Mumbai: The Board of Directors in their meeting held today, have taken on record the unaudited consolidated financial results of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEE) and its subsidiaries for the quarter ended September 30, 2016.
ZEE’s consolidated revenues grew by 23.0% in Q2FY17 to Rs 16,954 million driven by strong growth in all revenue streams. Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) for the quarter was Rs 4,892 million and EBITDA margins stood at 28.9%, respectively. ZEE recorded PAT of Rs 2,440 million in Q2FY17 and PAT margin stood at 14.4%.
Dr. Subhash Chandra, Chairman, ZEEL, stated, “Initial signs of uptick in Indian economy are already visible and we should see improvement in economic growth in quarters ahead. Normal monsoon in 2016 after a gap of two years should spur the rural growth. The passage of GST bill is a positive step and would help Indian economy.
Commenting on the results of the Company, Dr. Chandra added, “ZEE reported well-rounded strong growth in revenues during the first half of fiscal 2017. While we continue to add new channels to our domestic and international broadcasting businesses our new initiatives in movies, music, events and digital are taking shape and have started contributing to growth.”
Mr. Punit Goenka, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, ZEEL, commented, “At ZEE we are pleased to deliver yet another quarter of satisfying business and financial performance. Our advertising revenues continue to grow ahead of market on the back of improving viewership share and better monetization of our bouquet. Growth in domestic subscription revenue was aided by catch up revenue in Q2.”
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has released draft regulations for broadcasting services and interconnection arrangement to increase transparency in content pricing and payment of carriage and to allow consumers to choose channels. These draft regulations are steps in the right direction and propose a host of changes to the existing system. Although it still remains to be seen what form the final regulation will take, we hope that improved transparency will enable various stakeholders to get their rightful share in subscription revenues.
The first half of fiscal 2017 has been strong for us. Growth in advertisement spends has held up so far. Moderation in FMCG and e-commerce spends might have some impact on industry growth in the coming quarters. On the positive side increasing competition in telecom business would help ad spend growth. GST roll-out in the coming year could boost advertising spends as a part of potential savings in tax outgo might be reinvested.”
Q2 HIGHLIGHTS
- Advertising revenues grew by 15.7% over Q2FY16 to Rs 9,592 million. Domestic advertising revenues were Rs 8,800 million while International advertising revenues stood at Rs 792 million for the quarter.
- Subscription revenues were Rs 5,833 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2016 recording a growth of 21.7% over Q2FY16. During the quarter, domestic subscription revenues stood at Rs 4,675 million while international subscription revenues stood at Rs 1,158 million.
- Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) for the quarter stood at Rs 4,892 million and EBITDA margin stood at 28.9%.
- The Company launched 5 new channels during the quarter – 3 in Domestic market and 2 in International market.
- Zee Studios, the movie production arm, released Akshay Kumar starrer ‘Rustom’, which became one of the highest grossing Hindi movie of the year. Our Live Events business rolled out its first event, ‘Wicked Weekends’ across the country
