Sun TV rallies over 12% post Q4 results; Brokerages upbeat

Sun TV Network advanced over 12 per cent on Monday morning as its March quarter results gathered steam.

The broadcaster on Friday reported a 22.82 per cent increase in net profit at Rs 289.76 crore for January-March. It had reported a net profit of Rs 235.91 crore during the same quarter last year.

Total income from operations during the quarter under review stood at Rs 753.79 crore, up 21.60 per cent. This compares with Rs 619.85 crore a year ago, it said in a BSE filing.

The stock was 12.76 per cent up at Rs 975 at around 11.11 am. The scrip opened at Rs 900.10 and touched a high and low of Rs 976.90 and Rs 900.10, respectively, so far. Benchmark Sensex pushed up 67 points, or 0.19 per cent, at 35,602.

Brokerage firm Nomura upgraded the stock to ‘Buy’ and also raised the target price to Rs 1,105.

Edelweiss said, “Sun TV Network’s Q4FY18 revenue and EBITDA surpassed our estimates due to higher-than-expected ad and subscription growth. We estimate double-digit ad revenue spurt to sustain over FY19 and FY20.” The brokerage has maintained ‘Buy’ rating on Sun TV with a target price of Rs 1,064.

Motilal Oswal expects strong momentum in ad revenue for Sun TV led by a healthy ad outlook, a steady shift to the commission model in Tamil Nadu market and a consistent healthy viewership share.

Twenty out of 25 brokerages rate the stock ‘Buy’ or higher with median price target of Rs 1,138.50, according to Reuters.