ZEE ENTERTAINMENT ENTERPRISES LIMITED
Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. declares its Q2 results for FY15
Mumbai, October 17, 2014: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEE) (BSE: 505537, NSE: ZEEL.EQ) today reported its second quarter fiscal 2015 consolidated revenue of Rs 11,178 million. The consolidated operating profit (EBITDA) for the quarter stood at Rs 3,205 million, recording a growth of 3.2% over corresponding period of previous fiscal. PAT for the quarter was Rs 2,270 million. The EBITDA margin for the quarter stood at 28.7% and the PAT margin was 20.3%.
The Board of Directors in its meeting held today, has taken on record the unaudited consolidated financial results of ZEE and its subsidiaries for the quarter ended September 30, 2014.
Q2 HIGHLIGHTS:
Mr. Subhash Chandra, Chairman, ZEE, stated, "The Indian economy has started showing signs of revival post the formation of the new government at the Center. GDP growth rate for the first quarter has been a healthy 5.7%, the highest it has been in over 2 years. The inflation levels have also started to ease towards more manageable levels. The business sentiment has been improving over past couple of months. We are hopeful that this marks the beginning of a sustained high growth trajectory. We expect the media industry to benefit from this improvement in overall economic environment. TV ad spends are likely to improve and we expect television media industry to grow faster than the recent past."
Commenting on the results of the Company, Mr. Chandra added, "Our performance during the quarter reflects the investments that ZEE is making to grow its business and market share. The viewership market share is on an uptrend, which will help us to continue to grow ahead of the market. We will continue to pursue growth opportunities, which would enhance long term shareholder value. We have a strong balance sheet and we are confident that we would benefit from the growth opportunities ahead of us."
Mr. Punit Goenka, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, ZEE, commented, "Our quarterly performance has been satisfactory. It has been a mixed quarter as far as television industry advertising spends is concerned. Even though the overall economic sentiment was positive during the quarter, it translated into increased advertising spends only during the fag end of the quarter. Our expectation is that advertising spends will continue to increase during the rest of the year. Our performance in the quarter reflects the industry wide trend. On the subscription front, the transition of distribution of channels from MediaPro to Taj Television is now complete and we continue to grow in high single digits. Implementation of digitization in the remaining parts of the country will push the growth momentum further. We have also enhanced our HD offering with the launch of "& Pictures HD". As a result of our consistent performance, we continue to maintain healthy operating margins."
Speaking about the outlook for the business, Mr. Goenka continued, "Though the digitization deadlines for Phase III and Phase IV have been pushed back, timely implementation would greatly benefit the industry. The proposed move to scrap advertisement cap for FTA channels would be a welcome step for the industry. Also, the rollout of BARC in the near future is expected to enhance the representativeness of the viewership data. Creation and acquisition of excellent quality content remains core to our business and we continue to channelize investments to strengthen this core. We also continue to explore growth opportunities in domestic markets, international markets and in digital space."
The Board of Directors in its meeting held today, has taken on record the unaudited consolidated financial results of ZEE and its subsidiaries for the quarter ended September 30, 2014.
Q2 HIGHLIGHTS:
- Advertising revenues for the quarter were Rs 6,259 million, recording a growth of 7.3% over Q2 FY14. Excluding sports business, advertising revenues growth is in low teens.
- Subscription revenues were Rs 4,245 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2014.
- During the quarter, domestic subscription revenues stood at Rs 3,373 million. Though the reported revenue reflects a growth of 0.7%, like-to-like growth is in high single digits (difference due to accounting changes necessitated by change in TRAI's content aggregator regulation).
- During the quarter, international subscription revenues were Rs 872 million. Due to change in arrangement with various operators across international territories, the reporting of subscription revenue for the current year has undergone a change and hence previous year figures are not comparable with that of current period. On a like to like basis, the growth has been in low single digits.
- Consolidated operating revenues for the quarter stood at Rs 11,178 million. The revenue figure is not comparable to corresponding figure last year owing to changes outlined above.
- Operating profit (EBITDA) for the quarter stood at Rs 3,205 million, recording a growth of 3.2% over Q2 FY14. EBITDA Margin stood at a healthy 28.7%.
- Profit after Tax (PAT) for the quarter ended September 30, 2014 was Rs 2,270 million. PAT Margin stood at 20.3%.
Mr. Subhash Chandra, Chairman, ZEE, stated, "The Indian economy has started showing signs of revival post the formation of the new government at the Center. GDP growth rate for the first quarter has been a healthy 5.7%, the highest it has been in over 2 years. The inflation levels have also started to ease towards more manageable levels. The business sentiment has been improving over past couple of months. We are hopeful that this marks the beginning of a sustained high growth trajectory. We expect the media industry to benefit from this improvement in overall economic environment. TV ad spends are likely to improve and we expect television media industry to grow faster than the recent past."
Commenting on the results of the Company, Mr. Chandra added, "Our performance during the quarter reflects the investments that ZEE is making to grow its business and market share. The viewership market share is on an uptrend, which will help us to continue to grow ahead of the market. We will continue to pursue growth opportunities, which would enhance long term shareholder value. We have a strong balance sheet and we are confident that we would benefit from the growth opportunities ahead of us."
Mr. Punit Goenka, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, ZEE, commented, "Our quarterly performance has been satisfactory. It has been a mixed quarter as far as television industry advertising spends is concerned. Even though the overall economic sentiment was positive during the quarter, it translated into increased advertising spends only during the fag end of the quarter. Our expectation is that advertising spends will continue to increase during the rest of the year. Our performance in the quarter reflects the industry wide trend. On the subscription front, the transition of distribution of channels from MediaPro to Taj Television is now complete and we continue to grow in high single digits. Implementation of digitization in the remaining parts of the country will push the growth momentum further. We have also enhanced our HD offering with the launch of "& Pictures HD". As a result of our consistent performance, we continue to maintain healthy operating margins."
Speaking about the outlook for the business, Mr. Goenka continued, "Though the digitization deadlines for Phase III and Phase IV have been pushed back, timely implementation would greatly benefit the industry. The proposed move to scrap advertisement cap for FTA channels would be a welcome step for the industry. Also, the rollout of BARC in the near future is expected to enhance the representativeness of the viewership data. Creation and acquisition of excellent quality content remains core to our business and we continue to channelize investments to strengthen this core. We also continue to explore growth opportunities in domestic markets, international markets and in digital space."
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