Cable TV
Siti Q2-17 numbers up on higher restated subscription revenues
BENGALURU: The Subhash Chandra led Siti Networks Limited (Siti) formerly known as Siti Cable Network Limited, reported 23.6 percent and 2.9 percent year-over-year (y-o-y) growth in operating revenue and EBIDTA including other income for the quarter ended 30 September 2106 (Q2-17, current quarter). The growth in revenue was led by a 33.3 percent y-o-y growth in restated subscription revenue on net billing basis of Rs 135.3 crore (46.8 percent of Total Income from Operations or TIO) as compared to Rs 101.5 crore (43.4 percent of TIO) reported for the corresponding year ago quarter.
However, reported subscription revenue as per published financials in the current quarter increased by just 0.9 percent y-o-y to Rs 139.7 crore (48.3 percent of TIO) from Rs 138.5 crore (59.2 percent of TIO) in the corresponding year ago quarter.
Siti reported TIO of Rs 288.98 crore in Q2-17 or a 23.6 percent y-o-y improvement from the Rs 233.87 crore in Q2-16. EBIDTA including other income for the current quarter was Rs 49.71 crore (17.2 percent margin), for Q2-16 it was Rs 48.30 crore (20.7 percent margin).
Loss in the current quarter was higher at Rs 46.89 crore as compared to a loss of Rs 31.43 crore in Q2-16, but lower than the loss of Rs 53.62 crore in the immediate trailing quarter (Q1-17).
Activation, Carriage and Broadband numbers
Activation fees in the current quarter more than doubled (200.5 percent) y-o-y to Rs 38.3 crore (13.3 percent of TIO) from Rs 19.1 crore (8.2 percent of TIO) in the corresponding year ago quarter. Carriage revenue increased 25.5 percent y-o-y to Rs 75.7 crore (26.2 percent of TIO) in Q2-17 as compared to Rs 60.3 crore (25.8 percent of TIO) in Q2-16.
Broadband revenue increased 167.7 percent y-o-y to Rs 24.9 crore (8.6 percent of TIO) in the current quarter from Rs 9.3 crore (4 percent of TIO) in Q2-16.
The company’s cable TV customer base was stable at 1.22 crore in the current quarter as compared to the immediate trailing quarter. The company had 1.07 crore cable customers in Q2-16. The company says that is now present in 400 plus locations in India serving a total digital subscriber base of 87 lakh customers. For the last quarter the company had reported a digital subscriber base of 84 lakh and 59 lakh for Q2-16.
Siti has added about 28,000 broadband subscribers in Q2-17 taking its subscriber base to 195,000 from 167,000 subscribers in Q1-17. It had a broadband subscriber base of 91,450 in Q2-16.
Let us look at the other numbers reported by Siti
Finance costs in the current quarter reduced to Rs 28 crore (9.7 percent of TIO) from Rs 34.76 crore (14.9 percent of TIO) in the corresponding year ago quarter. Total Expenditure increased 29.3 percent y-o-y to Rs 298.81 crore (103.4 percent of TIO) from Rs 231.04 crore (98.8 percent of TIO) in the corresponding year ago quarter. Employee Benefit Expense increased 21.2 percent y-o-y to Rs 20.7 crore (7.2 percent of TIO) in the current quarter from Rs 17.08 crore (7.3 percent of TIO) in Q2-16. Carriage sharing, pay channel and related costs in Q2-17 increased 15.6 percent y-o-y to Rs 143.41 crore from (49.6 percent of TIO) Rs 124.01 crore (53 percent of TIO) in Q2-16.
Company speak
Siti executive director & CEO, V D Wadhwa said, “We continue to grow our digital subscriber base steadily with incremental improvements in monetisation seen in certain phases. This could have been significantly better but for the delay in digitization because of pending court cases, which continues to impact monetization in the phase 3 areas. Although the majority of the stay orders have been vacated by the Honourable Delhi High Court, the closure of the balance pending cases will lead to complete switch off of analogue signals, improve monetization and significantly spur the growth of the industry.
The expected implementation of the new Draft Tariff Order will be a game changer and is more beneficial for the distribution platforms post execution. However, the success of the same will lie in its effective implementation.”
Note: The unit of currency in this report is the Indian rupee – Rs (also conventionally represented by INR). The Indian numbering system or the Vedic numbering system has been used to denote money values. The basic conversion to the international norm would be:
(a) 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10,000,000 = 10 million = 1 crore.
(b) 10,000 lakh = 100 crore = 1 arab = 1 billion.
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.
