 "Zee Entertainment Q1 net rises 22% to Rs 218 cr")
Punit Goenka-led Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) consolidated revenue of Rs 1,571.6 crore for the first quarter of the current fiscal (Q1FY17), up 18.5% from Q1FY16’s Rs 1,326.7 crore. The consolidated operating profit (EBITDA) for the quarter grew 44.1% at Rs 453.2 crore as compared to Rs 314.6 crore last year.
PAT for the quarter was Rs 218.1 crore, up 21.5% from Rs 179.6 in Q1FY16. The EBITDA margin for the quarter stood at 28.8% while PAT margin was 13.9%.
ZEEL’s advertising revenues during the quarter were Rs 912 crore, showing an increase of 19.2% y-o-y while subscription revenues for the quarter were up 14.2% y-o-y at Rs 528.2 crore. Domestic subscription revenues stood at Rs 417.9 crore registering a growth of 13.5% over same quarter last fiscal, while international subscription revenues were Rs 110.3, up 16.7% over last fiscal.
Income from other sales and services which include syndication sales, film distribution, commission on sales, play out & transmission services, and facility usage income among others stood at Rs 131.5 crore, up 33% from Rs 98.8 crore during the corresponding period last fiscal.
Subhash Chandra, Chairman, ZEEL, stated: “The financial results once again highlight the strong underlying fundamentals of the company. The advertising and subscription revenues continue to drive the company’s growth. Taking a long term view of the business trends we are committed to become a global content company and will make suitable investments to achieve that objective.”
Punit Goenka, managing director & chief executive officer, ZEEL, commented: “On the back of continued steady economic recovery, the company once again managed to outperform the market. The advertising growth is holding up and the subscription revenue is maintaining a steady growth. While the advertising could receive a fillip if the consumer spending improves, on the subscription front the industry awaits the regulatory guidelines which will shape the subscription revenue growth over the next few quarters.”
“The preference of the consumers keeps on evolving with time and we have consistently stayed ahead of the curve, and in many cases helped shape it. As an entertainment company, it is imperative for us to experiment with new content and innovate new formats, and we will continue to do so. We are making investments in new growth verticals with an aim that they will start contributing to company’s success in the future. An effort in this direction was the relaunch of company’s paid OTT platform dittoTV with new subscription plans. Our movie production business has started delivering results which is evident with movies like Sairat which became the highest grossing Marathi movie of all time,” he added.
