Movies
Demonetisation, decline in govt ads impact UFO Q2 numbers
BENGALURU: Indian digital cinema distribution network and in-cinema advertising platform UFO Moviez Ltd (UFO) reported a 12.8 percent year-on-year (y-o-y) decline in consolidated operating revenue for the quarter ended 30 September 2017 (Q2 FY 2017-18) as compared with the corresponding year ago quarter. The company’s consolidated operating revenue was Rs 1,388.8 million for the quarter as against Rs 1,591.8 million for Q2 FY 2016-17. Advertisement revenue stood at Rs 372 million (Rs 517 million in Q2 FY 2016-17). Average advertisement minutes sold per show per screen stood at 3.52 minutes during Q2 FY 2017-18 (5.15 minutes in Q2 FY 2016-17).
The company’s consolidated net profit after tax declined by 47.8 percent y-o-y during the quarter under review to Rs 102 million from Rs 195.3 million. Consolidated operating profit excluding other income (EBIDTA) for Q2 FY 2017-18 fell by 31.8 percent y-o-y to Rs 374.7 million (26.1 percent margin) from Rs 549.7 million (34.5 percent margin).
“The last twelve months have been extremely challenging for the entire industry on account of one-off events such as demonetisation and implementation of GST, especially for the media sector, which was most severely impacted,” said UFO’s founder and managing director Sanjay Gaikwad. “Q2 FY 2017-18 was one of our toughest quarters. Advertisement revenue declined sharply on a high base of last year combined with slowdown in government advertisement spends. Nevertheless, we continue to remain extremely positive about the long-term growth prospects of the advertising business. We are hopeful that demand will pick up in a few months. The temporary slowdown has failed to deter us and we remain focused on achieving our long-term strategic goals by entering into a scheme of arrangement and amalgamation with Qube Cinema Technologies Pvt Ltd. We believe that this consolidation will further strengthen our position to capitalise on growth opportunities as the economy revives and gains steam.”
Total expenses in Q2 FY 2017-18 reduced by 2.7 percent y-o-y to Rs 1,014.1 million from Rs 1,042.1 million. Ad revenue share (expense) increased by 9.8 percent y-o-y to Rs 155.5 million from Rs 141.6 million. Visual print fees sharing expense decreased by 24.8 percent y-o-y to Rs 153.2 million from Rs 203.6 million. Other expenses increased by 0.9 percent y-o-y to Rs 212 million from Rs 201.2 million.
The company’s expense towards purchase of digital cinema equipment and lamps in the current quarter reduced by 1.8 percent y-o-y to Rs 159.5 million as compared with Rs 162.4 million. Employees’ benefits expense during the quarter under review dipped by 2.6 percent y-o-y to Rs 194.7 million from Rs 199.9 million. Other operating direct costs rose by 8.7 percent y-o-y during the quarter under review to Rs 140.4 million from Rs 129.2 million.
Hindi
India’s telecom subscribers cross 1.32 billion in February 2026
Broadband base swells past 1.06 billion as Jio and Airtel tighten grip on the market.
MUMBAI: India’s telecom sector is ringing in steady growth once again adding millions of new connections every month while the race for broadband supremacy continues to heat up like a fiercely contested cricket match. According to the latest data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on 1 April 2026, the total telephone subscriber base in the country reached 1,321.31 million at the end of February 2026. This marked a net addition of 7.31 million subscribers during the month, translating into a monthly growth rate of 0.56 per cent.
Wireless subscribers (including mobile and Fixed Wireless Access) stood at 1,273.31 million, registering a net addition of 6.97 million and a growth rate of 0.55 per cent. Within this, urban wireless connections grew to 730.75 million (growth 0.70 per cent), while rural wireless subscribers reached 542.56 million (growth 0.35 per cent).
Wireline subscribers, though much smaller in scale, showed slightly faster growth. The total wireline base increased to 47.99 million, with a net addition of 0.34 million and a monthly growth rate of 0.70 per cent. Urban areas continued to dominate wireline connections with a share of 89.41 per cent.
Overall tele-density in India improved to 92.66 per cent. Urban tele-density stood at 150.68 per cent, while rural tele-density edged up to 60.02 per cent.
The broadband subscriber base crossed a significant milestone, reaching 1,059.05 million at the end of February 2026. This reflected a healthy net addition of 6.33 million subscribers and a monthly growth rate of 0.60 per cent from January’s figure of 1,052.72 million.
Segment-wise, mobile wireless access continued to drive the majority of growth with 996.52 million subscribers. Fixed Wireless Access (including 5G FWA) added 16.51 million, while wired broadband stood at 46.02 million.
Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. maintained its commanding lead with 519.64 million broadband subscribers. Bharti Airtel Ltd. followed with 364.14 million, Vodafone Idea Ltd. with 129.36 million, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. with 28.70 million, and Atria Convergence Technologies Ltd. with 2.38 million.
Together, these top five players command a massive 98.60 per cent share of the total broadband market.
In the wireless (mobile) segment, private operators continued to dominate with 92.59 per cent market share, leaving public sector undertakings (BSNL and MTNL) with just 7.41 per cent.
Out of the total 1,257.29 million wireless (mobile) subscribers, 1,177.60 million were active on the peak Visitor Location Register (VLR) date, representing an impressive 93.66 per cent activity rate. Bharti Airtel led in this metric with 99.42 per cent of its subscribers active.
Meanwhile, 14.47 million subscribers submitted requests for Mobile Number Portability (MNP) in February, indicating healthy competition and customer churn across zones.
While urban areas still lead in absolute numbers, rural connectivity is slowly catching up. Rural wireless tele-density stood at 59.46 per cent, compared with the much higher urban figure of 142.32 per cent.
Fixed Wireless Access using 5G technology also showed promising traction, growing to 11.93 million subscribers. Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel are the primary players driving this segment.
The data paints a picture of a maturing yet still rapidly expanding telecom ecosystem. With total telephone subscribers now well past the 1.32 billion mark and broadband users comfortably above 1.06 billion, India continues to solidify its position as one of the world’s largest and most dynamic digital markets.
From bustling city streets to remote villages, more Indians are staying connected than ever before proving that when it comes to telecom, the country’s appetite for growth shows no signs of hanging up anytime soon.
