BENGALURU: The board of Zee Media Corporation Limited (ZMCL), the erstwhile Zee News Limited has recommended payment of equity dividend of Re. 0.15/- per equity share of Re. 1/- each (equivalent to 15 percent on the paid up equity capital), to the equity shareholders for the year ended 31 March 2016 (FY-16, current year). Despite almost flat standalone (up by 0.9 percent) revenue in FY-16 as compared to FY-15, the company has reported more than triple the stand alone profit at Rs 18.75 crore (4.9 percent PAT margin) as compared to Rs 6.17 crore (1.6 percent margin). The company has reported a drop in expenses for the current year as compared to the previous year.
ZMCL reported standalone total income from operations (revenue, TIO) of Rs 383.61 crore in FY-16 as compared to Rs 380.33 crore in FY-15.
Note: The unit of currency in this report is the Indian rupee – Rs (also conventionally represented by INR). The Indian numbering system or the Vedic numbering system has been used to denote money values. The basic conversion to the international norm would be:
(a) 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10,000,000 = 10 million = 1 crore
(b) 10,000 lakh = 100 crore = 1 arab = 1 billion.
The ZMCL board also took on record the resignation of Subhash Chandra as director and non-executive chairman of the company with effect from May 24, 2016; and
The ZMCL boards has, based on recommendations of nomination and remuneration committee, approved appointment of R K Arora, CEO as an additional director and upon such appointment, his appointment as an executive director & CEO of the Company for a period of 3 years with effect from May 24, 2016.
Let us look at the other numbers reported by ZMCL
On a consolidated basis, TIO declined marginally by 0.3 percent to Rs 542.91 crore in the current fiscal from Rs 544.33 crore in FY-15. The company reported consolidated profit before tax (PBT) of Rs 2.87 crore in the current year as compared to a consolidated loss before tax of Rs 55.51 crore in FY-15.
Revenue from ZMCL’s Television segment in FY-16 increased 3 percent to Rs 434.59 crore from Rs 422.12 crore in FY-15. ZMCL’s Television segment reported EBIDTA of Rs 79.99 crore in the current year as compared to Rs 59.57 crore in the previous year.
Revenue from the print segment declined 24.4 percent to Rs 108.53 crore in FY-16 from Rs 143.62 crore in FY-15. Print segment reported an operating loss of Rs 0.2 crore as compared to an operating loss of Rs 21.41 crore in FY-15.
ZMCL’s advertising revenue in FY-16 increased 1.8 percent to 401.15 crore from Rs 393.88 crore in FY-15. Advertising revenue from existing television channels in FY-16 increased 1.3 percent to Rs 302.12 crore as compared to Rs 296.74 crore in FY-15. Advertising revenue from new channels in FY-16 more than doubled (2.02 times) to Rs 29.71 crore from Rs 13.81 crore in FY-15.
Subscription revenue in the current year declined 9.8 percent to Rs 102.39 crore from Rs 113.54 crore in the previous year. Other sales and services revenue in FY-16 increased 6.7 percent to Rs 39.37 crore as compared to Rs 36.91 crore in FY-15.
Total consolidated expense in FY-16 declined 8.1 percent to Rs 465.12 crore from Rs 506.17 crore.
Cost of goods and operations in FY-16 declined 15.8 percent to Rs 132.87 crore from Rs 157.90 crore. Employee cost in the current year declined 8.3 percent to Rs 147.35 crore from Rs 160.66 crore in FY-15. Other expenses declined 1.4 percent to Rs 184.90 crore in FY-15 from Rs 187.61 crore in the previous year.
Company speak
ZMCL executive director and CEO RK Arora said: “The Indian economy continues to outperform other major economies of the world. Forecast for a good monsoon season is expected to further fuel the growth. With the macroeconomic environment promising a bright future, the media and entertainment industry is expected to use the emerging opportunities – increased ad spends – to chart a robust growth path. We at ZMCL have adopted a three pronged approach for innovation and growth. For our advertisers, we are constantly bringing out new innovations to maximize their return on investment. For our audience, our endeavor is to provide differentiated, innovative, and positive news content which cuts through the morass of the market. For our shareholders, we are constantly striving to use technology and enhance processes to establish industry benchmarks. Our significantly improved profit margins point towards the success we have achieved in our endeavours.”
