Zee Entertainment’s Q1 Profit Falls Short Of Estimates; Restructures Local Businesses
Revenue from advertising grew 6 percent whereas revenue from subscriptions fell 9 percent.
Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd.’s April-June quarter profit fell short of analysts’ estimates, even as its margins improved.
Net profit rose 16 percent to Rs 251 crore compared to last year, according to a stock exchange filing. Analysts tracked by Bloomberg had expected the profit to be at Rs 316.7 crore.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation increased 7 percent to Rs 484.4 crore, largely in line with estimates. EBITDA margins expanded 260 basis points to 31.4 percent.
Revenue declined 2 percent to Rs 1,540 crore, surpassing the consensus estimate by Rs 20 crore. Advertising revenue grew 6 percent to Rs 966.5 crore, while subscription revenue fell 9 percent to Rs 479.1 crore.
Acquisition Completed
Zee Entertainment acquired the remaining 49 percent stake in India Webportal Pvt., following which IWPL became a wholly owned subsidiary.
Restructuring Local Units
Zee Entertainment hived off three of its businesses into separate subsidiaries.
- The digital media and entertainment business, which includes the Ditto TV application and ‘Ozee’ streaming platform will be demerged into a separate entity Zee Digital Convergence Ltd.
- The online media business, which includes distribution and supply of media content, will be demerged into India Webportal.
- The advertisement sales media business, which manages television and print ads, will be demerged into Zee Unimedia Ltd.
- Sarthak Entertainment Pvt. will be merged with Zee Entertainment.
Management Change
Zee Entertainment appointed Bharat Kedia as the chief financial officer, replacing Mihir Modi, who will be “moving to new roles” in the company, according to a separate stock exchange filing.
