Zee Media reports Rs 9-crore loss in first quarter

Broadcast company Zee Media reported a consolidated loss of Rs 9.1 crore in the first quarter of fiscal year 2022 (Q1-FY2022). It had reported a profit of Rs 10.5 crore in the previous quarter.

This company attributed the loss to expenses on exceptional items which amounted to Rs 17.1 crore in the quarter ended June 2021. “The global pandemic has caused extensive proliferation of the news business, and hence further increased competition,” the company said in its stock exchange filing.

Zee Media said the use of decentralised studios and adoption of work-from-home culture has required additional investments. It entered into strategic content and distribution partnerships with various vendors or aggregators for the aforementioned requirements.

"In some cases where the obligations could not be fulfilled within agreed timelines due to prolonged and widespread global pandemic and disruption in the supply chain, the Group has taken steps including rescheduling of delivery terms,” Zee Media said. 

Its total revenue also fell in Q1-FY2022 by 7.4 percent sequentially, though it was 29 percent higher than the quarterly revenue a year ago.

Zee Media’s expenses for the April-June quarter were up 35 percent compared to the same quarter previous year. These were attributed to the prolonged pandemic and lockdowns, and the additional cost that company had to undertake to navigate through this.

The news network currently has more than 220 million broadcast viewers, and over 60 million monthly unique visitors on its digital platforms.

Zee Media has also appointed Swetha Gopalan as an Additional Independent Director of the company, the company said in its stock filing. She will hold the position for a five-year term starting August 1, 2021. It also appointed Abhishek Nigam as Chief Operating Officer for its digital business earlier this month.