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Tag: Laxmi Narain Goel

  • Siti Network looks to raise $100 million

    Siti Network looks to raise $100 million

    MUMBAI: Essel group multisystem operator (MSO) Siti Network has plans to raise $100 million through an issue of securities and/or equity related instruments.  The company informed the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) that  it  needs the money to fund its operations. It has an ambitious plan to further expand its footprint in the cable TV  and broadband landscape in India as DAS progresses into its last phase.

    Siti Network said it had got an in-principle board approval to raise the money taking the equity or equity related instrument route through a qualified institutional placement (QIP)/external commercial borrowings (ECBs) with rights of conversion into equity shares, foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCBs),  American Depository Receipts (ADRs), global  depository receipts
    (GDRs) or any other securities convertible into or exchangeable for equity shares or securities linked to equity shares.

    The company’s board of directors approved the fund raising and other  proposals at its meeting held on 26 August. 

    Siti Network further stated that as per a family  arrangement  agreed between the  promoter  group, communication has been received from Dr Subhash Chandra, Jawahar Lal Goel, Laxmi Narain Goel and Ashok Kumar Goel to  declassify the three mentioned along with their respective family  members as promoters of the company in terms of Regulation 31A of SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015.

    The board decisions will take effect after necessary corporate and regulatory approvals are obtained.

    This is not first time that the company is raising funds. In October 2014, the company’s shareholders had approved raising up to $100 million by passing a special resolution through postal ballot.  However, against this, it made a QIP issue not exceeding Rs 250 crore; of which it received a subscription for Rs 221.11 crore at a price of Rs 35 per Re 1 share. 

    Then earlier this year, it received promoter funding to the tune of Rs  Rs 530 crore. Most of it was used to pare down its debt, while a minority portion was used for acquisition, including bigger stakes in associate companies and joint venture partners. 

    ALSO READ: 

    Siticable partners dittoTV; to push OTT to cable TV and broadband …

  • Siti Network looks to raise $100 million

    Siti Network looks to raise $100 million

    MUMBAI: Essel group multisystem operator (MSO) Siti Network has plans to raise $100 million through an issue of securities and/or equity related instruments.  The company informed the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) that  it  needs the money to fund its operations. It has an ambitious plan to further expand its footprint in the cable TV  and broadband landscape in India as DAS progresses into its last phase.

    Siti Network said it had got an in-principle board approval to raise the money taking the equity or equity related instrument route through a qualified institutional placement (QIP)/external commercial borrowings (ECBs) with rights of conversion into equity shares, foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCBs),  American Depository Receipts (ADRs), global  depository receipts
    (GDRs) or any other securities convertible into or exchangeable for equity shares or securities linked to equity shares.

    The company’s board of directors approved the fund raising and other  proposals at its meeting held on 26 August. 

    Siti Network further stated that as per a family  arrangement  agreed between the  promoter  group, communication has been received from Dr Subhash Chandra, Jawahar Lal Goel, Laxmi Narain Goel and Ashok Kumar Goel to  declassify the three mentioned along with their respective family  members as promoters of the company in terms of Regulation 31A of SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015.

    The board decisions will take effect after necessary corporate and regulatory approvals are obtained.

    This is not first time that the company is raising funds. In October 2014, the company’s shareholders had approved raising up to $100 million by passing a special resolution through postal ballot.  However, against this, it made a QIP issue not exceeding Rs 250 crore; of which it received a subscription for Rs 221.11 crore at a price of Rs 35 per Re 1 share. 

    Then earlier this year, it received promoter funding to the tune of Rs  Rs 530 crore. Most of it was used to pare down its debt, while a minority portion was used for acquisition, including bigger stakes in associate companies and joint venture partners. 

    ALSO READ: 

    Siticable partners dittoTV; to push OTT to cable TV and broadband …

  • Subhash Chandra’s brothers step down as Siti Networks promoters

    Subhash Chandra’s brothers step down as Siti Networks promoters

    Mumbai: There’s change in the list of promoters at Siti Networks (earlier known as SitiCable). The national Indian MSO informed the Bombay stock exchange last week that – as part of a family arrangement and agreement – Jawahar Lal Goel, Laxmi Narain Goel and Ashok Kumar Goel along with their respective family members and persons acting in concert with them have been declasifeid as ‘promoters.’

    All three are brothers of Essel group (of which Siti Networks is a part) promoter Subhash Chandra. Over the past few years, Chandra has been working on separating the roles of his brothers and settling the ownership structure within the Essel Group (of which Siti Networks is a part).

    Around eight years ago, he gave independent charge to Laxmi Narain, Jawahar and Ashok Goel. Although seen as one group, the businesses are run independently. Their moving aside as promoters of Siti Networks is a continuation of the division process.

    Chandra’s two sons Punit and Amit are looking after his media interests in Zee Entertainment Enterprises with Punit functioning as the MD and Amit being given the responsibility of international sales and digital.

  • Subhash Chandra’s brothers step down as Siti Networks promoters

    Subhash Chandra’s brothers step down as Siti Networks promoters

    Mumbai: There’s change in the list of promoters at Siti Networks (earlier known as SitiCable). The national Indian MSO informed the Bombay stock exchange last week that – as part of a family arrangement and agreement – Jawahar Lal Goel, Laxmi Narain Goel and Ashok Kumar Goel along with their respective family members and persons acting in concert with them have been declasifeid as ‘promoters.’

    All three are brothers of Essel group (of which Siti Networks is a part) promoter Subhash Chandra. Over the past few years, Chandra has been working on separating the roles of his brothers and settling the ownership structure within the Essel Group (of which Siti Networks is a part).

    Around eight years ago, he gave independent charge to Laxmi Narain, Jawahar and Ashok Goel. Although seen as one group, the businesses are run independently. Their moving aside as promoters of Siti Networks is a continuation of the division process.

    Chandra’s two sons Punit and Amit are looking after his media interests in Zee Entertainment Enterprises with Punit functioning as the MD and Amit being given the responsibility of international sales and digital.

  • Zee News Q2 net up at Rs 114.7 million

    Zee News Q2 net up at Rs 114.7 million

    MUMBAI: Zee News Limited (ZNL) has posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 114.7 million for the quarter ended 30 September, 2008, up 104.4 per cent from Rs 56.1 million in the previous year.

    During the period, the company’s revenue jumped 60 per cent to stand at Rs 1.27 billion as compared to Rs 798.1 million in the prior year.

    Advertisement revenue increased 60.8 per cent to Rs 1.01 billion while subscription revenue grew 56.2 per cent to stand at Rs 234 million.

    Zee Group chairman Subhash Chandra said, “In this time of a perceptible global economic slowdown and challenging macroeconomic environment during which investor confidence is certainly not at its peak, Zee News Limited has delivered excellent results in the second quarter of FY’09. The company has maintained its growth momentum and recorded a healthy 60 per cent increase in top line of Rs 1.27 billion. Consolidated EBIDTA stood at Rs 212 million, up 99.3 per cent. As per our guidance given, the Telugu channel has broken even in this quarter.”

    After launching the Tamil general entertainment channel on 12 October, ZNL plans to launch the Telugu news channel, Zee 24 Ghantalu, in November. Plans are also afoot to launch UP news channel Zee 24 Ghante. “In line with our vision of regional expansion, we may as well look for certain innovative strategic investments in the coming period,” Chandra added.

    Marathi movie channel Zee Talkies has been transferred to ZNL with effect from 1 August.

    Commenting on the results, ZNL MD Laxmi Narain Goel said: “The existing businesses continued to grow and recorded around 45 per cent growth in operating revenues while the same for new businesses was 226 per cent. Viewership too experienced an upward spiral with almost all the Zee News Limited channels experiencing a growth in channel share compared to the corresponding quarter last fiscal.”

    Added Zee News CEO Barun Das, “In our new businesses, both Zee Telugu and Zee Kannada are gaining traction in their respective markets and delivering growing revenues and GRPs. While Zee Telugu has broken even, Zee Kannada is strongly on the path to break even as per our previous guidance.”

  • ‘We are open to a foreign equity partner for the English channels’ : Laxmi Narain Goel – Zee News Ltd MD

    ‘We are open to a foreign equity partner for the English channels’ : Laxmi Narain Goel – Zee News Ltd MD

     Zee News Ltd (ZNL) plans to invest Rs 5 billion in a slew of channels over two years, expanding its presence in regional markets and new segments.

    Immediately on the agenda is the launch of a Tamil general entertainment and a Telugu news channel. Plans are also afoot to launch an English business and a global news channel.

    The company is also bringing to its bouquet mix a clutch of regional movie channels. It will soon apply for a Bengali movie channel while Zee Talkies is being transferred from sister company Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd.

    In an interview with Sibabrata Das, Zee News Ltd managing director Laxmi Narain Goel chalks out the company’s growth roadmap.

    Excerpts:

    When Zee News Ltd was spun into a separate entity a few years back, it was making a loss due to the Telugu channel. How did things turn around?
    The losses from the new businesses have substantially reduced. Zee Telugu, in fact, should break even in the third quarter of this fiscal and Zee Kannada in the subsequent quarter. Our turnover has also gone up from Rs 2 billion to Rs 3.58 billion (standalone) for the fiscal ended 31 March 2008, with Zee Marathi and Zee Bangla seeing exponential growth in the last one year.

    Is the company still taking a cautious approach and waiting for some recent channels to break even before launching new ones?
    We are launching a Tamil general entertainment channel (GEC) with an investment plan of Rs 900 million in September as the Telugu and Kannada channels are close to earning profits. The Telugu news channel will launch in October while the Malayalam GEC should make its appearance in the next fiscal.

    ZNL is also planning to launch an English business and a global news channel. Do you see this the right stage for the company to leap into such high-cost investments?
    We plan to invest Rs 5 billion by FY’10 which will include the launch of several channels. Our intention is to have a complete presence in all the segments.

    The company is on a high growth curve and expects to clock Rs 3.55 billion in advertising revenues for FY’09, a 25 per cent jump over the prior year. Subscription revenues are expected to grow even faster, soaring to Rs 1.19 billion (from Rs 667.5 million in FY’08). The Telugu and Kannada channels have started generating pay revenues from the last quarter of FY’08 and would only add to this growth.

    Will you be inducting a foreign equity partner for the English channels?
    We are open to bringing in an equity partner. But all will depend on what proposals we receive from whom and what model is on offer.

    ZNL so far has been a mix of news channels and regional language GECs. Will we also see regional movie channels forming the bouquet?
    We will soon be applying to the information and broadcasting ministry for clearance to operate a Bengali movie channel. We are also transferring Marathi movie channel Zee Talkies from Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel) to Zee News Ltd. The broad plan is to bring regional movie channels under the company. This will give us a unique mix and add to the growth of the company.
    ‘We plan to invest Rs 5 billion. Our intention is to have a complete presence in all the segments‘

    Zee News has also started a franchising model to enter into new markets. Will you restrict this to smaller markets where it doesn’t make commercial sense for you to enter directly?
    The first such channel will roll out in Chattisgarh with SB Multimedia as our local partner. We will be leveraging our brand while the local partner will make the investments. We hope to strike such deals with other players in these smaller markets. Once we have a cluster of such channels, we can sell as a package to advertisers and command better rates. Significant revenues can then flow in from the franchising model. It can turn out to be a successful business model.

    What made Zee change the positioning of its flagship Hindi news channel?
    We have relaunched as a serious news channel and see it as a differentiator in a segment that is witnessing lots of competition. We have decided not to go the tabloid or sensationalism way. This is not the first time that we are changing our positioning. But our motto continues to be the same: We will show what interests the masses and is in the interests of the nation.

    When you dramatised the ‘Gudiya’ story, was this to do more with ratings than anything else?
    We saw the story as having a genuine mass interest among our audiences. It was a national interest story.

    Isn’t it time for the Hindi business news channel to get a makeover?
    We will be relaunching Zee Business and making it more market-oriented. But we will not just be a stock market channel; we will address all kinds of markets and segments.

    Do you see the surge in personnel and distribution costs upsetting the profitability of the TV news business?
    There is a lot of new manpower and talent available in the market today. The supply can only increase. I believe that manpower costs as a share to revenues will not go up, but indeed fall.

    As far as distribution expense is concerned, the industry will take 3-4 years to settle down. But with DTH (direct-to-home), HITS (Headend-In-The-Sky) and new platforms emerging, we could see carriage costs peaking once the digital systems take off in a big way.

    Zee is continuing to bleed in the Gujarat market. Are there plans to address this by launching a Gujarati news channel to support the GEC?
    Zee Gujarati is making a small loss. The local viewers watch a lot of Hindi entertainment content. But we have no plans to launch a Gujarati news channel.

    Why is the ZNL scrip lowly priced in the market?
    Zee News Ltd is a terribly undervalued stock. It is a profitable company in the news business, has leading regional GECs, and will continue to post strong subscription growth. The market should adequately react to this.

  • Zee News Q3 operating revenue up 38.6 % at Rs 955 million

    MUMBAI: Zee News Limited (ZNL) has posted operating revenue of Rs 955.3 million on a stand alone basis for the quarter ended 31 December, 2007, up 38.6 per cent as against Rs 689.1 million in the corresponding quarter last fiscal.

    Zee News’ stand alone net profit was 128.4 million for the third quarter of FY 08 and Rs 242.2 million on a consolidated basis.

    On a consolidated basis, the company’s operating revenue stood at Rs 983.1 million during the period.

    Commenting on the results, Zee News Limited chairman Shubash Chandra said, “Zee News Limited has delivered a laudable third quarter performance with a growth of 38.6 per cent in operating revenues compared to the corresponding quarter. This growth has been led by a substantial increase in advertisement revenues, which have grown 48.8 per cent. The Zee News channel deserves special mention given the excellent revenue and viewership performance in the quarter.

    Zee Marathi maintained its leadership position, while Zee Bangla attained the number one position in the third quarter. Channels under the ‘New Business’ comprising Telugu, Kannada and 24 Taas have done very well, with Zee Telugu and Zee Kannada registering a GRP growth of 93 per cent and 23 per cent respectively. With rapid transformation in the Indian media via digitization, the coming years hold a lot of promise, and we are confident of delivering long term shareholder value.”

    The ZNL owns and operates nine news /current affairs and regional entertainment channels namely Zee News, Zee Business, Zee Marathi, Zee Bangla, Zee Punjabi, Zee Gujarati, Zee Telugu, Zee Kannada and Zee 24 Taas.

    Zee Telugu, Zee Kannada and Zee 24 Taas which are considered as ‘New Businesses’ have incurred an operating loss of Rs. 397.4 million during the nine months period ended 31 December, 2007.

    For the period ended December 2006 ‘New Businesses’ consisted of only two channels. Zee 24 Taas was launched in February 2007.

    Zee Akaash News Private Limited – a subsidiary of the company (60 per cent equity holding) which operates 24 Ghanta, a Bangla news channel has incurred an operating loss of Rs. 6.9 million during the nine months period ended 31 December, 2007.

    Zee News Limited MD Laxmi Narain Goel said, “The quarter witnessed a sound growth in all our channels. Our flagship channel, Zee News continued to grow in revenue in this over crowded genre, which is still attracting new players. Zee News remains the only pay channel in the Hindi news channel genre. The other existing businesses of Zee News Limited have also shown consistent growth, with Zee Bangla attaining the number one position. Our efforts to add value to the content of Zee Telugu, has paid off, with the channel achieving encouraging ratings during the third quarter. Overall, the results have been very satisfactory with the revenues of both existing as well as New Businesses registering a growth of 37.8 per cent and 50.6 per cent respectively.”

    Zee News CEO Barun Das said, “Our tremendous revenue growth is doubly encouraging given that 8 of our 9 channels are Pay channels. In addition, the pay channels have continued to grow in viewer ship as well, which will result in further revenue enhancement. Our future strategy would be to have a focused business approach for every channel, which will certainly enhance growth potential. With a slew of initiatives, we have been able to achieve both our top and bottom line targets. We are committed to scale much higher than industry benchmarks for the next quarter as well.”

  • Zee News Q2 net profit up 97% at Rs 57 million

    MUMBAI: Zee News Limited (ZNL) has posted a standalone net profit of Rs 57 million for the quarter ended 30 September 2007, up 97 per cent as against Rs 29 million in the corresponding quarter last fiscal.

    Operating revenue at Rs 776 million represented a 44 per cent jump over the year-ago period. Operating profit was at Rs 105 million, up from Rs 18 million.

    ZNL’s advertisement revenue was Rs 608 million for the quarter, up 57 per cent on a like-to-like basis compared to Q2 FY07. Subscription revenue stood at Rs 150 million, up nine per cent.

    Said ZNL chairman Subhash Chandra, “Zee News Limited has strengthened its position in the marketplace during Q2 FY08. Advertising revenues have grown by 57 per cent while subscription revenue improved by 9 per cent during the quarter. While ‘Zee Marathi’ and ‘Zee Bangla’ are steadily climbing the rating chart, the other existing businesses of Zee News Limited have also shown consistent growth momentum. The trends in the new businesses are encouraging with Zee Telugu and Zee Kannada improving their performance despite hyper competitive business environment. This nurtures our hope for a better future. Zee News Limited is moving well on its journey to gain envious position in the news and regional entertainment genres.”

    ZNL MD Laxmi Narain Goel said, “Zee Marathi and Zee Bangla have given sterling performance during the quarter. Zee Marathi has maintained its Numero Uno position in the Marathi genre holding a vice-like grip on the number 1 position, while 24 Ghanta has also delivered a huge GRP increase and leading in Bangla news genre in Q2 FY08. Zee News maintained its ratings in the face of multiplying stiff competition in the Hindi News genre while achieving strong revenue growths. We have met the bottom line target during the 2nd quarter and this fortifies our belief that good people skill, sensitivity to changing needs of viewers, agile strategies, new offerings in content should stand us in good stead for a better future.”

    Goel added, “The existing businesses have shown consistency in performance and revenues of existing businesses have grown by 42 per cent, the new businesses have also performed well in revenues and registered a growth of 80 per cent during the second quarter. We are also pleased to report that the operating margins on our existing businesses increased from 30 per cent during Q2 FY07 to 33 per cent during Q2 FY08.”

  • Zee launches Marathi news channel

    Zee launches Marathi news channel

    NEW DELHI: Zee News Ltd. has launched its Marathi news channel Zee 24 Taas as part of a “region-specific strategy.” This is the country’s first 24-hour news channel in Marathi.

    Says Zee News Ltd managing director Laxmi Narain Goel, “The news businesses of Zee group have had a history of ‘firsts’. Zee News is the first 24-hour Hindi news channel, Zee Business is the first 24 hour Hindi business channel, and now Zee 24 Taas continues the tradition by becoming the first 24 hour Marathi news channel.”

    Adds Zee News chief executive officer Harish Doraiswamy, “The launch followed careful thinking and a whole slew of researches in the market. Obviously, our understanding of Marathi viewer preferences through our experience of Zee Marathi helped us a great deal. I am sure the channel’s content and its presentation will appeal to the discerning Marathi audience.”

    Zee Network chairman Subhash Chandra had announced the launch of Zee’s Marathi news channel at the Zee Gaurav Awards on 5 February. The channel is already a strong player in the GEC with Zee Marathi.

    Zee News Ltd. is building a cluster of news, current affairs and regional channels. The company’s offerings include Zee News, Zee Business, Zee Marathi, Zee Bangla, Zee Punjabi, Zee Gujarati, Zee Telugu, Zee Kannada, 24 Ghanta and now, Zee 24 Taas. It also provides news and entertainment content to Zee in USA, Europe, Africa, Middle East and Asia Pacific, the company said in a statement.

  • Zee News regains number 2 position

    Zee News regains number 2 position

    New Delhi – 3rd July’06: Zee News, the leading Hindi news channel regains the number 2 position according to the TAM Data for the week 25th. Zee news has always being doing a lot of innovations to give its viewers the right and accurate picture in the news segment.

    According to TAM wk 25 in the channel share Zee news is No.2 (Data enclosed) SEC ABC M 15+;HSM. This is primarily due to the new set, look, presentation and graphics. Also at the 10 PM slot the new program Badi Khabar is delivering and has become an instant choice for the viewers of Zee News.

    Commenting on this achievement Shri Laxmi Narain Goel, Director – Zee News Ltd., said, “Zee News, in its endeavor to update its viewers about the current trend of politics, is now presenting this unique show with a big difference called Badi Khabar which tells you about the big news of the day, highlights the Top Story of the day that concerns and affects the man on the street. Badi Khabar was launched along with the new ‘bold’ look of the channel using the latest technology in presenting news. It has been our constant effort to show the viewers of Zee News not just news but something more than that by constantly creating new shows.

    About Zee News

    Zee News, the news and current affairs channel of the Zee group, has taken giant strides ever since its inception in 1992. Reaching millions of viewers in five continents, the channel revolutionized the way news was brought home to the viewers and absorbed by them.

    Zee News is a pioneer not just because it was the first private broadcaster news in South Asia but also because it created history in 1999 when it became the first 24 hours news channel of the country.

    Media Contacts:
    Chetan Saxena
    9811323282