Zee Entertainment on Friday reported the financial results for the quarter ending March 31, 2020. ZEEL reported a net loss of Rs 765.82 crore due to an increase in expenses in Q4 FY 20 set of by increased operational and finance costs along with increase in fair value loss on financial instruments at fair value through profit and loss that has been pegged at Rs 278.7 crore.
Results at a glance
- Advertising revenue at Rs 1038.94 crore
- Subscription revenue at Rs 741.36 crore
- Total income at Rs 1991.74 crore
- Total expenses at Rs 2677.77 crore
- Net loss at Rs 765.82 crore
ZEEL’s advertising revenue in Q4 FY 20 stood at Rs 1038.94 crore, down from Rs 1230.82 crore in the preceding quarter while subscription revenue stood at Rs 741.36 crore, up from Rs 713.66 crore in the preceding quarter. The total income stood at Rs 1991.74 crore, down from Rs 2119.6 crore in the preceding quarter.
The increase in total expenses in Q4 FY 20 at Rs 2677.77 crore, up from Rs 1608.57 crore in the preceding quarter resulted in a net loss of Rs 765.82 crore in Q4 FY 20, down from the net profit of Rs 348.6 crore in the preceding quarter.
The company wrote off Rs 113.7 crore pertaining to digital publishing business with a provision of Rs 170.6 crore relating to Inter Corporate Deposits (ICD). Fair Value through P&L included Rs 383.5 crore loss in overseas investments while administrative cost included a one time provision of Rs 343.3 crore for the balances relating to advertising, subscription, and other assets where recovery became doubtful on account of COVID-19 led uncertainty.
On the business side, ZEE saw a 33% growth in subscription revenues that it claims is the highest in the industry. The advertising revenue for the year decline 7% y-o-y due to conversion of two FTA channels into pay and a weak macro economic environment.
The network calibrated investment in international markets with Zee Alem launch in Ethiopia while Zee One was shut down in Germany.
The launch of Zee Biskope, Zee Picchar, Zee Thirai, and Zee Punjabi is expected to strengthen network viewership and revenue. ZEEL states that it exited FY20 as the market leader with 18.3% viewership while dominating in pay Hindi movies, Marathi, Bangla, and Kannada markets. ZEE states that its weekly TV viewership minutes grew by 43% during the lockdown.
