Direct-to-home arm Dish TV India on Friday reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 86.41 crore for the third quarter ended in December 2020. The company had reported a net loss of Rs 66.77 crore in the October-December quarter a year ago, Dish TV said in a BSE filing.

Its revenue from the operation was down 6 percent to Rs 815.67 crore during the quarter under review as against Rs 867.80 crore of the corresponding quarter. Commenting on the results Dish TV India Group Chief Executive Officer Anil Dua said: The effect of the pandemic is carrying on. While some uptick was expected during the festival period, it was offset by a muted consumer sentiment. Our focus on the cost front and on driving operational efficiencies however continued unabated thus leading to higher operating margins and better net profitability.

Its subscription revenue was Rs 744.9 crore, down 6.67 percent as against Rs 798.2 crore of the third quarter in financial year 2019-20. Revenue from Additional marketing, promotional fee and bandwidth charges’ was down 19.96 percent to Rs 42.9 crore as against Rs 53.6 crore.

While its advertisement income was Rs 9.6 crore in the third quarter of the financial year 2020-21. Dish TV total expenses were at Rs 723.94 crore as against Rs 846.35 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal, down 14.46 percent.

Meanwhile, in a separate filing, Dish TV informed its board in a meeting held on Friday approved the divestment of the entire equity investment in Dish TV Lanka (Private) Ltd, a subsidiary of the company. ”The transaction shall be completed post fulfillment of the conditions of the Share Sale Agreement and requisite regulatory approvals. Subject to applicable laws and necessary adjustments, the consideration shall be approx 25 million Sri Lankan rupees,” it said.

Revenue from Dish TV Lanka is Rs 4.91 crore, constituting 0.14 percent of the total revenue of the company. Without disclosing any further details, the company said the agreement is yet to be executed.

Over the consideration from the sale, Dish TV said: ”The consideration shall be approx 25 million Sri Lankan rupees.” Shares of DishTV India on Thursday settled at Rs 12.23 apiece on the BSE, down 0.08 percent from the previous close.