ALTBalaji direct subscriptions up 42% YoY at 4.7 million in FY2021

Balaji Telefilms has reported decline in revenues for its TV, Movies and ALTBalaji OTT business for the full year ended March 31, 2021. The TV business saw revenues of Rs 274 crore, as against Rs 421 crore in FY2020. Gross margin in the TV business reduced on account of lower realisations (volume and rate down as broadcasters contend with COVID-19), increased costs due to COVID-19 protocols.

With the overall movie business hit hard due to the global pandemic, Balaji’s movie business, too, saw a steep decline in its FY2021 revenues at Rs 43 crore, compared to Rs 172 crore. It may be noted here, that FY2020 had the super successful movie ‘Dream Girl’, resulting in higher revenues and profitability.

ALTBalaji’s revenue for FY2021 was reported at Rs 61 crore, a decline from Rs 78 crore reported in FY2020. ALTBalaji revenues do not include Rs 16.3 crore of deferred revenue on account of IND-AS. There was increased marketing spend for ALTBalaji during the year on the back of increased show releases.

Meanwhile, ALTBalaji continues to drive the OTT habit for mass India creating consistent hits. The company sold 4.7 million subscriptions during the year and currently has an active subscriber base of over 2.3 million. The company continues to drive deeper audience engagement by creating memorable content that is targeted at mass India. The platform has over 83 shows and offers unmatched content diversity.

TV business has returned to more normal levels as daily show production hours picks up. During the quarter the company produced 223 hours of content. Seven shows were on air during the quarter across prime time slots. Four new additional shows have been signed and are expected to commence shortly.

Movie business resumed production and the company made good progress with film shooting. The company continues to wait for availability for theatrical launch windows and looking at deals across direct to digital as well. Tightly control investments in movies and continue to pursue pre sales and co-production deals where feasible.

Shobha Kapoor, Managing Director, Balaji Telefilms Ltd, commented, “ALTBalaji continues to drive subscription growth and we added 4.7 million subscriptions during the year, the highest since our launch 4 years ago. We have also done strategic content sharing deals with two large OTT players to drive creative synergies. We will continue to see strong subscriber additions with over 40 shows greenlit. After the initial setback in the first half of FY2021 our TV business has shown good recovery in terms of production hours and we hope to maintain this momentum. In the movie business, production for some of the exciting projects are at various stages of completion we are closely monitoring the availability for theatrical releases as well and direct to digital launches. Overall, the business has performed well in very challenging conditions and I am confident we will build from the base created.”

Operational and Financial Highlights:

ALTBalaji total subscriptions sold for the year at 4.7 million vs 3.4 million in FY20, direct subscription revenues at Rs 54 crore vis-a-vis Rs 37 crore
Current active subscriber base at 2.3 million and 83 shows live on the platform
TV business returned to normal in Q4 with 223 hours of production across 8 shows and strong pipeline for the year
Total hours for the year at 584 hours vs 823 hours in FY2020 though realisation rates remain low given broadcast uncertainties
2 movies sold to digital platforms in the year as theatres remain closed - Current pipeline include 5 exciting projects
Overall financial performance for the year impacted by COVID-19 impact on TV and Movie business
Group revenues at Rs 293.7cr of which ALTBalaji contributed Rs 61cr
Group EBITDA loss at Rs 104cr and Loss after tax at Rs 118.9cr
The Board has considered and approved a dividend of 10% (Rs 0.20 per share) subject to shareholder approval
Very strong focus on maintaining liquidity and balance sheet strength through the year with current cash and cash equivalent balance at Rs 144 crore