ZEE’s domestic ad revenue grows 26% in Q3 FY18; PAT at Rs 3,222 mn
Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) has reported consolidated revenue of Rs 18,381 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2018. Profit After Tax (PAT) for the quarter was Rs 3,222 million.
Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) for the quarter stood at Rs 5,944 million, while EBITDA margin stood at 32.3 per cent.
Advertising revenue for the quarter was Rs 12,020 million, recording a growth of 25.8 per cent. Adjusted for sports, domestic advertising grew by 30.4 per cent to Rs 11,373 million. On a comparable basis (excluding sports, RBNL and IWPL), domestic advertising revenue grew by 25.7 per cent. International advertising revenue for the quarter was Rs 647 million.
Subscription revenue for the quarter was Rs 5,017 million. Adjusted for the sale of sports business, domestic subscription revenue grew by 7.5 per cent to Rs 4,036 million. International subscription revenue stood at Rs 981 million.
Dr Subhash Chandra, Chairman, ZEEL, remarked, “It is very heartening to see the rebound in the economy after four quarters. The initiatives taken by the government had some short-term impact on the growth, but these measures will strengthen the economy in the long run. Indian M&E sector will be a beneficiary of this growth story as people spend more time and money on consuming entertainment content. ZEEL, with its strong portfolio of entertainment offerings, is well positioned to capitalize on this opportunity.”
Commenting on the Q3 FY18 results, Punit Goenka, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, ZEEL, said, “We are delighted to deliver a strong operating performance during the quarter. The slower growth in the last four quarters was due to specific events which required advertisers to recalibrate spends. As the impact of these factors is now behind us, ad spends have bounced back strongly and outlook remains encouraging. The recent cut in GST rates across a wide category of products should aid the growth.”
He further said, “Our domestic ad revenue growth of 26 per cent is a testimony to the fact that television continues to remain the most effective medium for brand building. With a dominant time share along with an increasing reach, television will remain an important medium for advertisers in the foreseeable future. On top of this, digital platforms are driving incremental video consumption which represents another growth opportunity for content monetisation. Our new digital platform, Zee5, scheduled to be launched in February, will enable us to capture this growth.”
“The domestic subscription growth for the quarter was at 7.5 per cent. The growth so far has been lower than what we had last year as the content deals with our distribution partners are taking slightly longer to conclude due to litigations regarding the TRAI tariff regulation. Last year, we had closed majority of these deals in the second and third quarter. However, this does not have any significant impact on our full year outlook for subscription growth,” Goenka added.