| MUMBAI:
ETC Networks Ltd. has seen a sharp fall in its broadcasting revenues while the
education line of business is limping along. The
company's turnover also has seen a slump, falling to Rs 671.44 million in FY'09
from Rs 778.17 million a year ago. In
the broadcasting business, the revenue is dragged down due to competition from
music channels, the threat to traditional revenue models, and a slowdown in the
economy. The
graph below indicates the revenue story from the two verticals.
As
can be clearly seen, revenue from broadcasting is significantly down (to the tune
of more than Rs 100 million). The education business has performed comparatively
better but is still not on a strong wicket. Revenue for the year ended March 31,
2009 has actually witnessed a marginal rise on the education front. Broadcasting
revenue this year has fallen rather steeply through the quarters. From a Q1 broadcasting
revenue of Rs. 129.15 million, the year ended with Q4 revenue of Rs 67.2 million.
The EBITA also saw a steady decline in the last two quarters ending at Rs 16.6
million in Q4, after having risen to a high of Rs 45.4 million in Q2.
The
education sector too faced losses to the tune of Rs 15.4 million during the entire
year. The third and fourth quarters saw losses of Rs 13.7 million and Rs. 14.3
million respectively. The performance in terms of revenue, though, was better
as compared to the last year. The year ended with total revenues amounting to
Rs 252.36 million.
Indiantelevision.com
contacted ETC business head Anurag Bedi to find out the reason behind the sharp
drop in broadcasting revenue, but he refused to comment on the current scenario.
For
the FY'10 fiscal, it seems unlikely that the situation will change much for ETC
Networks. | 
