MUMBAI: Subhash Chandra-promoted Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel) has reportd a consolidated net profit of Rs 1.63 billion for the fourth quarter ended 31 March, down 16 per cent from Rs 1.93 billion in the corresponding quarter of previous year.

Consolidated revenues in the fourth quarter were Rs 8.69 billion, up 9 per cent from Rs 7.95 billion from year ago.

A media analyst said revenues were higher than estimated because of the positive surprise on all fronts - ad revenues, domestic subscription revenues, and higher than expected syndication & other sales revenues.

The consolidated operating profit (EBITDA) for the quarter was down 28 per cent to Rs 1.60 billion, from Rs 2.22 billion a year ago as its expenses rose 24 per cent. Zeel?s expenses during the quarter rose to Rs 7.09 billion from Rs 5.73 billion a year ago.

During the quarter, Zeel?s advertising revenues stood at Rs 4.15 billion, showing a decline of 12 per cent. The company clarified that in the fourth quarter of previous year, it had more cricket properties in sports which had resulted in higher advertising revenues. Loss from sports business was Rs 588 mn in the fourth quarter and Rs 1.48 bn for the full year.

?Advertising revenues from non-sports businesses have increased, though marginally. This is reflective of the overall weakness in advertising spends,? Zeel said.

The total subscription revenues for the quarter stood at Rs 4.02 billion, registering an increase of 30 per cent over the corresponding quarter last fiscal. Domestic subscription revenues stood at Rs 2.97
billion, while international subscription revenues were Rs 1.05 billion.

Zeel said that domestic subscription revenues are not comparable with the previous year because the fourth quarter includes an amount of Rs 506 million representing 50 per cent share of net revenues of MediaPro, when consolidated under joint venture accounting. MediaPro is a joint venture between Zee Turner and Start Den.

This amount of Rs 506 million considered in this quarter pertains to nine month period from July 2011 to March 2012. Subscription revenues for the quarter from international operations are up by 1 per cent Q-o-Q from Rs 1.04 billion in Q3 FY12 to Rs 1.05 billion in Q4 FY12.

Zeel chairman Subhash Chandra said the slowdown in GDP growth has had a greater impact on advertising spends during the year, and advertising revenue growth has seen a much sharper slowdown.

Chandra said, ?FY2013 is expected to be a landmark year for the television media industry. The industry is gearing up for a big change with deadline for implementing Digital Addressable System (DAS) in the four metros approaching on 30 June, 2012. Digitisation will bring about improvements in addressability and capacity, thereby, improving the quality of service to consumers and creating a better financial model for all players in the value chain.?

Zeel board has recommended a dividend of Rs 1.50 per share.

Zeel MD and CEO Punit Goenka said, ?We are looking forward to the implementation of digitisation which will significantly improve transparency in the pay-TV ecosystem resulting in more choice to the consumers, better quality of viewing and better economies for all players. In fiscal 2012, 10.5 million subscribers have adopted satellite based television services via DTH, taking the gross DTH subscriber base to 44.6 million strong.?

?During the quarter, we have seen significant improvement in our operating performance across all genres. The flagship channel, Zee TV, has improved its market share noticeably. We are confident that we would further enhance our market share through our planned content lineup and continue to grow our business profitability in a sustained manner.?

?In line with our strategy of growth through focused disciplined investments, we launched India?s first and only OTT (over-the-top) distribution platform, Ditto TV, with an aim to offer Live TV Channels and On Demand Video Content to consumers on multiple platforms including mobile phones, tablets, laptops, desktops and connected TVs. We have also launched some of our content offerings in high definition format. Ten Golf is Zee?s latest premium offering targeted at urban up-market audiences?, he added.

Speaking about the outlook for the business, Goenka added, ?While the competitive intensity remains high in the Indian television industry, we continue to make efforts towards further enhancing our market share. Media Pro, our joint venture for subscription revenues, has started on a good note and we are very confident of a robust performance going forward. The impending digitization will further be able to create value for the business. Also, our content focused approach, combined with better monetization of subscription revenues, will contribute to Company delivering steady return in the year ahead.?

For the full year 2011-12, Zeel?s net profit stood at Rs 5.91 billion, down 6 per cent from Rs 6.25 billion in the previous fiscal. The revenue stayed flat (up 1 per cent) to Rs 30.41 billion, as against Rs 30.08 billion in the year-ago period. Total expenses, jumped 5 per cent to Rs 23.01 billion, from Rs 21.87 billion.

Shares of Zeel ended the day unchanged at Rs 123.20 on BSE.

MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (Zeel) has posted a third-quarter consolidated net profit of Rs 1.38 billion, down 11.5 per cent over the year-ago period, as advertising revenue slipped and could not quite make up for the gains in subscription.

Ad revenue slid 10.1 per cent, impacted by a softening in spends and a loss in market share. "Overall, advertising revenues on non-sports business have declined, though marginally. This is reflective of the overall weakness in advertising spends combined with some market share loss," the company said.

Zeel posted a consolidated operating income of Rs 7.55 billion, down 8.5 per cent from the earlier year. The company said that as the revenue in the Q3 FY?11 included Rs 700 million as one time fees for pre-mature termination of rights for All India Football Federation (AIFF), the results were not comparable.

For the three-month period ended 31 December, Zeel?s operating profit (Ebitda) was at Rs 2.16 billion, down marginally (3.6 per cent), over the year-ago period.

Ebitda margin for the quarter was 28.6 per cent, which has gone up from 27.2 per cent in the corresponding quarter last fiscal. Zeel said that excluding sports business, the Ebitda margin stood at a healthy 34 per cent.

Zeel chairman Subhash Chandra said, "While the world economy goes through another round of upheaval, the Indian economy continues to grow, even though at a lower pace. The slowdown brings its own set of challenges in all spheres of business activity. Advertising trend continues to be slower than expected. However, the television economy continues to grow on the back of higher subscriber growth and increasing digitisation."

Zeel?s advertising revenues for the quarter stood at Rs 3.95 billion, showing a decline of 10.1 per cent over the earlier year. Zee said that it had more cricket properties in sports which resulted in better advertising revenues.

Zeel MD and CEO Punit Goenka said, "Zee Entertainment?s wide portfolio of television channels had some gains and some losses in market shares during the quarter. We are confident that we would regain the market share losses through our planned content lineup and continue to grow our business profitability in a sustained manner. During the quarter, we have been able to maintain healthy operating margins, partly due to lower sports losses and partly due to better cost efficiency measures.

Advertising spends are flat sequentially, and the overall trends also remain subdued.

Zeel made substantial gains in subscription income. The total subscription revenue for the quarter stood at Rs 3.26 billion, registering an increase of 15.7 per cent over the corresponding quarter last fiscal. "While subscription revenues have recorded a bigger increase, the reported subscription revenues reflect a growth of only 15.7 per cent y-o-y, because of the change in accounting treatment of domestic subscription revenues, which are now being reported net of expenses," Zeel explained.

During the current quarter, domestic subscription revenue stood at Rs 2.22 billion, up 13.85 per cent over the preceding quarter.

International subscription income was at Rs 1.04 billion, up 2.7 per cent compared to the earlier year and 8.24 per cent over the trailing quarter. It obviously gained from the rupee depreciation.

Meanwhile, other sales and services include syndication sales, play out & transmission services, facility usage income among others.During the third quarter, other sales and services stood at Rs 332 million. The company had recorded revenue of Rs 1.03 billion under this head during the corresponding period last fiscal, including a non-recurring one time fees of Rs 700 million.

Overall, programming and operating cost in the quarter was Rs 3.4 billion as compared to Rs 4.15 billion in the corresponding period last fiscal, a reduction of 17.6 per cent. The major reason for the reduction is that the corresponding quarter last fiscal had more sports properties as compared to this quarter.

Employee cost increased by 6.5 per cent over the corresponding period last fiscal. Selling & other expenses in the quarter were at Rs 1.24 billion, as compared to Rs 1.17 billion in the corresponding period last fiscal. Total cost incurred by the company in third-quarter was Rs 5.39 billion, showing a reduction of 10.3 per cent over the corresponding period last fiscal.

MUMBAI: Joy Chakraborthy, who grew in the television broadcasting space as a revenue specialist, nursed ambitions of becoming a chief executive officer.

Subhash Chandra-promoted Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (Zeel) gave him that operational role as head of niche channels while he continued to look after the revenue of the entire network and news daily DNA, but the playing field was too small.

Groomed in National Defence Academy and later as a trainee pilot, Chakraborthy had bigger dreams. He wanted to lead an attack that would dig deep into the enemy territory and expand his area of operations.

In an era of consolidations and partnerships, the 44-year-old found an opportunity when he met India Today Group CEO Ashish Bagga while discussing about a possible strategic sales alliance between DNA and Mail Today, a joint venture between India Today Group and British newspaper Daily Mail.

Founder-promoter Aroon Purie was at that time scouting for a CEO for TV Today Network after the exit of G Krishnan.

"It was a warm meeting with Bagga and we later met Group CFO Dinesh Bhatia. It was like buddies at work. The meeting with Purie was very fruitful," recalls Chakraborthy.

Chakraborthy will take up his new role as TV Today Network CEO from 1 December, ending his six-and-a-half-year stint at Zeel.

"I have accepted his resignation with a heavy heart. He did lead a strong team at Zeel that will continue to be part of our family," says Zeel MD and CEO Punit Goenka.

As he steps into his new shoes, Chakraborthy will face many challenges. He will, indeed, be moving into a much low-sized revenue company. Zeel ended last fiscal with a revenue of Rs 30 billion, dwarfing that of TV Today?s turnover of Rs 2.9 billion.

The business strategies of the two companies are also different. While Zee has a presence across all segments of the media business, the India Today Group is a news-focused company.

The TV news genre itself is under stress and strain. Revenue growth is slowing while staff and distribution costs are climbing.

So is Chakraborthy, who will be shifting to New Delhi, kicked about joining a news outfit that will give him power?
 
"Professionally, I see myself diversifying. I am excited about getting into a more dynamic and competitive genre which is news. I will also be experiencing radio, a new medium for me after having done print and TV. And I am joining one of the largest news media companies," says Chakraborthy.

Critics say Chakraborthy will be challenged and will have to develop new skill sets. "It will be a far tougher road for a man who has done ad sales most of his life, be it at Times of India or Star or Zee. TV news business is highly cluttered, plagued with distribution costs and revenue growth issues," a senior TV executive observes.

An optimist and highly self-motivated, Chakraborthy is not disturbed. "I have learnt a lot during my stint at Zee. We have operated in a cost-tight environment and focused on being profitable. I have been given the opportunity to explore and broaden my experience in diversified functions including distribution. And news is not new to me as I have handled sales for Star News during my earlier stint in Star India," he says.

MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. (Zeel) expects its sports broadcasting business to break-even by the middle of FY‘14 and has no plans to raise capital to fund its expansion.

Subscription revenue will drive the business to profitability while advertising will be event-led.

"Given our growth trajectory and contracts, the sports business should break-even in two years. In the worst case scenario, we should be able to turn it around by the middle of FY?14," Zeel managing director and chief executive officer Punit Goenka said in an interview with Indiantelevision.com.

Zeel‘s sports losses for FY‘11 stood at Rs 2.08 billion on a revenue of Rs 4.4 billion (excluding a one-time revenue gain of Rs 700 million as one-time fee for the pre-mature termination of rights for AIFF). For the full-fiscal ended March 2012, the company expects to limit the operating loss to a maximum of Rs 1 billion.

The eight-year Cricket South Africa (CSA) television rights for $180 million has been a valuable purchase. The earlier five-year rights had gone for $75 million.

"The price is in our comfort zone. It is an inflationary rise and has been one of the most valuable boards for us. By having one of the strategic boards under our belt for a longer term, we are under less pressure," said Goenka.

Zeel will be able to give its sports business maximum firepower when it is able to retain the telecast rights for the other three boards ? Sri Lanka, Pakistan and West Indies. The company is understood to have pocketed the Zimbabwe board rights for $20 million, which had earlier gone for $6 million for four years.

"We have not yet signed with the Zimbabwe board, so I cant comment on that. The other three boards are up for renewal during FY?12 and FY?13. We have done our calculations and will not bid recklessly for these rights. There are boards outside these which are also coming up for grabs," said Goenka. 

Is Zeel looking at hiving off the sports business to raise capital by offloading equity?

"We have no capital-raising plans. Zeel will continue to fund the sports business till it turns around. We have taken a long term call and sports broadcasting is a strategic business for us," averred Goenka.

Zeel is awaiting government approval for the launch of the golf channel."We are ready to launch it within 60 days of obtaining the regulatory clearances," said Goenka.

Will Comcast be a partner for the channel? "Earlier Taj Television (which Zeel later acquired) had some sort of an agreement with Comcast for the golf channel.We will do it ourselves and completely own it," Goenka stated.

By adding a full-fledged HD channel, Zeel will have four sports channels by this month-end. "We have acquired a slew of properties across different sports such as football and tennis.This has enabled us to launch three different channels and post strong subscription growth. Advertising revenue is heavily dependent on cricket.Within that segment, it is India cricket. While advertising revenue is cyclical, subscription income is consistent throughout the year," Goenka said.