Coming off a strong growth performance in FY 2010, the Indian economy is expected to continue to expand at a healthy albeit slower rate of 8.2% during FY 11. The fiscal year gone by has marked the rapid recovery of the Indian Economy from the Fiscal crisis of 2008/2009.

In the process of this recovery however some significant headwinds in the form of inflation have reared its head, however the commendable actions of the Reserve Bank of India in being well ahead of the curve in fighting inflation means that in all likelihood inflation will moderate in the second half of 2011, further providing stimulus to growth.

For the DTH industry, FY 2010-11 marked a watershed year where the growing acceptance of DTH as the means of choice for the delivery of TV programming resulted in all time record additions of 13.5 Million subscribers to the DTH fold, a phenomenal growth of over 60% over the prior year.

In a fiercely competitive six player market your Company continued to lead in overall market share as well as lead in market share for the additions on a month on month basis, holding overall market share at 31% and maintaining its incremental share at 27%.

During the year Dish TV added a record of 3.5 Million subscribers which is almost double of what it added in the prior fiscal, and in the process became the World’s fourth largest DTH platform.

Along with the growth in subscribers, your Company continued to show excellent progress on all the key metrics. Total revenue increased from Rs. 1153 Crores in FY 2009-10 to Rs. 1524 Crores in FY 2010-11, a growth of 32 %.

EBITDA increased from Rs. 100 Crores to Rs. 253 Crores, a growth of 153%. EBITDA margins improved from 9% to 17%.

ARPU improved from Rs. 139 to Rs. 142 and throughout the year your Company was able to further improve ARPU from Rs 139/- per subscriber in Q 1 to Rs 150 in Q 4, 2011.
Your Company continues to pioneer new initiatives in the DTH market in India so as to provide its customers the best viewing experience money can buy.

In December 2010 your Company signed an agreement to enhance capacity through ISRO for an additional 216 Mhz on AsiaSat 5 paving the launch in February for India’s largest High definition offering providing 35 channels in High Definition for the Indian market.

The HD launch is expected to be a game changer for the Company, providing unmatched viewing experience for the customers as well as higher realizations and ARPU for the Company.

Your Company continues to invest in marketing and brand building. Dish TV was ranked 9th amongst the brands most visible during the ICC World Cup 2011. Taking its association with cricket further Dish TV was proud to be associated as a sponsor of the Kolkata Knight riders, which is owned by Dish TV’s brand ambassador, Shahrukh Khan.

During the year, we continued to strengthen our reach into the deepest interiors of the Indian market and at the same time bolstered our standing amongst the High profile key accounts in the major metro cities.
Dish TV has a network of over 60,000 retail outlets where our products are available and has a very strong presence in Key electronics retailers. During the World Cup, Dish TV executed a very successful partnership with Samsung LCD televisions.

During the year the Government has also outlined the digital policy with a sunset date within 3 years from now. We believe this will give added momentum to the DTH industry which has rapidly emerged as the medium of choice for the Indian consumer. Your Company continues to be the trendsetter in this industry as we strive to bring the latest innovations and the best value offerings to all our consumers in our quest to deliver the best in class returns to all our stakeholders.