Zee Entertainment Q4 net loss at Rs 196 Cr; total income falls 10%

Zee Entertainment Enterpriseson Thursday reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 196.03 crore in the fourth quarter ended on March 31, 2023, as margins were impacted by an increase in costs and exceptional items.

The company had reported a net profit of Rs 181.93 crore in the January-March quarter a year ago, Zee Entertainment Enterprise Ltd (ZEEL) said in a BSE filing.

Its total income was down 9.89% to Rs 2,126.35 crore during the quarter under review as against Rs 2,359.74 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago.

"Ad spending slowdown, investment in ZEE5, movie launches and sports impact operating performance," said ZEEL in its earnings statement.

Total expenses in the March quarter were at Rs 2,083.36 crore, up 9.95%.

During the quarter, its advertisement revenue was down 10.17% to Rs 1,005.77 crore.

"Ad revenue YoY growth impacted due to FTA withdrawal (Zee Anmol) and a slowdown in ad spending," said ZEEL.

Its subscription revenue was almost flat at Rs 847.42 crore in the fourth quarter as against Rs 854.86 crore of Q4 FY22.

Though it had a growth in subscription revenue from OTT platform ZEE5 it was "offset by decline in linear TV subscription," said ZEEL.

ZEEL's revenue from 'others sales and services' was down 25.5% to Rs 258.92 crore.

Moreover, its operating cost was as "programming and technology cost increased YoY due to higher content cost in movies, investment in ZEE5 and sports".

For the fiscal ended March 2023, ZEEL's net profit fell 95% to Rs 47.99 crore. It reported a net profit of Rs 955.77 crore in FY22.

This was down "due to decline in revenue and elevated strategic investments across the business," it said.

Its consolidated revenue from operations dipped 7.7% to Rs 4,057.89 crore in FY23.