Dish TV finds its mention when we count the top ranks of the DTH players in the country. However, Dish TV is also sadly bearers of one of the most brutal financial beating due to the pandemic. It is one among the lot which has suffered due to the reduced disposable income of the people. With jobs being lost, the migration of people from one part of the country to another, and the economy taking a massive dip, people have resorted to holding their cash stacks closer to heart, and supposedly this has hit the finances of Dish TV dipping its fourth-quarter results.
Dish TV Reducing Debt and Liabilities
The consolidated subscription revenue of Dish TV for the last quarter as per the audited report hangs at Rs 685.2 crore, which was previously Rs 776.6 crore in the quarter before that. Net loss for the DTH provider was Rs 1415.3 crore which was Rs 1456.2 crore in the same quarter last year. Dish TV also suffered a blow in subscription revenue from Rs 3192.8 crore in FY '20 to Rs 2987.4 crore in FY’21. As for EBITDA for the full year fell to Rs 2017 crore as against Rs 2106 crore in FY’20.
The company has been largely successful in roping its bleeding finances thanks to a tightly held bottom line and controlling its capital expenditure. Dish TV relied mostly on the capex for internal cash flows, which also meant that the new subscriber addition suffered. The Dish TV new connection additions were lukewarm and were not able to add more subscribers in the quarter being spoken about. This, combined with a high churn rate, added to the deteriorating condition of Dish TV's finances.
Watcho App Success
The silver lining in this report happens to be the reduction of debt and the reduction of expenditure for Dish TV. Jawahar Goel, CMD of Dish TV, remarked that the pandemic accelerated the need for innovation for DTH companies which is something Dish TV has done well in terms of the Watcho app, using AI for customer grievances, among many other things. He also said that the investors should look forward to these pointers as Dish TV focuses on reducing debt and liabilities.
Anil Dua, CEO of Dish TV India Group, also touted the accomplishment of the Watcho app going from 1 million sign-ins to 25 million sign-ins in a year. He also hinted at some well-charted territory ahead for Dish TV on the back of a rights issue amounting to Rs 1,000 crore.
