Zee Entertainment Enterprises net profit jumps 50% in Q3

Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL), a leading global content company, reported a 50.3% year-on-year rise in profit after tax (PAT) at Rs 562.4 crore for the October-December quarter of the current financial year.

Consolidated revenue for the third quarter stood at Rs 2,166.8 crore, up 17.9% over the corresponding period of the previous fiscal, driven by strong performance of the broadcast business. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) jumped 26.9% to Rs 754.3 crore and Ebitda margin expanded by 250 basis points to 34.8%. One basis point is a hundredth of a percentage point.

Subhash Chandra, chairman, ZEEL, said India is poised to remain one of the fastest growing economies in the world. "Decline in crude oil prices and rationalisation of Goods and Services Tax rates will further boost the economy and help maintain the growth momentum in consumption. Even in media and entertainment space, content consumption is growing at a brisk pace across mediums. This trend along with macro-economic tailwinds will drive growth in both advertising and subscription revenues. ZEE5 is scaling up in line with our expectations and is on course to become India's number one digital entertainment platform," said Chandra, adding that the company has delivered yet another quarter of strong performance across all businesses.

ZEEL's advertising revenue increased 21.7% to Rs 1,462.6 crore during the December quarter. Domestic advertising revenues grew 20.6% year on year to Rs 1,371.9 crore, riding on the continued strong performance of television business and aided by the emerging digital business. Revenue from international advertising surged 40.2% to Rs 90.7 crore on stronger traction in Europe, the US and the Asia-Pacific region.

The company's over-the-top (OTT) platform ZEE5 continued its strong growth, recording 56.3 million monthly active users in December, a rise of 36% over the last three months.

Punit Goenka, managing director and chief executive officer, ZEEL, said, "While our television business continues to consolidate its number one position, ZEE5 is quickly establishing itself as one of the leading digital entertainment platforms in the country. ZEE5 has already become the biggest producer of Indian content among the digital platforms and the content offering will multiply going forward. Our expanding list of partnerships with telecom operators and players in the digital ecosystem, coupled with innovation in pricing, will make ZEE5 accessible to a wider audience."

The company posted 23.3% on-year growth subscription revenue at Rs 618.5 crore; the domestic market's contribution surged 28.6% to Rs 519.2 crore and international subscription revenue rose 1.2% to Rs 99.3 crore.

The advertising outlook for the industry, according to Goenka, looks upbeat and the company aims to outpace the industry growth on the back of its growing network share. "After much delay, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's tariff order is now set to be implemented across the country next month. This is a positive step for the industry in the long term and will be beneficial for everyone. While it will take some time for the new system to settle, we are working with all our partners for its smooth implementation," said Goenka.

The company strengthened its position as the number one television entertainment network with an all-India viewership share of 20.2%. The launch of Zee Keralam and Zee Keralam HD in Kerala market resulted in ZEEL becoming the biggest television network with presence in nine Indian language markets.