TV18 Broadcast turned corner in FY14, recording a consolidated annual net profit of Rs 103.6 crore, compared to a loss of Rs 25.5 crore the previous year. Consolidated annual revenues rose 15.8 percent to Rs 1968.1 crore and operating profit (EBITDA) nearly doubled to Rs 210.5 crore. The numbers included financial consolidation of ETV News (100 percent) and ETV Entertainment (50 percent) from January 22, 2014 till March 31, 2014.
On a consolidated basis, advertising revenues grew 11 percent year-on-year. Net Distribution Income (NDI) continued its steady climb to close at Rs 178 crore, up from Rs 15.7 crore in FY13. Operating profits from television operations doubled from Rs 114.2 crore to Rs 233.6 crore. General News delivered a 6.9 times-growth in annual operating profits and grew to Rs 22 crore.
Business News remained stable despite a downturn in the markets and the absence of the Union Budget, the company said in its earnings release. Infotainment broke into positive territory and the Entertainment television business registered a 2.9-time growth in operating profits (EBITDA) which stood at Rs 108.4 crore. Q4 performance: Quarterly reported revenues on a consolidated basis rose 18.7 percent year-on-year. Advertising revenues stood at Rs 357.8 crore.
The Entertainment and General News businesses witnessed encouraging advertising revenue growth. Net Distribution Income (NDI) continued its strong financial performance through the quarter. TV18 successfully launched MTV Indies and Rishtey in the entertainment segment and ETV Bangla, ETV Kannada and ETV Haryana in the regional news segment. On a consolidated basis, quarterly operating profits (EBITDA) doubled to Rs 69.7 crore, with television operations delivering a 2.4 times growth from Rs 31.6 crore to Rs 74.4 crore. The quarter saw a significant margin improvement in the news, infotainment and entertainment segments.
Announcing the results, Raghav Bahl, Managing Director, Network18 said: "We are enthused by the outstanding performance of TV18 for this financial year. All our businesses contributed positively to achieve our highest ever post-tax profits of Rs 103.6 crore, despite the continued uncertainty in the macro-economic environment. We are confident of sustaining our growth trajectory, as we continue to extract value from our existing operations as well as profitably grow our newer initiatives."
Commenting on the results for the quarter, B Saikumar, Group CEO, Network18 said: "We are extremely pleased that all our broadcast operations continued to deliver their margins despite softness in the advertising environment. IndiaCast has delivered a stellar swing in net distribution income. While our Business news operations remained stable, our General news operations, led by CNN IBN, have turned around this year, due to a strong focus on operational synergies, further aided by the elections. Infotainment operations at A+E Networks I TV18 broke into positive territory. Our broadcast entertainment business at Viacom18, led by Colors, profitably grew operations along with the successful launch of Rishtey and MTV Indies. We are focused on delivering a strong performance in the coming year, as we look forward to an improving media landscape."
(Disclaimer: Network18 Media & Investments owns IBNLive.com)
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