ZEEL posts 9% rise in operating revenues in Q4 of FY 2012

PAT for the quarter ended March 31, 2012 was Rs 1,630 million, representing a healthy PAT margin of 19 per cent

BestMediaInfo Bureau | Delhi | May 22, 2012

Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) yesterday reported fourth quarter fiscal 2012 consolidated revenue of Rs 8,691 million. The consolidated operating profit (EBITDA) for the quarter stood at Rs 1,600 million and PAT was Rs 1,630 million. PAT margin for the quarter stood at 19 per cent.

Advertising revenues for the quarter were Rs 4,150 million, which grew 5 per cent over Q3 FY12. On a Y-O-Y basis, advertising numbers are not comparable because of sports revenues in 4Q FY11, which were higher due to key properties showcased in that quarter. There were no major India cricket series during 4Q FY12.

Subscription revenues were Rs 4,022 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2012, recording a 30 per cent Y-O-Y growth. This includes an amount of Rs 506 million representing 50 per cent share of net revenues of Media Pro Enterprise India Pvt. Ltd. (MediaPro) when consolidated under joint venture accounting. This amount of Rs 506 million considered in this quarter pertains to the nine month period from July 2011 to March 2012.

Subhash Chandra, Chairman, ZEE, stated, “Fiscal 2012 has been marked by a sharp slowdown in the economy. From a GDP growth of 8.4 per cent in FY11, FY12 is expected to end with a GDP growth of less than 7 per cent. This change in pace of growth has had a greater impact on advertising spends during the year, and advertising revenue growth has seen a much sharper slowdown. The year also witnessed quite a few consolidation moves within the industry reflecting on the inability of some players to withstand competition.”

“In this environment, ZEE continues to build its media assets and in the process continues to create value for the shareholders. We have taken a conscious call to increase investments in content and simultaneously develop our distribution capabilities through a collaborative effort. FY2013 is expected to be a landmark year for the television media industry. The industry is gearing up for a big change with deadline for implementing Digital Addressable System (DAS) in the four metros approaching on June 30, 2012. Digitisation will bring about improvements in addressability and capacity, thereby, improving the quality of service to consumers and creating a better financial model for all players in the value chain,” Chandra added.

Commenting on the fourth quarter results, Chandra said, “Our performance during the quarter reflects the investments that ZEE is making to grow its business and market share. This has been accompanied by a strong improvement in the operating performance of the company during the quarter. The company will stand by its commitment to its viewers of delivering high quality content across genres. Our investments in the sports genre have continued during the quarter. In today's meeting, the Board has recommended an equity dividend of Rs 1.50 per share.”

Punit Goenka, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, ZEE, commented, “We are looking forward to the implementation of digitisation which will significantly improve transparency in the pay-TV ecosystem resulting in more choice to the consumers, better quality of viewing and better economies for all players. In fiscal 2012, 10.5 million subscribers have adopted satellite based television services via DTH, taking the gross DTH subscriber base to 44.6 million strong. During the quarter, we have seen significant improvement in our operating performance across all genres. The flagship channel, Zee TV, has improved its market share noticeably. We are confident that we would further enhance our market share through our planned content lineup and continue to grow our business profitability in a sustained manner.”

“In line with our strategy of growth through focused disciplined investments, we launched India's first and only OTT (over-the-top) distribution platform, Ditto TV, with an aim to offer Live TV Channels and On Demand Video Content to consumers on multiple platforms including mobile phones, tablets, laptops, desktops and connected TVs. We have also launched some of our content offerings in high definition format. Ten Golf is ZEE's latest premium offering targeted at urban up-market audiences”, he added.

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