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Q1 Results: Zee Entertainment Profit Matches Analyst Estimates In June Quarter

Zee Entertainment’s profit grew 31.5 percent in the first quarter of FY19.

A man looks at new LCD televisions at a retail showroom. (Photographer: Namas Bhojani/Bloomberg)
A man looks at new LCD televisions at a retail showroom. (Photographer: Namas Bhojani/Bloomberg)

Shares of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. today rose the most in over two months, after the media firm’s profit in the April-June period met analysts’ estimates. The stock rose as much as 3.3 percent to Rs 533.70.

Net profit rose 31.5 percent to Rs 326 crore on a yearly basis, the Mumbai-based media company said in its filings with the stock exchanges yesterday. That’s compares with the Bloomberg consensus estimate of Rs 356 crore. Revenue rose 15 percent from last year to Rs 1,772 crore, also matching the consensus forecast of Rs 1,785 crore.

On the operational front, Zee Enterprise’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation rose 16.8 percent to Rs 565.6 crore, in line with the consensus estimate. Ebitda margin expanded 50 basis points to 31.9 percent.

“The increasing availability and adoption of digital medium, across different sectors, will have a positive effect on the country’s growth trajectory, even as the growth in consumption, now driven by rural bodes well for advertisement spends,” said Chairman Subhash Chandra in the press release.

Segmental Revenue

Advertising revenue rose 18.6 percent year-on-year to Rs 1,146 crore. Domestic advertising growth was driven by higher ad spends across categories and increase in the network viewership share, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Punit Goenka said in the press release accompanying the earnings filing. “We believe that the ad growth for the industry could be higher than the initial estimates for this financial year,” he added.

Total subscription revenue grew 8.3 percent year-on-year to Rs 518.6 crore. Of this, the domestic subscription revenue grew by 12.3 percent while the international subscription revenue stood at Rs 93.4 crore.