Shares of Zee Entertainment Enterprises dropped as much as 6.14% to Rs 82.40 on Wednesday after the broadcaster posted a net loss of Rs 102.4 crore for the January-March quarter, against a net profit of Rs 188.4 crore in the same period a year earlier.
Revenue fell more than 7% to Rs 2,025 crore from Rs 2,184 crore in the year-ago quarter. Weak advertising income and higher promotional spending drove the decline - pressures that brokerages say show little sign of easing in the near term.
The stock fell against a broader market that slipped only 0.48% on the NSE Nifty 50 Index. Over the past 12 months, Zee Entertainment shares have lost 32.98%, and are down 8.45% so far this year. Trading volume on Wednesday reached 19.45 times the 30-day average. The relative strength index stood at 41.68.
Zee Entertainment Ltd Share Price Today
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Brokerages Split on Zee Entertainment Outlook
Brokerages remained divided on the stock following the results.
Axis Capital kept its reduce rating and raised its target price to Rs 80 from Rs 76. "Q4 saw a miss on ads, while margins declined on higher A&P," the brokerage said in a note.
Nuvama held its buy rating but cut its target price to Rs 112 from Rs 133. The brokerage attributed the company's troubled performance to the Middle East crisis.
ICICI Securities held its buy rating with an unchanged target price of Rs 120. "Zee5 and new businesses are scaling well, while ad revenue uncertainty remains the key overhang," the brokerage said. It added that improvement in the advertising environment may be delayed further by macroeconomic conditions, and trimmed its estimates accordingly.
Motilal Oswal held a neutral rating with a target price of Rs 80. "This is a dismal end to a subdued FY26," the brokerage said. It noted that management expected near-term weakness in advertising revenue, as consumer goods companies cut spending following the Middle East conflict.
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