Mumbai − Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEE) reported its first quarter fiscal 2016 consolidated revenue of Rs 13,399 million. The consolidated operating profit (EBITDA) for the quarter stood at Rs 3,112 million.
PAT for the quarter was Rs 2,423 million. The EBITDA margin for the quarter stood at 23.2% and the PAT margin was 18.1%.
The Board of Directors in its meeting, has taken on record the unaudited consolidated financial results of ZEE and its subsidiaries for the quarter ended June 30, 2015.
Mr. Subhash Chandra, Chairman, ZEE, stated, “India is the third largest economy in Asia and will continue on a steady growth trajectory as the economic reforms in the legislative pipeline come through. With reforms like GST set to be implemented in the near future, the government is ready to unlock India’s investment potential by improving business environment and liberalising FDI. With the aforementioned developments in the economic environment we hope that the Media industry will see improvement in revenues in the near future.”
Mr. Subhash Chandra, Chairman, ZEE, stated, “The Indian Media & Entertainment industry is making strides in the economy, backed by rising advertising revenues and consumer payments. 61% of all households in India are now equipped with a television making us the second largest TV viewership market after China. With digitization, subscription revenues in urban and rural areas are growing, resulting in a healthy impact on the industry.”
Commenting on the results of the Company, Mr. Chandra added, “ZEE has recorded a satisfactory performance during the first quarter. Our investments have resulted in organic growth which is in line with our expectations. We will continue to build ZEE’s presence in this highly competitive space by creating compelling content across genres and by pursuing new opportunities that will yield long term growth.”
Mr. Punit Goenka, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, ZEE, commented, “ZEE has started the year on a good note witnessing good returns on the operational front. This clearly highlights the popularity of our programs which continue to attract loyal audiences. We continue to experience growth in both advertising and subscription revenues through the launch of new and innovative programming.”
Speaking about the outlook of the business, Mr. Goenka continued, “While competition remains high in the Indian television industry, we remain true to our values by bringing innovative and high quality entertainment to our audiences. Our efforts are to continue in this journey and entertain audiences all over the world. We believe that by delivering excellent content we can benefit from monetizing revenues from an advertising and subscription standpoint.”
Business Performance
During the quarter, Zee TV was ranked third amongst the Hindi General Entertainment Channels. The channel delivered a weekly average of 9 shows among top 50 shows during the quarter led by the top rated shows like Kumkum Bhagya, Jamai Raja and Jodha Akbar.
New shows launched during the quarter were DID Season 5, Fear Files 2 and Tumhi Ho Bandhu Sakha Tumhi. Shows planned for launch in Q2FY16 are Sarojini, Ek Tha Raja Ek Thi Rani and Tashn-e-Ishq.
The newly launched Hindi GEC &tv has picked up viewership share and has been performing well. The popular fiction show, Bhabhiji Ghar Pe Hai has doubled its viewership share in its slot. The Voice, the biggest Non-fiction show of the channel was launched in Q1FY16, leading to further growth in the viewership share ZEE’s Hindi Movie Cluster – Zee Cinema, &pictures, Zee Classic and Zee Action, continued to lead the genre with the highest viewership share. The key properties on Zee Cinema during the quarter were Sunday Mega Movie, Shanivaar Ki Raat Sitaron Ke Saath and Double Mazaa. This quarter saw the premieres of I, Lingaa and Super Nani on Zee Cinema. This quarter also saw for the first time Hindi movie premieres on Zee Cinema HD (Khoobsurat and Haider).
The network operates two channels in the English entertainment and movies genre – Zee Café and Zee Studio. Zee Café is one of the leading channels in its genre and delivered a weekly average of 27 shows in top 100 during the quarter. The top shows on Zee Café were Cougar Town, Pretty Little Liars and The Big Bang Theory. The key shows launched in the quarter were Pretty Little Liars, Reign and American Idol Season 14. The top performing properties on Zee Studio were Eden Lake, Kung Fu Panda 2 and Transformers.
Zee Khana Khazana, the premium lifestyle channel from ZEE, continues to be at the top of ratings chart in the food and lifestyle genre. It also had the highest reach across the genre.
The channel delivered a weekly average of 3 shows among top 10 shows during the quarter led by the top performing properties like Kifayati Kitchen, Bake Do Teen and All about Cooking.
During the quarter, Zee Marathi continued its lead as the number 1 channel in its genre. The channel was the slot leader in 8 prime time slots led by top rated fiction shows like Honar Soon Me Hya Gharchi, Jai Malhar and Ase He Kanyadaan and non-fiction shows such as Chala Hava Yeun Dya and Home Minister. New shows planned for launch during the forthcoming quarter include Nanda Saukhyabhare.
Zee Bangla is one of the leading players in the Bangla GEC genre. During the quarter, it continued to be the number 2 player in the genre. The channel also extended its lead in the non-fiction genre. The channel was the slot leader in 7 out of 16 prime time bands during the quarter led by the top rated fiction shows like Kojagori, Raage Anuraage, Rashi and top rated non-fiction shows like Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, Dadagiri Unlimited 5 and Happy Parents Day.
During the quarter, Zee Telugu became the number 1 channel in the Telugu GEC genre. The channel was the slot leader in 4 out of 10 prime time bands during weekday primetime for the quarter. The top rated fiction shows on the channel during the quarter were Varudhini Parinayam, Mangamma Gari Manavaralu and Koncham Ishtam Koncham Kashtam. Key shows launched during the quarter were Mudda Mandaram and Ammana Kodala.
Zee Kannada was the number 2 channel in the Kannada GEC genre during the quarter. Top rated shows on the channel were Jothe Jotheyali, Punarvivah and Srirastu Subhamastu. This quarter saw the launch of new shows like Gruhalakshmi, Simplaoogondu Singing Show, Nam Deshad Kathe and Mussanjemathu. The top rated shows on Zee Tamil include Solluvathellam Unmai and Lakshmi Vandachu.
The key properties on our Sports channels bouquet during the quarter included telecast of Pakistan vs Zimbabwe cricket series, West Indies vs England cricket series, Sri Lanka vs Pakistan cricket series, UEFA Champions League Finals, WWE Specials and MotoGP among others. The forthcoming quarter would see the telecast of events like India vs Zimbabwe cricket series, Tour de France, UEFA Champions League, US Open Tennis, UEFA Europa League, Copa del Ray and PGA Tour. The sports business revenues in the first quarter of FY2016 were Rs 1,519 million, while costs incurred in this quarter were Rs 1,504 million.
ZEE’s International operations constitute a significant part of the Company’s revenues. The highlights of the International Operations during the quarter were as follows: In Americas, Zee TV continued to garner the highest viewership share among South Asian networks. Zee TV HD and Zee Bollywood HD were launched on additional platforms. &tv and &tv HD were launched in UK. Within a few weeks of its launch, &tv currently ranks among the top 5 Indian channels in UK. Zee TV and Zee Cinema continued to be the Number 1 South Asian channels in their respective genres in the UAE. Zee Aflam continued its successful run as the Number 3 movie channel in the All Arabs target audience in Saudi Arabia. Zee World also continued its successful opening run as the second best performing GEC amongst its target audience in South Africa. In APAC, Zee Variasi saw further gains in its viewership among Malay TG. Zee Channels were launched on additional platforms in Sri Lanka and Australia.
