# Asian Television Network (SAT.V)



## riseofamillionaire (Feb 23, 2012)

This is one of my favorites. Used the pullback today to add to my position. My expectation is I will hold this for 3-5 years.

In my opinion, this relatively unknown, underappreciated company will continue to grow steadily over the long term and eventually gain appreciation from analysts. Investors that are in before the Bay Street love should be rewarded accordingly.

They currently have 34 premium specialty channels ranging from regional news in several languages, to Bollywood, to sports and rugby, and lifestyle genres. Early this year, they announced the creation of their new state of the art broadcast facility which will allow them the capacity to operate up to 100 channels. That’s 3 times the channels they currently have. It’s scheduled to be completed in June 2012. 

They maintain agreements with Rogers and Bell which allow them the platform to launch channels and have their channels available to a wide audience. Adding other Canadian carriers may be a future growth avenue.

Referring to their Q3 2011 Management Discussion and Analysis, they are confident that they can continue to grow the company through new channel launches as well as increasing the subscriber base of current channels. 

Advertising is their biggest revenue generator with ad revenue up over 70% in Q4 2011. More new channels mean more ad revenue opportunities and higher profits. As the economy recovers, ad revenues will benefit immensely.

For new channels they plan to roll out a steady HD strategy, as well as expanding regional news and regional lifestyle genres in many different languages.

They are in excellent financial condition. The company has no debt on the balance sheet, trading at about 11 times forward earnings by my estimates (most websites have the p/e very high because it's so unknown, they don't seem to update it. current p/e is 15), for a growth company that could grow 15-25%. It is a fair price given the nice run it already had and future potential. They also announced a permanent regular quarterly dividend which commenced on March 2012. Yield is about 2.8% at current levels.

It has no analyst coverage and is generally underappreciated and unknown on Bay Street – always a positive.

Their earnings accelerated considerably in Q3, Q4 2011 due to new channel launches at the beginning of 2011. I would expect them to continue steady channel launches over the long term with similar results.

Have a look at Canadian media company Corus Entertainment for the possibilities. They are a more mature company yet follow a very similar model to SAT and have a market capitalization of almost 2 billion dollars. SAT has a market capitalization of approx. 80 million dollars. 

Be sure to check out SEDAR and do your own research. Use limit orders, it's very thinly traded.


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## Axcell (Mar 25, 2011)

riseofamillionaire said:


> This is one of my favorites. Used the pullback today to add to my position. My expectation is I will hold this for 3-5 years.
> 
> In my opinion, this relatively unknown, underappreciated company will continue to grow steadily over the long term and eventually gain appreciation from analysts. Investors that are in before the Bay Street love should be rewarded accordingly.
> 
> ...


Too little volume for my liking... way too speculative. Market cap below $70M? Ugh.


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## PMREdmonton (Apr 6, 2009)

This one is interesting as a possible growth stock but the thing I worry about is how much of their offerings get watched by 2nd generation immigrants here. More to the point, I wonder how much of the television gets watched by people between the ages of say 12-44 where advertisers are generally more interested in paying a premium. 

I guess I wonder how much money they could get by selling subscriptions because I think they may need to tap into this revenue stream better to grow their top and bottom lines into the future. 

I guess that is part of the problem with not having any analyst coverage. No one is really in there digging deep to get a sense of what kind of future revenues and earnings they can project for the company.

I do like the fact they seem to trade at a reasonable valuation right now and that they have the financial strength to offer a dividend. I also actually tend to like stocks with les analyst coverage so long as their earnings potential is more obvious. Now given the company's plans for expansion it would seem as though the company believes in its own growth.

Does anyone know how much of the stock is held be insiders? A healthy amount of insider ownership is also usually a positive for a company like this. I don't mind too much about the lack of liquidity as I would be unlikely to buy a huge amount of shares in a single small cap as an individual investor.


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## riseofamillionaire (Feb 23, 2012)

PMREdmonton said:


> Does anyone know how much of the stock is held be insiders? A healthy amount of insider ownership is also usually a positive for a company like this. I don't mind too much about the lack of liquidity as I would be unlikely to buy a huge amount of shares in a single small cap as an individual investor.


It is certainly a growth type of play. I have spoken to the CFO - he's quite positive on the growth path, especially once they get over some cost constraints because of their new broadcast facility which was opened in June. I got more positive on the story when they made that announcement for the new facility - Why would they be increasing compacity for more channels if there was no demand? He also confirmed that Q3 of last year was a turing point for the company with new revenue streams and investments in channel launches paying off. 

Im not sure about the insider ownership.


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## riseofamillionaire (Feb 23, 2012)

Of note, Q1 2012 had a negative comparision to Q1 2011 because of the Cricket world cup reveue stream of 2011. With the new braodcast facility and the costs associated, I would expect the stock to consolidate for some time to come. Early next year, amid Q4 2012 earnings release, should be an important measuring stick if the company can keep momentum up from q3 qnd q4 of last year.


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## martinv (Apr 30, 2009)

Just checked and found the following which may have changed;
Shan Chandrasker,CEO owned 15,655,660 or 64.15% of the common shares as May 31, 2011.
Jaya Chandrasker owned 556,992.
This was from SEDAR.
Couldn't find Insider trades for the last 6 months.


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## riseofamillionaire (Feb 23, 2012)

martinv said:


> Just checked and found the following which may have changed;
> Shan Chandrasker,CEO owned 15,655,660 or 64.15% of the common shares as May 31, 2011.
> Jaya Chandrasker owned 556,992.
> This was from SEDAR.
> Couldn't find Insider trades for the last 6 months.


That seems like a high percentage. Anyone know if this is above average?? I don't follow insider ownership much.


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## martinv (Apr 30, 2009)

It is very high but not unheard of. It is similar in ClubLink (CLK) in which the CEO Mr.K.(Rai) Sahi owns 66% of the shares. I own shares of CLK .


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## riseofamillionaire (Feb 23, 2012)

martinv said:


> It is very high but not unheard of. It is similar in ClubLink (CLK) in which the CEO Mr.K.(Rai) Sahi owns 66% of the shares. I own shares of CLK .


Never knew Clublink was public. Very interesting, seems like my kind of stock after a quick look. Thanks


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## PMREdmonton (Apr 6, 2009)

That is an extremely high amount of insider ownership of a publically traded company. The fear is that the main owner can out-vote everyone else and use the company as his own personal piggy bank to the detriment of the minority owners. I wonder what kind of checks and balances there are for him at the board level to limit any possible malfeasance. This would make me very wary of investing in this company.

Generally I like insider ownership but more in the realm of 20-30% so that the other shareholders can control a rogue insider.

There is some protection legislatively but he could have done serious damage before it is noticed. The fact there are no analysts watching their moves makes this risk higher.


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## riseofamillionaire (Feb 23, 2012)

Depending on the CEOs intentions, the high amount of insider ownership could be very positive or very negative. I may phone the CFO again, although im sure he'll tell me what I want to hear. Im currently looking for their salaries - If they don't pay themselves lavish salaries, that goes a long way in the positives.


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## riseofamillionaire (Feb 23, 2012)

Here are the salaries, taken from SEDAR:
CEO Shan Chandrasekar - 2010 - $257 500.00
CFO Byrne Fulton - 2010 - $123 600.00
VP Programming Jaya Chandrasekar - 2010 - $208 575.00
VP, General Manager Prakash Naidoo - 2010 - $148 320.00

These seem very reasonable, another tick for the positives. Also, it is family owned which is another relatively positive fact. 

To me this company keeps looking better and better - from a Peter Lynch type of analysis/perspective.


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## sharbit (Apr 26, 2012)

riseofamillionaire said:


> Depending on the CEOs intentions, the high amount of insider ownership could be very positive or very negative. I may phone the CFO again, although im sure he'll tell me what I want to hear. Im currently looking for their salaries - If they don't pay themselves lavish salaries, that goes a long way in the positives.


A good example where majority ownership has worked out terribly is Canadian Tire where an attempt was made to buyout below market value (to the controlling family). This failed due to the dual share structure but it would go through with this company.

More usual examples of abuse are when the owner managers make loans to the company at above market rates. An example is Manhatten Bridge where the owner lent the company a few million at 8 to 10% interest rate.

I'm not saying that's the case here but it needs to be monitored closely.


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## PMREdmonton (Apr 6, 2009)

The salaries is not usually where shareholders get raked over the coals.

The problem is usually excessive stock-based options and lots of them sold at very low prices in the future. So instead of the profits being shared with the shareholders they are given to the executives behind everyone's backs. That would be the other thing I worry about.

Other things would be crazy pensions given to family members - this is what happens at Shaw.


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## riseofamillionaire (Feb 23, 2012)

Decent volume activity today on a flat day - positions being taken


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## BullAllTheWay (Feb 29, 2012)

riseofamillionaire said:


> Decent volume activity today on a flat day - positions being taken


Any idea when they will report?


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## riseofamillionaire (Feb 23, 2012)

BullAllTheWay said:


> Any idea when they will report?


no idea, their q1 results were released may25 on sedar, so possibly 3months after that would be my guess

got back to you on stocktwits as well Marc


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## BullAllTheWay (Feb 29, 2012)

riseofamillionaire said:


> no idea, their q1 results were released may25 on sedar, so possibly 3months after that would be my guess
> 
> got back to you on stocktwits as well Marc


Thanks. I had completely missed the May 25 release. BTW, ATN just added a new movie channel today. I expect more to come in the next few months.


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## riseofamillionaire (Feb 23, 2012)

BullAllTheWay said:


> Thanks. I had completely missed the May 25 release. BTW, ATN just added a new movie channel today. I expect more to come in the next few months.


The may 25th release doesn't look too good on the surface because they had extra revenue from the cricket world cup the year before - taking that out of account, it was a solid quarter.


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## BullAllTheWay (Feb 29, 2012)

riseofamillionaire said:


> The may 25th release doesn't look too good on the surface because they had extra revenue from the cricket world cup the year before - taking that out of account, it was a solid quarter.



*ATN brings Sri Lanka Premier League to Canada*

TORONTO , Aug. 10, 2012 /CNW/ - Asian Television Network International Limited (ATN) (TSX-SAT), Canada's Largest South Asian broadcaster and Canada's pioneer distributor of World Class Cricket, announces it has secured the exclusive Canadian broadcast rights for the Sri Lanka Premier League which starts August 11, 2012 . ATN has secured the Canadian rights for a period of seven years for all forms of broadcast from Somerset Entertainment Ventures, Marketing Rights Partners of the SLPL Cricket League.

The inaugural edition of the Sri Lankan premier league will be played from August 11 - August 31, 2012 in Sri Lanka . The tournament features seven provincial teams at two venues: R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo and the Pallekele International Stadium in Kandy.

Each team will be allowed a maximum of six overseas players in their squad and four in their playing XI. The new league features some of the best national and international players, including Tilakaratane Dilshan, Kumar Sangakara, Sanath Jayasuria, Muttiah Muralitharan, & Mahela Jayawardene from Sri Lanka ; Chris Gayle & Shivnaraine Chanderpaul from West Indies; Shahid Afridi & Misbah Ul Haq from Pakistan ; Tim Southee & Nathan McCullum from New Zealand ; Albie Morkal from South Africa ; and Dirk Nannes from Australia .

There will be a total of 24 matches including two semifinals and a final. The seven teams participating in the league are Nagenahira Nagas, Ruhuna Rhinos, Basnahira Bears, Kandurata Kites, Uthura Oryxes, Wayamba Wolves & Uva Unicorns.

"This is an exciting new opportunity to see top talent in premier league play. We are delighted to be able to bring this new league to Canadian fans," said Dr. Shan Chandrasekar , ATN's President and CEO.

Recently the Sri Lanka Cricket board auctioned the seven teams for over $30 million and all seven franchises were bought by Indian Business Enterprises. Some of the franchise owners include Wadhawan Holdings Private Limited, Number One Sports Consulting Private Limited, Pearl Overseas Limited, Success Sports Private Limited and Indian Cricket Dundee Limited


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## BullAllTheWay (Feb 29, 2012)

Nothing wrong with the company, but, obviously, I had my timing all wrong. I knew about the Cricket tournament, last year, but downplayed its effect on earnings. Big mistake.


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## riseofamillionaire (Feb 23, 2012)

BullAllTheWay said:


> Nothing wrong with the company, but, obviously, I had my timing all wrong. I knew about the Cricket tournament, last year, but downplayed its effect on earnings. Big mistake.


Do you know if q3 of last year had cricket world cup revenue as well??

My core position is at 1.80 but was adding small amounts above 3. In hindsight that was dumb because I should have saw that q1,2 would have terrible comparisions year over year because of the world cup. Live and learn..


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## riseofamillionaire (Feb 23, 2012)

Rogers takes over Score media http://business.financialpost.com/2...nications-buying-score-media-for-167-million/

I wonder how ATN will react come monday? It's now one of the only niche broadcasters in Canada.


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## riseofamillionaire (Feb 23, 2012)

ATN was also more specific on their growth plans in the most recent Management Analysis and Dicussion write up. They plan to expand to 50 channels over the next few years. Now that they have their new broadcast facility up and running, its time to put plans into action. The next 12 months will be interesting.


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## Axcell (Mar 25, 2011)

riseofamillionaire said:


> ATN was also more specific on their growth plans in the most recent Management Analysis and Dicussion write up. They plan to expand to 50 channels over the next few years. Now that they have their new broadcast facility up and running, its time to put plans into action. The next 12 months will be interesting.


You need to stop pumping this stock.
It's clear this company is a POS. My 2 cents.


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## riseofamillionaire (Feb 23, 2012)

I usually only update the thread if I find out new info. They earned .26/share last year, no debt, cool niche. I may be wrong on the growth but I wouldn't say its a POS stock.


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## BullAllTheWay (Feb 29, 2012)

riseofamillionaire said:


> I usually only update the thread if I find out new info. They earned .26/share last year, no debt, cool niche. I may be wrong on the growth but I wouldn't say its a POS stock.


I agree with you. The previous message was written by somebody who did not have a clue about investing.


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## riseofamillionaire (Feb 23, 2012)

ATN launches 25 more channels with Cogeco http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/news-sources/?date=20121217&archive=cnw&slug=C9736


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## cannadian (Dec 30, 2011)

riseofamillionaire said:


> Here are the salaries, taken from SEDAR:
> CEO Shan Chandrasekar - 2010 - $257 500.00
> CFO Byrne Fulton - 2010 - $123 600.00
> VP Programming Jaya Chandrasekar - 2010 - $208 575.00
> ...


Salary isn't all that important, what's the total compensation like including stock options? And does the company expense their stock options or do they try and hide it? That should tell you a good amount about their integrity...


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