Media firm Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd on July 31 said it posted Rs 118-crore consolidated net profit in June quarter as against Rs 53-crore loss in the year-ago period.
The company's consolidated total income rose 7.6 percent to Rs 2,150 crore in Q1FY25 as against Rs 1,998 crore in Q1FY24.
At 1:50 pm on July 31, Zee's shares were trading 5 percent higher at Rs 152.75 apiece.
Zee said soft advertising environment during the quarter was offset by pickup in subscription revenue, movie releases and higher syndication revenue.
"While Q1 has already started on a positive note with significant step up in margins, we expect gradual margin improvement to continue through the rest of the year. Overall cost discipline and prudence will continue to hold us in good stead. Magnitude of margin improvement will be dependent on Ad revenue pickup in H2FY25. FY25 margins to be meaningfully better than FY24," said the company in a stock exchange filing.
Brokerage firm Emkay had expected Zee to deliver a profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 101.8 crore and a 2 percent marginal uptick in advertising revenue in Q1 due to diversion of advertisement spends towards cricket events and the general elections.
"Zee’s performance should be impacted by shifting of advertisement spends. Subscription revenues should continue to see steady growth, aided by implementation of price hikes," Emkay Research analyst Pulkit Chawla had said in its Q1 FY25 preview report.
Zee on the other hand reported a three percent decline in advertising revenue in Q1 at Rs 911 crore versus Rs 940.91 crore in the same period a year ago.
Its subscription revenue grew 8.7 percent to Rs 987.19 crore in Q1 FY25 from Rs 907.49 crore in the year ago period.
During the quarter, Zee's general entertainment channel viewership was impacted by cricket and election with a 16.4 percent share as against its share of 17 percent.
On the digital front, its streaming platform Zee5's revenue increased 15.3 percent to Rs 223.7 crore in Q1 from Rs 193.9 crore in the year ago period.
"ZEE5 platform is making steady progress and we have seen healthy trends in usage and engagement metrics. Significant progress has been made towards achieving a balanced cost structure, in order to sustain long-term growth. Short-term aberration in the digital business growth momentum as we optimize costs for the long run. 13 shows and movies released during the quarter including 4 originals," the company said in its presentation.
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