Zee Entertainment Posts a Net Profit of Rs. 213.59 crore, Up 10.5%

ZEE's revenues are generated primarily from advertising sales and subscription revenues. The company's advertising revenues during the quarter were Rs. 684.31 crore, showing an increase of 34.3% year-on-year. Advertisement growth during the quarter is boosted by a bigger sporting event during the quarter. Excluding sports, advertising revenue growth in Q3FY14 is up 20%. Total subscription revenues for the quarter were Rs. 456.49 crore, registering a growth of 11.4% over the corresponding quarter last fiscal. During the current quarter, domestic subscription revenues stood at Rs. 332.2 crore, while international subscription revenues were Rs. 124.3 crore. Operating cost in the quarter was Rs. 609.5 crore as compared to Rs. 418.5 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal. Such a sharp increase in operating cost is due to higher programming cost on account of big sporting events during the quarter.

Consolidated operating revenues for the quarter stood at Rs. 1188.4 crore, recording a growth of 26.6% as compared to Rs. 938.82 crore in the corresponding quarter last fiscal. The Operating Profit (EBITDA) for the quarter stood at Rs. 290.7 crore, recording a growth of 11.3% over the corresponding quarter last year. EBITDA Margin contracted from 27.8% in Q3FY14 to 24.5% in this quarter, because of higher sports losses during the quarter. Profit after Tax (PAT) for the quarter ended December 31, 2013 was Rs. 213.59 crore as against Rs. 194.11 crore in the corresponding quarter last fiscal, recording growth of 10.5%.

Commenting on the results of the company, Mr. Subhash Chandra, Chairman, ZEE, stated, "While the overall economic environment stays challenging, ZEE continues to grow its business at a healthy pace. The network shares are on an uptrend, buoyed with the addition of new channels in the network. Our investments in the sports business continued during teh quarter. We also look to expand our portfolio to take advantage of the growth opportunities ahead of us. These investments are in line with our philosophy of enhancing long term shareholder value."

During the quarter, Zee TV averaged 437 TVMs recording a relative share of 18.5% among the top six Hindi GECs. The markey share was even better in the Prime Time band, where Zee TV averaged 277 TVMs recording a relative share of 21%.

Mr. Punit Goenka, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, ZEE, commented, "ZEE has had a satisfactory quarter on the operational front. During the quarter, we have seen a robust growth in our network viewership share. The two new launches, &pictures and Zee Anmol, have made handsome gains and have added to the network strength. The company has shown a health increase in advertisement revenues even though there has been a reduction in inventory across the board as per TRAI regulation. Once again we have outperformed the television industry advertising revenue growth and have delivered 34% year-on-year growth supported by good contribution from sports business."

ZEE and its affiliate companies have leading presence across the media value chain including television broadcasting, cable distribution, direct-to-home satellite services, digital media and print media amongst others.