ZEEL net up 28.3% to Rs 321.7 cr

Mumbai, Jan 17 (PTI) Media firm Zee EntertainmentEnterprises (ZEEL) today reported a 28.28 per cent rise inconsolidated net at Rs 321.72 crore for the third quarter.Consolidated income rose 11.50 per cent to Rs 1,886.11crore in the quarter under review as against Rs 1,691.58 crorein the same quarter last fiscal.Advertising revenue stood at Rs 1,202 crore, recordinga growth of 25.8 per cent, while subscription revenue declinedsteeply to Rs 501.69 crore from Rs 593.46 crore as the companysold the sports business-Ten Sports-- to Sony."Adjusted for this, domestic subscription revenue grewby 7.5 per cent to Rs 403.6 crore, while internationalsubscription revenue stood at Rs 98.1 crore,"the company said.Commenting no the numbers, managing director and chiefexecutive Punit Goenka said, "we could deliver a strongoperating performance in the quarter. Slower growth during thepast four quarters was due to specific events which requiredadvertisers to recalibrate spends."As the impact of these factors is now behind us, adspends bounced back strongly and outlook remains encouraging.The recent cut in GST rates across a wide category of productsshould aid growth further."He said domestic ad revenue grew 26 per cent, which isa testimony to the fact that television continues to remainthe most effective medium for brand building.With a dominant time-share along with an increasingreach, television will remain an important medium foradvertisers in the foreseeable future, he added.Domestic subscription grew 7.5 per cent and Goenkaadmitted that growth so far had been lower than what they tooklast year as the content deals with the distribution partnerswere taking slightly longer to conclude due to litigationsregarding the TRAI tariff regulations.Last year the company had closed majority of suchdeals in the second and third quarters. "However, this doesnot have any significant impact on our full year outlook forsubscription growth," Goenka said.He said digital platforms are driving incrementalvideo consumption that represents another growth opportunityfor content monetization."Our new digital platform, Zee5, scheduled to be launched next month, will enable us to capture this growth," he added.

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