MUMBAI: Wire and Wireless (India) Ltd has reported an operating profit for the fifth straight quarter as its carriage revenue stays strong and costs have been cut to optimise resources.
The multi-system operator‘s first-quarter consolidated operating profit rose to Rs 42.8 million, from Rs 1.9 million a year ago.
WWIL‘s net loss, however, widened to Rs 420 million compared to Rs 233.9 million in the year-ago period. This was mainly because it wrote off security deposit receivable of Rs 231.5 million (pertaining to Headend-In-The Sky).
Consolidated operating revenue for the three months ended June 2011 stood at Rs 798.3 million, up 15 per cent from Rs 692.5 million in the earlier year.
Carriage contributed to around 60-65 per cent of the first-quarter revenue, according to a source.
The company plans to expand into new geographies and focus on digitisation.
Said WWIL chairman Subhash Chandra, “With the company showing consistently improved operational performance quarter-on-quarter, and with all its infrastructure and systems in place, WWIL is set to benefit immensely with the onset of digitisation.”
Operating expenses in the quarter stood at Rs 761.7 million, down 9.1 per cent from Rs 698 million a year ago.
Said WWIL chief executive officer Sudhir Agarwal, “Majority of our analogue business units are now operationally self-sustainable, resulting in operational profits. We will continue to work towards making the existing business self-sustainable as well as expand our footprint to new strategically important geographies."
The company expanded its business and ground presence by starting operations in newer areas. It also undertook strategic cost reduction initiatives to enhance efficiencies and optimise resources.
"As the market gets ready for the next wave of growth, we shall expand our network wider and deeper and capitalise on our investments in infrastructure, systems, processes and people. The outlook for the industry remains positive and the year ahead promises to be an exciting one for WWIL," said Agarwal.
On standalone basis, WWIL‘s net loss for the quarter stood at Rs 385.95 million (against Rs 204.65 million in Q1 FY‘11). Revenue increased to Rs 547.49 million (from Rs 497.50 million), while expenses were at Rs 557.58 million compared to Rs 569.13 million in the earlier year.
