Zee Entertainment Q3 results: Profit more than doubles to Rs 58.5 crore

Zee Entertainment Enterprises' third-quarter profit more than doubled as a pick-up in subscriptions offset a soft advertising environment, the Indian broadcaster reported on Tuesday, in its first results since its failed merger with Sony India.

Zee's profit rose to Rs 58.5 crore ($7.05 million) for the three months ended Dec. 31 from Rs 24.3 crore a year ago.

The results come weeks after Sony scrapped its merger with Zee, ending a deal that could have created one of India's biggest TV broadcasters, alleging breaches of contract.

Third-quarter subscription revenue was aided by the recognition of Rs 59 crore from Siti Network, which belongs to Essel Group, Zee said in a statement.

Zee's subscription revenue for the quarter rose 3%, while advertising revenue dropped 3%.

While the third quarter saw some seasonal festive uptick, the overall pace of recovery of the advertisement environment continues to be slow, the company said.

It said it foresees certain expenses due to the merger not going through in terms of legal, compliance and advisors fee.

Zee expects to take six to eight months for its efforts to start showing up in the margin performance, with fiscal year 2025 expected to have meaningfully better margin than the fiscal year ending March 31.

Zee's operating revenue dropped 3% to Rs 2,046 crore, while expenses rose 5.4%.