The Hindu Business Line : Dish TV losses widen; Q4 sales double

New Delhi, June 19 Direct-to-Home service provider Dish TV’s losses have widened by 14.85 per cent to Rs 115 crore during the last quarter of the financial year 2007-08.

Net sales of the company more than doubled during the quarter to Rs 136 crore, on the back of aggressive marketing.

Dish TV claims to have added 2,85,000 new subscribers during the quarter. “In the last few months huge investments have been made into brand building activities on two fronts – a stronger affinity with the mother brand Zee and through our tie-up with our brand ambassador Shah Rukh Khan who has taken our brand promise to market very effectively,” Mr Subhash Chandra, Chairman of the parent company Essel Group, said in a statement.

The company spent nearly Rs 97 crore on advertising, which is almost 23 per cent of net revenues earned during the period. Goods and services cost it Rs 353 crore. For the financial year 2007-08, net losses amounted to Rs 414 crore, almost equal to its net sales of Rs 412 crore. Although net losses had widened by nearly 64 per cent, net sales had, on a year-on-year basis, grown by more than 150 per cent.

Dish TV has filed a draft letter of offer for a rights issue to its existing shareholders to raise Rs 1,200 crore.

“This quarter we have further enhanced our English movie-on-demand library by tying up with Sony pictures,” said Mr Jawahar Goel, Managing Director, Dish TV.