Direct-to-home operator Dish TV India today posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 86.96 crore for the September quarter, driven by robust growth in subscriber base and higher average revenue.
The company posted a consolidated net loss of Rs 14.19 crore in the July-September quarter of last fiscal, the Essel Group firm said in a statement.
Dish TV's total income on consolidated basis was up 15.77 per cent to Rs 752.42 crore during the quarter under review as against Rs 649.90 crore in the previous year, the company said in a regulatory filing.
The company added 3.38 lakh net subscribers in the second quarter of the current fiscal and its average revenue per user (ARPU) increased to Rs 171 during the period under review as against Rs 166 in the second quarter of last fiscal.
"Due to increase of service tax from from 12.36 per cent to 14 per cent from June, we have a first full quarter of impact that lopped our 1.64 per cent of our topline. Our ARPU could have grown to Rs 174 from Rs 173 in the first quarter of FY15, but because of this impact, it has actually come down by Rs 171. This was one of the factor impacting on the quarter," Dish TV CEO R C Venkatesh told PTI.
According to Venkatesh, its sub-brand Zing is also doing well and has accounted for 23 per cent of the new subscribers during the quarter.
"Zing is doing well and its a brand well positioned to take advantage of phase III and IV markets," he said.
Dish TV's consolidated net profit for the first half of 2015-16 was Rs 141.17 crore. It had posted a consolidated loss of Rs 29.16 crore in the same period a year ago.
Its total income on consolidated basis during the first half of the current fiscal was at Rs 1,489.10 crore, up 17.44 per cent, from Rs 1,267.94 crore a year ago.
Dish TV Managing Director Jawahar Goel said: "We enhanced operational efficiencies in the business and are pleased with an all-time high EBITDA margin of 33.9 per cent recorded during the quarter. We were positive at the net level as well and had a free cash flow of Rs. 849 million".
Dish TV has a total subscriber base of 13.7 million at the end of the quarter.
Shares of Dish TV today settled at Rs 107.55, down 1.65 per cent on BSE.
