. The company said that its current digital subscriber base in phase 1 and 2 is approximately 50 lakh. Digital subscribers are expected to increase significantly with acceleration in non-DAS market informs the company.
Note: 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10 million = 1 crore
Den Networks TIO at Rs 269.82 crore in Q3-2015 fell two per cent from Rs 274.26 in Q3-2014 and fell 7.9 per cent from Rs 291.72 crore in the preceding quarter. However, TIO in 9M-2015 at Rs 859.34 crore was 5.5 per cent more than the Rs 814.83 crore in HY-2014.
Den Networks recently launched its high speed broadband service, which is gaining great traction having achieved an average ARPU of Rs 740 per month in Q2-2015. This quarter, Den says that ARPU has improved to Rs 748 per month.
The company also says that its joint venture (JV) with Snapdeal.com has been received extremely well. Within the first month, Den Network claimed in Q2-2015 that the company has clocked an annualised Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) in excess of Rs 50 crore based on the annualised latest daily run rate and was expected to scale significantly as the channel gets distributed across networks. For Q3-2015, the company says that the market place based model now reaches 1.9 crore homes clocking Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) of Rs 100 crore.
Let us look at the other numbers reported by Den Networks:
Total expense (TE) in Q3-2015 at Rs 316.75 crore (117.8 per cent of TIO) was 32.7 per cent more than the Rs 238.63 crore (87 per cent of TIO) in Q3-2014 and was 6.4 per cent more than the Rs 297.81 crore (102.1 per cent of TIO) in Q2-2015. In 9M-2015, TE at Rs 899.48 crore (104.7 per cent of TIO) was 29.8 per cent more than the Rs 692.75 crore (85 per cent of TIO) in 9M-2014.
The company’s content cost in Q3-2015 at Rs 1100.96 crore (40.9 per cent of TIO) was 15.5 per cent more than the Rs 95.33 crore (34.8 per cent of TIO) in Q3-2014 and was 1.1 per cent more than the Rs 108.91 crore (37.3 per cent of TIO) in the immediate trailing quarter. For 9M-2015, content cost at Rs 325.39 crore (37.9 per cent of TIO) was 20.1 per cent more than the Rs 270.88 crore (33.2 per cent of TIO) in 9M-2014.
Den’s placement fee in Q3-2015 at Rs 8.86 crore was 76.1 per cent more than the Rs 5.03 crore in Q3-2014 and 57.4 per cent more than the Rs 5.63 crore in Q2-2015. 9M-2015 placement fee at Rs 19.81 crore was 19.1 per cent more than the Rs 16.64 crore in 9M-2014.
Den’s other expense in Q3-2015 increased 68.6 per cent to Rs 123.32 crore (45.9 per cent of TIO) from Rs 73.15 crore (26.7 per cent of TIO) in the corresponding year ago quarter and was 45.9 per cent more than the Rs 78.61 crore (26.9 per cent of TIO) in the preceding quarter. For 9M-2014, other expense at Rs 272.40 crore (31.7 per cent of TIO) was 27.6 per cent more than the Rs 213.51 crore (26.2 per cent of TIO) in 9M-2014.
Den’s EBIDTA (without considering other income) in Q3-2015 fell to just Rs 0.28 crore as compared to the EBIDTA of Rs 72.26 crore (26.3 per cent of TIO) in Q3-2014 and the Q2-2015 EBIDTA of Rs 40.94 crore (14 per cent of TIO). EBIDTA for 9M-2015 fell by 2.33 times to Rs 98.38 crore (11.4 per cent of IO) from Rs 228.98 crore in 9M-2014.
Other Income for the periods under consideration is as follows: Q3-2015 – Rs 23.94 crore; Q2-2015 – Rs 22.47 crore; Q3-2014 – Rs 22.98 crore; 9M-2015 Rs 64.96 crore; 9M-2014 – Rs 34.42 crore.
The company reported a loss of Rs 62.60 crore in Q3-2015 as against a profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 16.08 crore. The loss in the current quarter was more than thrice the loss of Rs 20.45 crore reported for Q2-2015. The company reported loss of Rs 81.93 crore in 9M-2015 as compared to a PAT of Rs 28.35 crore in 9M-2014.
MUMBAI: When margins wobble, liquidity talks and in Q3 FY25-26, cash did most of the talking. Den Networks Limited closed the December quarter with consolidated revenue of Rs.251 crore, marginally higher than the previous quarter but down 4 per cent year-on-year, even as profitability stayed resilient on the back of strong cash reserves and disciplined cost control.
Subscription income softened to Rs.98 crore, slipping 3 per cent sequentially and 14 per cent from last year, while placement and marketing income offered some cheer, rising 15 per cent quarter-on-quarter to Rs.148 crore. Total costs climbed faster than revenue, up 7 per cent QoQ to Rs.238 crore, driven largely by higher content costs and operating expenses. As a result, EBITDA dropped sharply to Rs.13 crore from Rs.19 crore in Q2 and Rs.28 crore a year ago, pulling margins down to 5 per cent.
Yet, the bottom line refused to blink. Profit after tax stood at Rs.40 crore, up 15 per cent sequentially and only marginally lower than last year’s Rs.42 crore. A healthy Rs.57 crore in other income helped cushion operating pressure, keeping profit before tax at Rs.48 crore, broadly stable quarter-on-quarter despite the tougher cost environment.
The real headline-grabber, however, sits on the balance sheet. The company remains debt-free, with cash and cash equivalents swelling to Rs.3,279 crore as of December 31, 2025. Net worth rose to Rs.3,748 crore, while online collections accounted for 97 per cent of total receipts, underscoring strong cash discipline across operations, including subsidiaries.
In short, while Q3 showed signs of operating strain, the financial backbone remains solid. With zero gross debt, steady profits and a formidable cash war chest, the company enters the next quarter with flexibility firmly on its side proving that in uncertain markets, balance sheet strength can be the best growth strategy.
