Cable TV
Q2-2105: Siti Cable reports higher income, higher subscription revenue, lower loss
BENGALURU: Essel group’s Subhash Chandra led Siti Cable Network Limited (Siti Cable) reported a 4.9 per cent rise in Total Income from Operations (TIO) to Rs 212.25 crore in Q2-2015 from Rs 209.02 crore in Q1-2015 and 47.5 per cent more than the Rs 160.31 crore in Q2-2014. For HY-2015, TIO was 42.4 per cent more at Rs 428.27 crore than the Rs 300.76 crore in HY-2014.
Siti Cable reported a 102.3 per cent y-o-y growth in subscription revenue to Rs 121.4 crore from Rs 60 crore and a 14.9 per cent q-o-q growth from Rs 105.7 crore in Q1-2015.
Loss for Q2-2015 reduced to Rs 22.87 crore from Rs 31.67 crore in Q1-2015 and from 26.46 crore in Q2-2014. HY-2015 loss was also slightly lower at Rs 54.54 crore as compared to the Rs 55.23 crore in HY-2014.
Note: 100,00,000 = 100 lakhs = 10 million = 1 crore
EBIDTA for Q2-2015 improved 26.2 per cent to Rs 45.8 crore (20.9 per cent of TIO) from Rs 36.3 crore (17.4 per cent of TIO) in Q1-2015 and also improved by 38.8 per cent from Rs 33 crore (20.6 per cent of TIO) in Q2-2014.
Let us look at the other numbers reported by Siti Cable for Q2-2015
Total expenditure (TE) for Q2-2015 at Rs 208.89 crore (95.3 per cent of TIO) was 2.5 per cent more than the Rs 203.76 crore (97.5 per cent of TIO) and 33.2 per cent more than the Rs 165.25 crore (100.04 per cent of TIO) in Q2-2014. HY-2015 TE at Rs 412.64 crore (96.4 per cent of TIO) was 40 per cent more than the Rs 294.77 crore (98 per cent of TIO) in HY-2014.
Siti Cable’s carriage sharing pay channel and related costs (pay channel cost) in Q2-2015 at Rs 117.23 crore (53.5 per cent of TIO) was 6.6 per cent lower than the Rs 125.55 crore (60.1 per cent of TIO) in Q1-2015 and 81.6 per cent more than the Rs 64.56 crore (40.3 per cent of TIO) in Q2-2014. For HY-2015, pay channel cost at Rs 242.77 crore (56.7 per cent of TIO) was almost double (1.91 times) the Rs 127.26 crore (42.3 per cent of TIO) in HY-2014.
Finance cost in Q2-2015 at Rs 29.58 crore (13.5 per cent of TIO) was 2.6 per cent lower than the Rs 30.37 crore (14.5 per cent of TIO) in Q1-2015 and 3.1 per cent lower than the Rs 30.52 crore (19 per cent of TIO) in Q2-2014. For HY-2015, finance cost at Rs 59.95 crore (14 per cent of TIO) was 5.8 per cent more than the Rs 56.66 crore (18.8 per cent of TIO) in HY-2014.
Other expense in Q2-2015 at Rs 47.77 crore (21.8 per cent of TIO) was 21.8 per cent more than the Rs 38.05 crore (18.2 per cent of TIO) and 14.6 per cent lower than the Rs 55.93 crore (34.9 per cent of TIO) in Q2-2014. Other expense for HY-2015 at Rs 85.83 crore (20 per cent of TIO) was 10.4 per cent lower than the Rs 95.84 crore (31.9 per cent of TIO) in HY-2014.
Siti Cable chairman Subhash Chandra said, “Growth in the collection of subscription revenue is the reflective of our continued emphasis on providing quality services to our consumers. We remain focused on supporting business growth by optimising our operations and continue to deepen our engagements with customers by introducing value added services.”
Siti Cable executive chairman and CEO V D Wadhwa said, “Siti Cable maintained its growth trajectory in the second quarter too. We continue to focus on stabilising operations in DAS phase I and II markets and established industry best practices. The results for the quarter are reflective of these efforts. The subscriber revenue during the quarter has shown robust growth of 102 per cent”.
Wadhwa added, “We have been working to digitize our phase 3 and 4 markets and we will keep the momentum ‘ON’ through voluntary digitization and focusing more on the monetization of existing business. We see extension in deadline as the opportunity for us to enter newer markets. In addition, we have rolled out broadband service on DOCIS 3.0 in Delhi/NCR and plan to further offer this service in more cities where we are already present. HD services with 30 plus channels have also been rolled out in all geographies.”
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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.
