Airtel Digital TV added 3.91 lakh net subscribers in Q4

Bharti Airtel’s direct to home (DTH) arm Airtel Digital TV added 391,000 net subscribers in the exit quarter of FY19 registering 45.7% QoQ and 69.7% YoY growth.

The DTH operator had added 222,000 net subscribers in Q3 FY19 while in the corresponding quarter of the previous the net additions stood at 230,000.

The average revenue per user (ARPU) was up 0.6% QoQ to Rs 233. On a YoY basis, the ARPU saw a 2.2% growth from Rs 228. The monthly churn was under control at 0.8% in Q4 compared to 1.3% in Q3 and 1.1% in Q4 FY18.

As a result, the DTH operator’s total net subscriber base has closed at 15.39 million which is 2.6% higher compared. Compared to Q4 FY18, the subscriber base increased by 8.6% from 14.16 million.

EBITDA was at Rs 392.6 crore as compared to Rs 382.6 crore in Q3 and Rs 370.1 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. The reported EBITDA margin was at 37.4% in the current quarter, as compared to 37% in Q3 and 38.6% in the corresponding quarter last year.

EBIT for the quarter was at Rs 185.3 crore in the current quarter, as compared to Rs 156.8 crore and Rs 153.8 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.

Revenue from digital TV services increased by Rs 92.1 crore to Rs 1050.6 crore as compared to Rs 1033 crore in Q3 and Rs 958.5 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.

During the current quarter, the company incurred a capital expenditure of Rs 191.7 crore compared to Rs 326.8 crore in Q3 and Rs 206.4 crore in the previous fiscal. The resultant operating free cash flow during the quarter was at Rs 200.9 crore as compared to Rs 55.8 crore in Q3 and Rs 163.7 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.

For the full fiscal, EBITDA was up 11% at Rs 1572.2 crore compared to Rs 1422.6 crore in the previous fiscal. The EBITDA margin was at 38.3% compared to 37.9%. EBIT jumped 40% to Rs 741 crore from Rs 530.6 crore. Revenue expanded 9% to Rs 4100 crore from Rs 3757 crore.

Capex deployment was down 14% at Rs 879.1 crore compared to Rs 1027.7 crore a year ago. Operating cash flow increased 76% to Rs 693.1 crore from Rs 394.9 crore.

Currently, Airtel Digital TV offers a total of 635 channels including 80 HD channels, 5 international channels, and 3 interactive services.