Bharti Airtel adds 151,000 TV customers in 3Q 2014

NEW DELHI, India — Bharti Airtel Limited (“Bharti Airtel” or “the Company”) today announced its audited consolidated IFRS results for the Second quarter ended September 30, 2014.

Digital TV Services

As on September 30, 2014, the Company had its Digital TV operations in 639 districts with 9.5 Mn customers, an increase of 11.3% as compared to corresponding quarter last year. Net customer additions for Digital TV during the quarter were 151 K. As a result of higher HD penetration and upselling of packs, ARPU increased by Rs 22 to Rs 220 as compared to Rs 198 in the corresponding quarter last year.

Revenues from Digital TV services increased by 23.5% to Rs 6,263 Mn as compared to Rs 5,072 Mn in the corresponding quarter last year. EBITDA for the quarter increased to Rs 1,529 Mn as compared to Rs 646 Mn in the corresponding quarter last year. EBITDA margin improved significantly to 24.4% in the current quarter, as compared to a margin of 12.7% in the corresponding quarter last year.

During the current quarter, the Company incurred a capital expenditure of Rs 2,255 Mn. Cash burn during the quarter at Rs 726 Mn has increased, compared to Rs 396 Mn in the corresponding quarter last year, primarily on account of seasonal build-up of boxes.

Key Company Developments

• Airtel DTH & Samsung TV Tie up: Exclusive launch with Samsung for IDTV: India‟s first integrated TV with inbuilt; HD STB. Customer can put an Airtel CAM card in the TV and enjoy Airtel digital; TV services. No separate STB required.
• Airtel DTH introduced multiple HD channel packs (2/5/11/19) for HD STB, providing greater flexibility to consumers.
• Airtel DTH added 24 channels (22 SD, 2 HD), with increased focus on regional markets with launch of 15 regional channels. Total HD channel count is 22.

Customer Base (000’s)

                                           Q-o-Q             Q-o-Q
                      Sep 2014  Jun 2014  Growth  Sep 2013  Growth
                      --------  --------  ------  --------  ------
Digital TV Services      9,540     9,388    1.6%     8,572   11.3%

Operational Performance – India – Digital TV

                                       Sep 30,  Jun 30,  Mar 31,  Dec 31,  Sep 30,
Parameter                        Unit     2014     2014     2014     2013     2013
-------------------------------  ----  -------  -------  -------  -------  -------
Customers                        000s    9,540    9,388    9,012    8,807    8,572
Net additions                    000s      151      376      205      235      120
Average Revenue Per User (ARPU)    Rs      220      214      203      207      198
Average Revenue Per User (ARPU)    US      3.6      3.6      3.3      3.3      3.2 
Monthly Churn                       %     1.1%     0.6%     0.9%     0.8%     1.0%