Airtel Digital TV adds 530,000 subscribers in 4Q 2015

NEW DELHI, India — Bharti Airtel Limited (“Bharti Airtel” or “the Company”) today announced its audited consolidated IFRS results for the third quarter ended December 31, 2015.

Digital TV Services

As on December 31, 2015, the Company had its Digital TV operations in 639 districts. DTH had 11.1 Mn customers at the end of the quarter, which represents an increase of 13.2% as compared to the corresponding quarter last year. Net customer additions for Digital TV during the quarter were 530K, the highest in last 18 quarters. As a result of higher HD penetration and upselling of packs, ARPU increased to Rs 229 as compared to Rs 214 in the corresponding quarter last year.

Customer Base (000’s)

                                           Q-o-Q             Y-o-Y
                      Dec 2015  Sep 2015  Growth  Dec 2014  Growth
                      --------  --------  ------  --------  ------
Digital TV Services     11,106    10,576    5.0%     9,810   13.2%

Operational Performance – India – Digital TV

                                       Dec 31,  Sep 30,  Jun 30,  Mar 31,  Dec 31,  Sep 30,
Parameter                        Unit     2015     2015     2015     2015     2014     2014
-------------------------------  ----  -------  -------  -------  -------  -------  -------
Customers                        000s   11,106   10,576   10,412   10,073    9,810    9,540
Net additions                    000s      530      164      339      263      270      151
Average Revenue Per User (ARPU)    Rs      229      224      222      214      214      220
Average Revenue Per User (ARPU)    US      3.5      3.5      3.5      3.4      3.5      3.6

Monthly Churn                       %     0.7%     1.3%     0.8%     1.0%     1.0%     1.1%

More: Quarterly Results

Airtel Digital TV Q2’ FY16 operating profits at INR2.34 billion

Airtel Digital TV, Bharti Airtel’s direct-to-home service branch, has reported operating profit of INR2.34 billion for the second quarter ended September, 2015.

Revenue for the Q2 FY’ 2016 was at INR7.07 billion while the monthly churn was 1.3%. The company reported average revenue per user at INR224 and added around 164,000 net subscribers.

Parent company Bharti Airtel, meanwhile, reported a drop of 2% in the second quarter of current fiscal compared to the last quarter. “Airtel’s revenue growth in India has accelerated to 13.3% in Q2 on an underlying basis, the highest in the last 12 quarters. Our smaller businesses – home broadband, DTH and our business segment all continue to perform strongly. Mobile data revenues has grown by 60%,” said Gopal Vittal, MD and CEO, India & South Asia, according to Business Standard.

Airtel Digital TV adds 164,000 subscribers in 3Q 2015

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, 2015.

Digital TV Services

As on September 30, 2015, the Company had its Digital TV operations in 639 districts. DTH had 10.6 Mn customers at the end of the quarter, which represents an increase of 10.9% as compared to the corresponding quarter last year. Net customer additions for Digital TV during the quarter were 164K.

Customer Base (000’s)

                                           Q-o-Q             Y-o-Y
                      Sep 2015  Jun 2015  Growth  Sep 2014  Growth
                      --------  --------  ------  --------  ------
Digital TV Services     10,576    10,412      2%     9,540     11%

Operational Performance – India – Digital TV

                                       Sep 30,  Jun 30,  Mar 31,  Dec 31,  Sep 30,
Parameter                        Unit     2015     2015     2015     2014     2014
-------------------------------  ----  -------  -------  -------  -------  -------
Customers                        000s   10,576   10,412   10,073    9,810    9,540
Net additions                    000s      164      339      263      270      151
Average Revenue Per User (ARPU)    Rs      224      222      214      214      220
Average Revenue Per User (ARPU)    US      3.5      3.5      3.4      3.5      3.6

Monthly Churn                       %     1.3%     0.8%     1.0%     1.0%     1.1%

Airtel Digital TV unveils locally manufactured STBs

Airtel Digital TV has launched domestically manufactured set-top-box to expand its presence in the Indian television market.

The Bharti Enterprises’ Direct-to-Home wing has said that it is supporting the government Make in India initiative. The company added that it will reduce its dependency on imports.

The locally manufactured STBs will be available in high definition.Airtel’s STBs come with full HD support as well as MPEG-4 video with Dolby Digital Plus surround sound, unlimited recording and even Wi Fi connectivity, reports PTI.

“We are proud to partner with the government’s Make in India initiative and launch indigenous set—top—boxes made in the country. With this, we aim to reduce our imports and thus help drive employment and growth within the country,” Bharti Airtel CEO for DTH/Media, Shashi Arora said in a statement, according to Press Trust of India.

Hero Elotronix’s MyBox Tech as well as semi-conductor company, ST Microelectronics have contributed to the set-top box production. Hero Group promoters Munjal family recently bought a majority stake in set-top box maker Mybox Technologies Pvt. Ltd to expand its presence in the STB market.

“It is great that Airtel Digital TV is aligning itself with our Make in India vision as this will certainly pedal the fast gaining momentum of the initiative further. We wish the company the very best as they step ahead towards transforming the DTH industry,” Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore said, according to PTI.

The rollout of digital addressable system or DAS in Phase III and IV regions is expected to increase the demand for STBs. Airtel Digital TV, which is the DTH wing of Bharti, added 1.06 million new subscribers and has a total of 10.7 million subscribers. Media reports had earlier suggested that Bharti Enterprises is trying to expand its presence in the digital TV market by entering into the set-top box segment.

DTH players showcase strong performance in FY15

Direct-to-Home service providers are finally seeing an uptick in their revenues. The latest financial reports from Airtel Digital TV, Dish TV and Videocon d2h show that expanding subscriber base as well as a rise in average revenue per user could help these players grow during fiscal 2015.digitoisa

According to Dish TV, digitisation in India has given the company sufficient headroom to expand business in both urban are rural areas. The operator has added as many as 1.5 million net subscribers during the year. Dish TV’s net profit for the quarter was at INR350 million for the quarter that ended March, 31, 2015. Its ARPU was at INR172.

“All pack prices, for new as well as existing subscribers of Dish TV, have been moved by Rs 10 each in the 42 cities under phase I and II. We are confident that pack price hikes, higher HD uptake, as well as industry level developments such as initiation of packaging in cable will be key contributors to ARPU expansion going forward,” said Dish TV managing director Jawahar Goel, according to Indian Television.

Airtel Digital TV has announced that its revenue has increased by 19% year-on-year from INR20.7 billion in FY 2014 to INR24.7 billion in FY 2015. The company’s subscriber base stands at 10.07 million as on March 2015. Airtel’s ARPU was at INR214 in FY 2015 as compared to INR201 in FY 2014.

Another player in the DTH space, Videocon d2h, also narrowed net loss to INR2.73 billion during the financial year that ended 31 March, 2015. Last year, the net loss stood at INR3.2 billion. “We maintained our market leadership in subscriber growth and reported key financial metrics ahead of the guidance provided during the listing process. We believe, with our strong balance sheet and continued momentum, we are well-positioned for the future,” said Saurabh Dhoot, Executive Chairman of the company. Its average revenue per user was at INR196 for the fiscal.

Airtel Digital TV revenue increases by 15.8% in Q3 FY 2014

Airtel Digital TV has recorded a revenue of INR6.2 billion in the third quarter FY 2015, as compared to INR5.3 billion in the third quarter FY 2014, up by 15.8% year-on-year. Its EBITDA stood at INR1.7 billion in this quarter with a growth rate of 76% year-on-year.

Airtel Digital TV has added 270,000 subscribers during the third quarter. It has over 9.8 million subscribers as on December 31, 2014. Its average revenue per user stood at INR214. Digital TV services revenue accounts for 4% of Bharti Airtel’s total revenues.

During the quarter, Airtel Digital TV launched a self-care app and a Wi-Fi dongle for its HD customers, said the company in its financial statement. During the current quarter, the company incurred a capital expenditure of INR1.6 billion. “Operating free cash flow during the quarter at INR77 million has significantly improved, compared to cash burn of INR137 million in the corresponding quarter last year, an increase of 156%,” added the statement.

Airtel Digital TV offers 456 channels including 25 HD channels and three interactive services across 639 districts in India.

Airtel Digital TV adds 913,000 subscribers in 2013

Wednesday, January 29th, 2014 

NEW DELHI, India — Bharti Airtel Limited (“Bharti Airtel” or “the Company”) today announced its audited consolidated IFRS results for the quarter ended December 31, 2013.

As on December 31, 2013, the Company had 287.4 million customers consisting of 275.2 million Mobile, 3.4 million Telemedia and 8.8 million Digital TV customers.

Digital TV Services

As on December 31, 2013, the Company had its Digital TV operations in 639 districts with 8.8 million customers, an increase of 11.6% as compared to corresponding quarter last year. Net customer additions for Digital TV during the quarter increased to 235 K as compared to 120 K in the previous quarter, primarily driven by festivities during the quarter. ARPU increased by Rs 21, to an all-time high of Rs 207, as compared to Rs 186 in the corresponding quarter last year.

The multiplier impact of increased customer additions and higher realisations during the quarter, pushed up revenues from Digital TV services by 25.8% to Rs 5,384 million as compared to Rs 4,280 million in the corresponding quarter last year.

Key Company Developments – Digital TV

Airtel Digital TV launched LIVE Tweets on TV – a revolutionary convergence of tweeting and television viewing. The concept is an innovation in the DTH industry across the world that allows customers to experience Twitter on TV.

SD+ Recorder launch: “SD recorder box with unlimited recording using an external pen-drive” launched in Oct‟13. Airtel Digital TV is now the only DTH player in country to offer recording on all types of its boxes.

Operational Performance – India – Digital TV

                      Dec 31,  Sep 30,  Jun 30,  Mar 31,  Dec 31,
                Unit     2013     2013     2013     2013     2012
               -----  -------  -------  -------  -------  -------
Customers      000's    8,807    8,572    8,452    8,100    7,894
Net additions  000's      235      120      352      207      439
ARPU              Rs      207      198      197      184      186
ARPU             US$      3.3      3.2      3.5      3.4      3.4
Monthly Churn      %     0.8%     1.0%     0.6%     1.1%     1.3%

Digital TV Services – Our Direct-To-Home (DTH) platform offers both standard and high definition (HD) digital TV services with 3D capabilities and Dolby surround sound. We currently offer a total of 394 channels including 19 HD channels and 4 interactive services.