Subhash Chandra-promoted broadcasting major Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) has posted a net profit of Rs 193.3 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2012, a 40.5% jump over the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal, beating the market estimates. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 137.61 crore in the year ago period.
ZEEL's revenues jumped 26% to Rs 938.8 crore in the third quarter, compared to Rs 743.6 crore in the year ago. While Advertising revenue went up by 29% year on year to Rs 509.4 crore, the subscription revenue also rose by 26% to Rs 409.8 crore.
Domestic subscription revenues stood at Rs 296.1 crore, while international subscription revenues were Rs 113.6 crore in the quarter.
Subhash Chandra, chairman, ZEEL said, “The first three quarters of this fiscal have been good for Zee with a strong performance relative to the industry and competition. With one quarter to go, we are looking forward to a strong growth this year. The highlight of this quarter is the strong growth momentum in advertising revenues, despite subdued spends. The performance illustrates that our investments in the content are yielding good returns. We continue to invest to create compelling content across genres.”
ZEEL's operating cost in the quarter increased by 22.3% to Rs 418.5 crore.
Atul Das, Chief Strategy Officer, ZEEL said, “We have invested in content and marketing and new channel like ZeeQ has been launched. Over the last 3 quarters, we have seen many launches, that include Ten Golf, Ditto TV (OTT platform), website Indya.com etc. Despite the new projects, we have EBITDA Margin of 27.8% in this quarter. Over the last 3 quarters, our average margins are at 26%.”
EBITDA for the quarter stood at Rs 261.1 crore, compared to Rs 204.7 crore in the year ago period.
ZEEL shares closed 5.41% up on the BSE at Rs 234.65.