For the three months ending in December, Zee Entertainment’s consolidated net profit decreased by 91% to barely Rs 24 crore, compared to Rs 298 crore for the same time in the previous year.
The total revenue for the quarter under review stayed the same at Rs 2,127 crore, which is the same as the same time last year when it was Rs 2,130 crore.
The company’s operating profit declined as a result of slower revenue growth and increased spending in content, marketing, and technology. EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation) for the third quarter was 338 crore rupees, a 29% decline from the same period last year. In the preceding year, it was 479 billion rupees.
In the December quarter, EBITDA margins decreased from 23% to 16%.
- Advertisement -
Domestic advertising sales for the quarter were Rs. 1,015 crore, which is a 16% drop from the same time last year. This is mostly due to the fact that Zee Anmol pulled out of the FTA and FMCG spending slowed down because of the bad macroeconomic environment.
The increase in subscription income was boosted by organic growth in Zee5 and Zee Music as well as the realisation of subscription revenue from the Siti network.
Other sales and services revenue increased by a staggering 148% year-over-year, primarily owing to increased syndication revenue. The business stated in a statement that theatrical performance remains weak.
Programming and technology costs went up from the year before because of higher costs for movies and linear content and continued investments in Zee5.
On Monday, ahead of the results, Zee stock closed at Rs 218 per share on the NSE, down 3.69 percent. The shares have been under pressure so far this year, falling 10.32%.
In its domestic linear business, the company said that gains in network share in the south cluster were cancelled out by poor Marathi performance and a seasonal drop in Hindi films.
For the period of October to December, Zee5’s MAUs were 119,500,000, while its DAUs numbered 11,500,000. The average viewing duration was 169 minutes.