Q1: TV Today’s news biz sees small dip in rev & 3.8% fall in operating profit

Q1: TV Today’s news biz sees small dip in rev & 3.8% fall in operating profit

 TV Today

MUMBAI: TV Today, which runs a clutch of news channels including flagship Aaj Tak and Headlines Today, has seen a marginal dip in its fiscal-first quarter revenue from the television broadcasting segment while operating profit has slipped 3.84 per cent over the year-ago period.

Revenue from the television broadcasting segment fell marginally to Rs 684.35 million for the three months ended 30 June 2012, from Rs 690 million a year earlier.

The television broadcasting’s profit before tax and interest dropped to Rs 42.54 million compared to Rs 44.24 million a year ago.

TV Today runs a four-channel bouquet comprising English news channel Headlines Today, Hindi news channels Aaj Tak and Tez, and regional channel Delhi Aaj Tak.

The company's overall net loss for the first quarter ended 30 June has widened 24.36 per cent to Rs 3.5 million from Rs 2.82 million a year ago.

Income from operations during the quarter remained flat at Rs 705.74 million, from Rs 703.53 million a year ago. Its total income stood at Rs 706.43 million compared to Rs 703.94 million.

Expenses during the quarter remained under control at Rs 711.34 million, a marginal decrease from Rs 713.34 million.

TV Today's FM radio broadcasting segment posted revenue of Rs 22 million, up from Rs 13.90 million a year ago.

The radio broadcasting business reported a loss before tax and interest of Rs 45.44 million from Rs 47.71 million a year earlier.

TV Today said it has made a strategic investment of Rs 455.2 million in Mail Today Newspapers for entering into print media.

While conceding that Mail Today was incurring losses and is in early stages of operations, the company said it was confident of future profitability of the newspaper business.