MUMBAI: Subhash Chandra's Zee Telefilms Limited today reported second quarter consolidated revenues of Rs 4.64 billion representing a 38.1 per cent growth over the corresponding period in the previous fiscal where it stood at Rs 3.36 billion.
Consolidated operating profit stood at Rs 338 million, after expensing of initial investments in new activities viz. Zee Telugu, Zee Smile, Zee Sports and others, amounting to Rs 832 million (17.9 per cent of consolidated revenues).
As a result, consolidated operating profits of continuing businesses were Rs 1,171 million, higher by 28.4 per cent over to the corresponding quarter last year.
Profit before tax for the second quarter of fiscal 2007 was Rs 409 million while net profit was Rs 333 million, down 21.6 per cent from the Rs 425 million recorded last year.
The results announced are after consolidating the financials of ETC Networks Limited (ETC) for the second quarter of FY2007.
2Q FY2007 - Highlights
Advertisement revenue Rs 2,107 million - up 42.6%
Subscription revenue Rs 1,930 million - up 10.6%
Zee TV now leader in 9-10 pm & in 6-8:30 pm time band
Siticable acquires 250,000 last mile cable connections
DishTV enhances content offering, Star bouquet available from August
DishTV subscriber base now 1.5 million
Said Chandra, "Zee's second quarter results prove the continued strength of our content business and a growing presence across new genres. Not only are we growing our content business, we have been very successful in integrating it with new platforms like DTH, with significant growth potential. The performance reflects our success in delivering superior content to viewers and stronger relationship with our consumers."
Chandra added, "We are also happy about some recent developments relating to our business. There is continued monitoring of High Court for implementation of CAS in the notified areas of Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata by December 31, 2006. This will additionally help in bringing about addressability on cable. On DTH, DishTV further enhanced its offering from August when the Star bouquet was also made available to subscribers and now DishTV has the most comprehensive content on any pay television service, whether cable or satellite. All these have extremely positive and long term impact on our business."
Commenting on the restructuring exercise, Chandra continued, "The restructuring exercise is underway and is expected to be completed by January 2007. There has been some delay from our earlier expectation of November 2006, due purely to a number of adjournments of court hearings. When completed, the restructuring would result in four listed companies ready to exploit the vast emerging opportunities in each line of business. The next several years would provide tremendous growth opportunities for all these four businesses."
Punit Goenka, whole time director and responsible for content creation, commented, "Zee TV continued to increase its viewership share from 25% in 1Q FY2007 to 28% during 2Q FY2007, along with a significant growth in time spent. During the quarter, average gross ratings points (GRPs) of Zee TV remained at 240 levels, while recording peak GRPs of 270 in week 36. The growth momentum has been led by widespread success of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Little Champs, Saat Phere and Kasamh Se, while our new launches Dulhan and Betiyan have been very well received. Betiyan touched a TVR of 5 in its first week. Zee TV now has five programmes in the Top 20 and 12 programmes in the Top 50. It has leadership in the 9 pm to 10 pm time band, and between 6 pm to 8:30 pm on weekdays."
"Zee Cinema continues to be the No. 1 movie channel, and increasingly is becoming a reach channel for the advertisers. Zee Marathi has improved its viewership by 16 per cent during 2Q FY2007. Zee Bangla has improved its viewership by 60 per cent and has gained leadership position in the 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm time band. Zee Sports continues to build on the back of Cricket Tri-Series in Malaysia between India, Australia and West Indies. We will continue to reinforce our competitive advantage and deliver more value to viewers and shareholders." Goenka added.
Elaborating on the performance, CEO Pradeep Guha said, "We are pleased with the strong operating results, content business delivered in the second quarter. We once again outperformed the market with unmatched connection with our audience and remain focused on building on our progress. Looking ahead, we are confident that continued execution of our content strategy would result in a revenue growth faster than that of industry."
