ALTBalaji Q1 FY21 revenues up at Rs 14.9 cr; to invest Rs 15 cr in B D Inno Ventures

Balaji Telefilms has reported total revenue of Rs 35.1 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, 2020. Its OTT platform, ALTBalaji has reported total revenues of Rs 14.9 crore in Q1 FY21, as against Rs 12.3 crore in Q1 FY20. ALTBalaji continues to dominate the mass OTT market with direct subscription revenue growing ~90 per cent year-on-year in Q1 FY21, with direct revenue at Rs 12.9 crore, compared to Rs 6.7 crore in Q1 FY20. The OTT player also continues to be a leader in the original Hindi SVOD space, with 64 shows today.

Movie business had a good quarter as it completed the sale of digital rights of ‘Dolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamakte Sitare’ and ‘Pagglait’ to Netflix. It is currently exploring more such direct-to-digital sales for its movie portfolio.

Balaji Telefilms TV content production remained closed until June 26 following necessary health and safety precautions. Production operations have resumed and currently 6 shows are on air.

Commenting on the performance, Shobha Kapoor, Managing Director, Balaji Telefilms, said, “The quarter has been particularly challenging as all content production activity came to a stop. However, our digital businesses have performed well and we are well positioned to grow that business. We remain confident that our TV business will return to more normal levels of content production as our teams have adapted to shooting under the new rules following all health and safety requirements, we now have 6 shows on air and a couple more in the pipeline. We have initiated several cost optimisation programs during the quarter and should continue to see the benefits of these programs as content production volumes return.”

Operational Highlights:

ALTBalaji’s dominates the Mass OTT market – creating hit shows for OTT with 64 shows currently available on the platform. Current year pipeline to include 20 to 24 original shows
Direct subscription revenue grown ~90% year on year – Rs 12.9 cr vs Rs 6.7 cr in Q1 FY20
Balaji Telefilms TV production commenced in the last week of the quarter after following necessary health and safety precautions. 6 shows currently under production
Sale of 2 movies to digital platforms completed. ‘Dolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamakte Sitare’ and ‘Pagglait’ will premiere on Netflix. Evaluating options for the others

Financial Performance Highlights:

Total revenues for the quarter at Rs 35.1 cr. Q1FY21 impacted by lockdown and closure of all content production activity, revenues primarily from ALTBalaji and sale of digital rights in the movies business
ALTBalaji Q1 FY21 total revenue at Rs 14.9 cr Vs Rs 12.3 cr in Q1 FY20
Proactive cost control measures implemented and EBITDA loss curtailed at Rs 26.3 cr Vs 33.2 cr in Q1 FY20
Net loss at Rs 27.9 cr Vs Rs 42.2 cr in Q1 FY20
Remain well funded and with adequate cash balance - Investment in Bank FD and Mutual Funds worth Rs 174 cr. Short term working capital in movies of Rs 67 cr. Total balance at Rs 241 cr

Meanwhile, the Board of Directors of ALT Digital Media Entertainment (ALT Balaji), a material subsidiary of the company, has given in principle approval for the investment in B D Inno Ventures, subject to regulatory and other approvals as required by the company. Pursuant to this investment, ALT Digital proposes to invest Rs 15 crore in B D Inno Ventures (which provides an online platform for procuring personalised recorded videos from celebrities through its digital offering ‘Tring’) for a 17.5 per cent stake in the form of equity, or equity-linked securities such as compulsory convertible preference shares of B D Inno Ventures.