Zee Entertainment missed Street estimates in December quarter results on Tuesday, as it posted a 37.87 per cent slump in consolidated profit at Rs 349.43 crore. Analysts in an ET NOW poll had projected the number at Rs 429 crore.
Consolidated revenue of the company also declined 6 per cent to Rs 2,119.60 crore against Rs 2,252.75 crore in the same quarter last year.
Advertising revenue dropped 15.8 per cent to Rs 1,230.80 crore during the quarter. Zee said that most of the company’s advertisers were going through a slow-growth period, which led to a cut in advertising spends.
“Third quarter is normally a strong growth period for us, however, tough macroeconomic environment led to a decline in our ad revenues,” said MD & CEO Puneet Goenka.
Zee Entertainment’s subscription revenue for the quarter was at Rs 713.70 crore, up 15.4 per cent year-on-year (YoY). Domestic subscription revenue grew by 21.7 per cent to Rs 631.70 crore.
Ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) for the quarter declined 25 per cent to Rs 565.80 crore and margins came in at 27.6 per cent.
“I believe that the worst phase is behind us and we will start seeing an improvement from the next quarter. The proposed changes to the tariff order by TRAI are being challenged in the court and we are awaiting the final verdict. However, I am confident that our strong portfolio of channel across markets will enable us to navigate any regulatory changes in the most efficient manner,” Goenka said.
Ahead of the earnings announcement, Zee Entertainment shares closed 4.86 per cent higher at Rs 283.95, while benchmark Sensex shed 0.49 per cent to close at 41,323.81 points.
Source: Economic Times
