Digital TV revs fall but H1 2019 sees Kudelski Group staunch losses
Details
Joseph O'Halloran
| 21 August 2019

The first half of 2019 has seen media content protection and value-added service technology provider The Kudelski Group face a number of headwinds, most notably in the digital TV sector.

For the first half of 2019, the owner of the NAGRA solution line generated $400.6 million in total revenues and other operating income, representing a 6.0% constant constancy decrease from the previous first half. Compared with the first half of 2018, the company reduced its first half operating expenses by $54.8 million with net loss for the period was $20.4 million, of which $13.7 million of restructuring costs. Disregarding restructuring costs, OIBDA was $10 million higher than at the same period of 2018 at $29.2 million.

Digital TV revenues for the half year reached $190.5 million, representing a constant currency decline of 12.0%. The company revealed in the results that that its legacy digital TV market continued to contract, as a number of established pay-TV operators posted lower subscriber numbers. Moreover the Group did not book any IP licensing revenues in the first half 2019. However, the digital TV business line did generate $53.6 million of OIBDA net of restructuring costs, representing a $1.6 million improvement from the previous first half.

During the half year, and in a move that it says was in line with the rapid evolution of the digital TV market, the results posting showed that Kudelski continued the transformation of its digital TV division with a number of structural changes, merging its conditional access solutions and user experience product units into a consolidated DTV product unit in an aim to deliver a more consistent and complete offer to the market. This would have a focus on the Cloud and IP connectivity, while realising operational synergies.

For the second half 2019, Kudelski expects digital TV segment revenues to be higher compared with the first half. The group advised that it would likely incur further restructuring costs, resulting in a reported OIBDA that is in the same range as the first half.