DEN reports strong operational performance in Q2FY18; EBITDA up 200%

DEN Networks Ltd has reported a 24 per cent growth in its Q2 FY18 consolidated revenues at Rs 328 crore, from Rs 264 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal. 

DEN has reported strong operational performance with consolidated Q2 FY18 EBITDA at Rs 82 crore, as against Rs 27 crore in Q2 FY17, at a growth of over 200 per cent. The consolidated EBITDA does not include Rs 13 crore of EBITDA pertaining to the entities which are not getting consolidated as per INDAS. On an overall business basis, the consolidated EBITDA is Rs 95 crore. 

Q2 FY18 has also been a strong quarter for DEN with a turnaround at profit after tax level. Consolidated PAT is Rs 1 crore, as against a loss of Rs 42 crore in Q2 FY17. 

Net debt of the company has come down to Rs 133 crore as of September 2017, from Rs 335 crore in September 2016. 

DEN has been able to accelerate its subscription collections, particularly in Phase 3 and 4 markets. Cable subscription revenues registered a growth of 24 per cent in Q2 FY2017-18, compared to the same quarter in the previous financial year. Total Cable Revenues during the quarter stood at Rs 308 crore vis-à-vis Rs 243 crore in the same quarter in the previous year, an increase of 27 per cent. Cable EBITDA for the quarter is reported at Rs 83 crore, from Rs 29 crore in Q2 FY17 owing to better subscription collections and rationalisation of costs. 

DEN seeded close to 2.5 lakh boxes during the quarter. 

The broadband business continues to perform well despite intense competition from large telecom players and DEN added 12K new subscribers during the quarter. As part of the company’s strategy to expand wired internet services in smaller towns, it has started the rollout of its networks in select 10 towns across four states. DEN expects the offtake to be visible from early FY2018-19, while the next phase of rollout in additional 10 towns is in pipeline. DEN has seen its average network consumption climb to almost 78 GB per month per subscriber. 

Meanwhile, DEN has partnered with BARC India for measuring TV viewership using Return Path Data (RPD). This will act as a data analytic tool to understand the subscriber viewing patterns, which will open up new revenue streams with respect to packaging opportunities and to drive advertising revenue on the company’s in-house channels. DEN has also implemented a host of technology initiatives, including gaming services, Wi-Fi USB dongle for its HD boxes, and OTT services which has close to 2.4 lakh customers currently. 

Commenting on the Q2 FY2018 performance, SN Sharma, CEO, DEN Networks, said, “DEN has been able to improve operational performance consistently every quarter with constant focus on increasing the subscription collections on the ground with a much controlled cost base. By tying up with BARC India, DEN has taken the initial steps to build world class analytics to understand and serves customers effectively. We are very confident of sustaining the current performance in future as well.”