(31 August 2010 10:50 pm)

MUMBAI: Wire and Wireless (India) Ltd is targeting a revenue of Rs 3.4 billion and expects to be Ebitda positive for the full-fiscal, a source close to the company said.

Fuelling this over 20 growth will be the MSO's entry into new markets, a projected rise in carriage revenue and growth in subscription income.

WWIL is setting up a joint venture company, Siti Vision, with a group of people who have strong ground control to revive its presence in Hyderabad. "WWIL will hold 51 per cent stake. The content has been tied up with the broadcasters and the cable TV service will launch in September. The JV will also expand operations into other parts of Andhra Pradesh," the source said.

The company has also firmed up plans to invest Rs 200 million towards acquisition this fiscal and is conducting due diligence on five cable networks. "The investment on acquisition could climb if good opportunities throw up," the source added.

Carriage income is expected to make up 57 per cent of WWIL's total revenue in FY'11. The MSO has a presence in 54 cities across the country and is eyeing acquisitions in the Tam markets (which influence TV ratings and fetch high carriage fees).

WWIL has eight digital head-ends and is planning to add more during the fiscal. It has stopped its Headend-In-The-Sky (HITS) operations after taking a loss of Rs 1 billion. Zee Group chairman Subhash Chandra told shareholders at the AGM that launching HITS was a mistake as the regulatory system was not in place and "it was a launch ahead of its time."

WWIL has reduced its debt from around Rs 3.50 billion in FY'10 to Rs 3 billion.

For the three months ended June, WWIL posted an operating consolidated revenue of Rs 692.46 million, up from Rs 630.06 million in the year-ago period, and turned Ebitda positive with the operating profit standing at Rs 74 million from a Rs 10 million loss in the first quarter of FY'10.