Zee Ent Q1 beats forecast, net up 16%; to buy Odiya channel

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26 Aug, 2025 12:21

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Moneycontrol Bureau

Media conglomerate Zee Entertainment Enterprises surpassed street expectations on every parameter Wednesday with the first quarter profit rising 15.8 percent year-on-year to Rs 243.8 crore, aided by strong revenue growth and other income.

According to a CNBC-TV18 poll, profit was estimated at Rs 214 crore on revenue of Rs 1,275 crore for the quarter.

Consolidated revenue increased by 27 percent to Rs 1,340 crore in the quarter ended June 2015 from Rs 1,055.1 crore in the year-ago period, supported by advertising sales and subscription revenues.

Zee said advertising revenues for the quarter were Rs 779.9 crore, recording a growth of 25.4 percent over Q1 FY15 and subscription revenues were Rs 462.5 crore during the quarter, recording a growth of 12.2 percent over Q1 FY15.

Advertising revenue growth was aided by Zindagi and &TV while subscription revenues were lower than street forecast of 18-19 percent.

Revenue from other sales and services increased by 367.6 percent year-on-year to Rs 97.4 crore, which includes syndication sales, film distribution, commission on sales, play out & transmission services, facility usage income among others.

During the quarter, domestic subscription revenues stood at Rs 368 crore while international subscription revenues stood at Rs 94.5 crore.

Operating cost of the company (includes content cost) surged 51.4 percent to Rs 610.8 crore during the same period. Employee cost went up 23.5 percent and selling & other expenses rose by 21.3 percent.

Consolidated operating profit grew by 0.7 percent on yearly basis to Rs 311 crore in first quarter of current financial year 2015-16 and margin declined 610 basis points year-on-year to 23.2 percent in June quarter due to increased content cost of &TV. However, both operating profit and margin were better than analysts' estimates of Rs 293 crore and 23 percent, respectively.

Other income during the quarter was at Rs 68 crore, up 74 percent compared to Rs 39 crore in the year-ago period. Zee Sports added Rs 1.5 crore to EBIT (earnings before interest and tax) against expectations of a Rs 10-15 crore loss.

Zee launched new shows like DID Season 5, Fear Files 2 and Tumhi Ho Bandhu Sakha Tumhi in June quarter. In Q2FY16, it planned to launch new shows like Sarojini, Ek Tha Raja Ek Thi Rani and Tashn-e-Ishq.

Meanwhile, the board members today have approved in-principle acquisition of 100 percent equity stake in Sarthak Entertainment that owns and operates Sarthak TV, a leading Odiya language general entertainment channel.

"The acquisition will be from current shareholders of Sarthak Entertainment Private Limited, subject to requisite regulatory approvals, as an all cash deal at a consideration of maximum of Rs 115 crore, including Rs 15 crore payable in financial year 2017 and 2018, linked to certain performance milestones of the channel," said Zee in its filing.

At 10:54 hours IST, Zee Entertainment Enterprises was quoting at Rs 377.05, up Rs 2.40, or 0.64 percent on the BSE.

Posted by Sunil Shankar Matkar