Network18 Media & Investments rose 3.04% to Rs 35.60 after the media major reported a net profit of Rs 68.01 crore in Q2 September 2020 compared with net loss of Rs 24.68 crore in Q2 September 2019.
Consolidated net sales fell 9.6% to Rs 1,060.89 crore in Q2 September 2020 over Q2 September 2019. Pre-tax profit stood at Rs 89.09 crore in Q2 September 2020 as against a pre-tax loss of Rs 14.47 crore in Q2 September 2019. Current tax expense for the quarter soared 106.5% to Rs 21.08 crore as against Rs 10.21 crore in Q2 September 2019. The Q2 result was declared after market hours yesterday, 27 October 2020.
Consolidated EBITDA zoomed 114% to Rs 166 crore in Q2 FY21 as against Rs 77 crore in Q2 FY20, as revenues are firmly on the road to a full recovery. EBITDA margin improved to 15.6% in Q2 FY21 from 6.6% in Q2 FY20. The company witnessed a step-jump in EBITDA margins for both News and Entertainment to healthy levels.
Ad-revenues rebounded as economic activity restarted on tapering of lockdowns. News business' advertising fully recovered, as viewership has settled at a higher level. Entertainment recovery near-complete and Y-o-Y (year-on-year) ad-revenue dip reduced to single-digits. Digital vertical surged ahead on strong traffic trends for flagship properties.
Subscription revenues stayed resilient as domestic subscription revenue continued to rise. TV connections in commercial establishments and some low-end connections saw a temporary dip due to the pandemic, however, multi-TV home connections have picked up. Distribution tie-ups continued to expand and give the company's channel portfolio a good reach across TV & Digital. International subscription witnessed pandemic-related stress.
Adil Zainulbhai, the chairman of Network18 Media & Investments, said: "The group businesses have recovered from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic to a very large degree. This has been achieved through a multi-pronged approach of ensuring business continuity through rejigging processes, innovatively reviving alternative revenue streams, and focusing on aligning content distribution strategy with market opportunity. Our proactive measures on cost-control have resulted in much-improved profitability across all our lines of business even compared to the pre-pandemic situation, despite certain market segments still suffering from pressures due to the coronavirus. We continue to invest into all our businesses and in particular Digital with an aim to make our flagship properties the most compelling value propositions for viewers. As we head into festive season, the underlying trends on both viewership and monetization are supportive, and we are emerging stronger than ever."
Network18 is promoted by Independent Media Trust of which Reliance Industries is the sole beneficiary.
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