ITV

Tag: Zee News UP

  • Zee News sees improvement in profits in FY 2013 financials

    MUMBAI: By the time Zee News Ltd announces its financials this time next year, it could well be sporting a new name Zee Media Corp. It could well also have merged its news broadcasting business with Essel group publication DNA as proposed by its board (see Zee News-DNA: merger on the cards?). Additionally, it could well also have news and infotainment channels in Rajasthan and Bihar/Jharkhand on air (it plans to launch them in the first half this year) adding to the roster it already runs in Zee News, Zee Business, Zee 24 Taas, Zee Punjabi, Zee News UP, Zee Tamil, Zee 24 Gantalu, and 24 Ghanta.

    That could well be good news for any Zee News watcher. But what is better news is the fact that the company has achieved a turnaround of sorts by reporting a profit in Q4-2013 of Rs 6.87 crore. That‘s despite a drop in ad and overall revenues in the quarter. Subscription revenues have, however, been buoyant in the period.

    Let us look at the Q4-2013 results as against corresponding Q4-2012

    Revenues for Q4-2013 stand at Rs 79.06 crore, a dip of 8.43 per cent from last Q4- 2012‘s Rs 86.34 crore. Of this, subscription revenues have increased to Rs 22.2 crore as against last quarter‘s reported Rs 20.8 crore. Ad revenues have declined to Rs 52.2 crore from Rs 56.3 crore.

    Operating costs have significantly dropped to Rs 14.15 crore as against last corresponding quarter‘s Rs 21.39 crore. However the overall expenses have surged to Rs 78.05 crore, a rise of over 9.6 per cent from Rs 71.02 crore of the last corresponding quarter especially with its employee benefit expenses rising to Rs 23.2 crore (a rise of 22 per cent annually).

    EBITDA for the quarter was disappointing at Rs 4.68 crore as against Rs 18.4 crore reported in the last corresponding period, a dive of over 74 per cent.

    PAT for the quarter (Q4-2013) at Rs 6.87 crore is a massive surge of 300 per cent from a reported loss of Rs 3.95 crore in the last corresponding quarter- Q4-2012..

    Let us look at the consolidated annual FY-2013 financials vs FY-2012

    While total revenues have slipped to Rs 303.81 crore in FY-2013 as against FY-2012‘s Rs 307.22 crore, subscription revenues for the full year have surged by over 13.5 per cent to Rs 84.27 crore as opposed to last year‘s Rs 74.27 crore. Subscription revenues contributed to 27.7 per cent of the total revenues indicating stronger viewer demand for the channels, while ad revenues standing at Rs 202 crore contributed a majority to the total revenue stream.
    Expenses have risen 5 per cent to Rs 278.23 crore from last year‘s Rs 265 crore, with its employee benefit expenses at Rs 87.7 crore increasing by over 17.4 per cent. EBITDA for the full year is reported at Rs 37.54 crore a drop of over 29.6 per cent from last year‘s 53.35 crore.

    Net profit for FY-2013 has ballooned 109 per cent to Rs 24.17 crore as against FY-2012‘s Rs 11.55 crore. The major reason for this surge is the pouring in of funds through sources apart from its core operations including the Rs 4.8 crore dividends it received from its subsidiary Zee Akash News Pvt. Ltd. Its interest cost has narrowed to Rs 8.79 crore as against last year‘s reported Rs 10.66 crore. Also the taxation costs have reduced by 3 per cent over the year.

    Its online property Zeenews.com has been doing well and gaining traction. Even its microsite for the India Vs Australia series generated close to 2.9 million page views while its Union budget site knocked up 1.3 million page views.

    Says Zee News managing director Punit Goenka,” Our subscription revenues have shown a double digit increase and have partially compensated for the revenue constraints from a tepid advertising response in the backdrop of a muted period of growth. Out constant endeavour to bring innovative, quality and unbiased content to the viewer will remain the cornerstone of our programming. We aspire to be the one-stop destination for news in the country by building seamless synergy among the group‘s TV, print and digital platforms. Our company is redefining itself in tune with the changing times, laying emphasis on the digital medium and addressing broader viewer tastes.”

    Adds Zee News CEO Alok Agrawal,” The Zee bouquet of news channels reached the highest number of people across the country touching over a 100 million viewers the last quarter of the fiscal. The network also had the highest relative share in the same period. It is a testimony to the fact that our viewer oriented and innovative programming has shown results. Our differentiated offering to business news viewers has resulted in Zee Business being a leader in five out of 13 weeks of the quarter. Also we are seeing a significant swing of viewers from English business news to Hindi business news. In the last quarter we expanded our footprint by establishing our presence in burgeoning central Indian states of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh with the launch of news and infotainment channel-Zee Madhya Pradesh/Chhattisgarh.”

  • Zee News sees improvement in profits in FY 2013 financials

    Zee News sees improvement in profits in FY 2013 financials

    MUMBAI: By the time Zee News Ltd announces its financials this time next year, it could well be sporting a new name Zee Media Corp. It could well also have merged its news broadcasting business with Essel group publication DNA as proposed by its board (see Zee News-DNA: merger on the cards?). Additionally, it could well also have news and infotainment channels in Rajasthan and Bihar/Jharkhand on air (it plans to launch them in the first half this year) adding to the roster it already runs in Zee News, Zee Business, Zee 24 Taas, Zee Punjabi, Zee News UP, Zee Tamil, Zee 24 Gantalu, and 24 Ghanta.

     

    That could well be good news for any Zee News watcher. But what is better news is the fact that the company has achieved a turnaround of sorts by reporting a profit in Q4-2013 of Rs 6.87 crore. That’s despite a drop in ad and overall revenues in the quarter. Subscription revenues have, however, been buoyant in the period.

     

    Let us look at the Q4-2013 results as against corresponding Q4-2012

     

    Revenues for Q4-2013 stand at Rs 79.06 crore, a dip of 8.43 per cent from last Q4- 2012’s Rs 86.34 crore. Of this, subscription revenues have increased to Rs 22.2 crore as against last quarter’s reported Rs 20.8 crore. Ad revenues have declined to Rs 52.2 crore from Rs 56.3 crore.

     

    Operating costs have significantly dropped to Rs 14.15 crore as against last corresponding quarter’s Rs 21.39 crore. However the overall expenses have surged to Rs 78.05 crore, a rise of over 9.6 per cent from Rs 71.02 crore of the last corresponding quarter especially with its employee benefit expenses rising to Rs 23.2 crore (a rise of 22 per cent annually).

     

    EBITDA for the quarter was disappointing at Rs 4.68 crore as against Rs 18.4 crore reported in the last corresponding period, a dive of over 74 per cent.

     

    PAT for the quarter (Q4-2013) at Rs 6.87 crore is a massive surge of 300 per cent from a reported loss of Rs 3.95 crore in the last corresponding quarter- Q4-2012..

     

    Let us look at the consolidated annual FY-2013 financials vs FY-2012

     

    While total revenues have slipped to Rs 303.81 crore in FY-2013 as against FY-2012’s Rs 307.22 crore, subscription revenues for the full year have surged by over 13.5 per cent to Rs 84.27 crore as opposed to last year’s Rs 74.27 crore. Subscription revenues contributed to 27.7 per cent of the total revenues indicating stronger viewer demand for the channels, while ad revenues standing at Rs 202 crore contributed a majority to the total revenue stream.

    Expenses have risen 5 per cent to Rs 278.23 crore from last year’s Rs 265 crore, with its employee benefit expenses at Rs 87.7 crore increasing by over 17.4 per cent. EBITDA for the full year is reported at Rs 37.54 crore a drop of over 29.6 per cent from last year’s 53.35 crore.

     

    Net profit for FY-2013 has ballooned 109 per cent to Rs 24.17 crore as against FY-2012’s Rs 11.55 crore. The major reason for this surge is the pouring in of funds through sources apart from its core operations including the Rs 4.8 crore dividends it received from its subsidiary Zee Akash News Pvt. Ltd. Its interest cost has narrowed to Rs 8.79 crore as against last year’s reported Rs 10.66 crore. Also the taxation costs have reduced by 3 per cent over the year.

     

    Its online property Zeenews.com has been doing well and gaining traction. Even its microsite for the India Vs Australia series generated close to 2.9 million page views while its Union budget site knocked up 1.3 million page views.

     

    Says Zee News managing director Punit Goenka,” Our subscription revenues have shown a double digit increase and have partially compensated for the revenue constraints from a tepid advertising response in the backdrop of a muted period of growth. Out constant endeavour to bring innovative, quality and unbiased content to the viewer will remain the cornerstone of our programming. We aspire to be the one-stop destination for news in the country by building seamless synergy among the group’s TV, print and digital platforms. Our company is redefining itself in tune with the changing times, laying emphasis on the digital medium and addressing broader viewer tastes.”

     

    Adds Zee News CEO Alok Agrawal,” The Zee bouquet of news channels reached the highest number of people across the country touching over a 100 million viewers the last quarter of the fiscal. The network also had the highest relative share in the same period. It is a testimony to the fact that our viewer oriented and innovative programming has shown results. Our differentiated offering to business news viewers has resulted in Zee Business being a leader in five out of 13 weeks of the quarter. Also we are seeing a significant swing of viewers from English business news to Hindi business news. In the last quarter we expanded our footprint by establishing our presence in burgeoning central Indian states of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh with the launch of news and infotainment channel-Zee Madhya Pradesh/Chhattisgarh.”

  • Slowdown halts Zee News Ltd’s expansion plans

    Slowdown halts Zee News Ltd’s expansion plans

    MUMBAI: Television news broadcaster Zee News Ltd (ZNL) has halted its expansion plans due to a slowdown in the economy.

    After demerging from Zee’s entertainment broadcasting business, ZNL had chalked out a plan for more channel launches after spending a year in consolidating its operations.

    “Our focus last year was on consolidation. But for the slowdown, we would have expanded our bouquet this year,” said Zee News Ltd chief executive officer Barun Das in an interview with Indiantelevision.com. 
       
    News broadcasters will have to increase their fleet of channels if they have to scale up their revenues. “It is difficult for established existing channels to post ad revenue growth beyond 10 per cent. Expanding the bouquet and strengthening it is key to a TV news broadcaster’s growth strategy,” said Das.

    ZNL is looking at launching regional news channels but an English general news channel is also on the cards. “It would preferably be regional news channels first but we have not ruled out an English news channel. It all depends on the fund position and the extent of the slowdown. When we are looking at growth, we can’t take the market for granted anymore,” averred Das.

    ZNL is looking at posting a revenue of over Rs 3 billion this fiscal even as it forecasts a sluggish growth for the industry in the next two quarters. The company had reported a revenue of Rs 1.43 billion for the six-month period ended September 2011.

    “The next two quarters are not going to be easy. But we expect to outgrow the market by at least 5 per cent,” said Das.

    ZNL owns and operates seven channels including Zee News, Zee Business, Zee 24 Taas, Zee Punjabi, 24 Ghanta, Zee 24 Ghantalu and Zee News UP.

  • Zee News Q1 net drops 7.8% on weaker ad rev

    Zee News Q1 net drops 7.8% on weaker ad rev

    MUMBAI: Zee News Ltd (ZNL) has reported a 7.8 per cent fall in consolidated net profit for the fiscal first-quarter, hurt by a dip in advertising revenue as the cricket World Cup and the Indian Premier League (IPL) attracted advertisers.

    The net profit for the three months ended June 2011 stood at Rs 50.9 million, pulled down by a 3.5 per cent drop in advertising revenue as many product categories that advertise on the news channels went through a slowdown phase. The slide was somewhat halted by a control in expenses.

    Said ZNL managing director Punit Goenka, “The new financial year has started slowly, but considering that the industry de-grew, ZNL has done well to match up with Q1 FY11. Incidentally, ZNL had an exceptionally good Q1 in the last year. In this quarter, the monies got diverted to sporting events, thereby upsetting budgets for other genres including news. We had anticipated this slowdown and had planned accordingly.”

    Operating revenue declined 1.8 per cent to Rs 636.6 million from Rs 648.5 million a year ago.

    Expenses also fell 1.3 per cent to Rs 560 million, compared with Rs 567.3 million in the earlier year. Ebitda for the first quarter stood at Rs 76.6 million, 5.8 per cent down from Rs 81.2 million.

    Said ZNL CEO Barun Das, “While ZNL experienced some slowdown in revenues due to some critical spending product categories being under the weather, our cost effectiveness stood us in better stead compared to the industry in terms of healthy balance sheet.”

     
      ZNL‘s advertising revenue fell to Rs 436.4 million, as against Rs 452.2 million.

    Among the expenses, the cost of goods and operations and other expenses fell. However, it was offset by a 14.7 per cent rise in the employee cost.

    ZNL posted Ebitda profit of Rs 139 million from its existing business (Zee News, Zee Business, Zee 24 Taas, Zee Punjabi and 24 Ghanta). However, in the earlier year, Ebitda was stronger at Rs 208.3 million.

    The company, however, managed to narrow the Ebitda loss from its new businesses (Zee 24 Ghantalu, Zee News UP) to Rs 62.5 million. This was mainly because of discontinuation of Zee Tamil on 31 March 2011. In the year-ago period, the Ebitda loss from the new business was Rs 127.1 million.

    The company, however, expects the environment for revenue from the news business to improve. Said Goenka, “Going forward, the news genre looks likely to recover traction with eclectic properties that would be seen as viable spending options. In the meantime, the company recently has adopted a new identity infusing freshness in its look and the market has responded enthusiastically to it.”

  • Zee News Q4 net up 221% at Rs 66.5 mn

    Zee News Q4 net up 221% at Rs 66.5 mn

    MUMBAI: Zee News Limited (ZNL) has posted a consolidated net profit (after minority interest) of Rs 66.48 million for the quarter ended 31 March, a 221 per cent jump over the year-ago period.

    The company had posted a net profit of Rs 20.70 million in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.

    ZNL’s total consolidated revenues for the three-month period stood at Rs 759.7 million, up 26.5 per cent, compared to Rs 600.6 million in the fourth-quarter of previous fiscal.

    Meanwhile, expenses also jumped 10.7 per cent to Rs 621.7 million, from Rs 561.8 million a year ago.

    Profit before tax for the quarter stood at Rs 128.2 million, up from Rs21.8 million in the year-ago period.

    ZNL posted Ebitda profit of Rs 247.8 million (Rs 105.7 million in previous year quarter) from its existing business (Zee News, Zee Business, Zee 24 Taas, Zee Punjabi and 24 Ghanta). However, its Ebitda loss from new business (Zee Tamizh, Zee 24 Ghantalu and Zee News UP) widened to Rs 109.8 million from Rs 66.9million (from loss of Rs 116.5 million).

    Meanwhile, for the full fiscal ended 31 March, the company has posted a net profit of Rs 163.67 million, down from Rs 456.84 in the previous year. However, the company clarified that in view of the demerger of regional general entertainment channels with effect from the appointed date of 1 January 2010 from ZNL to Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL), numbers for the full year are not comparable with the previous year numbers.

    Revenue from the fiscal stood at Rs 2.77 billion (from Rs 5.29 billion), while expenses were at Rs 2.34 billion (from Rs 4.38 billion). Ebitda profit from existing business was at Rs 868 million (Rs 1.33 billion in previous year) while Ebitda loss from new business was Rs 444 million, down from 427.2 million.

    ZNL chairman Subhash Chandra said, “The network has outperformed competition when assessed as a business unit by posting profits in not a very favourable scenario. In retrospect, we can safely affirm that our decision to consolidate the news business and focus on regional markets has yielded positive results.”

    ZNL CEO Barun Das added, “Our focus on current deliverables even while we cement our long term strategy has ensured that we have closed another year on a positive note. The upbeat results are reflective of all-round performance, with every channel making a contribution. Advertising and subscription have continued to grow and further digitalization will only augment our position. Our ability to reinvent ourselves as per the changing dynamics and sensitivity to the need of the serious news viewers appear to have been instrumental in our success in this quarter as well as the year.”

  • Zee News Ltd Q2 net at Rs 2.2 mn on revenue of Rs 615.9 mn

    Zee News Ltd Q2 net at Rs 2.2 mn on revenue of Rs 615.9 mn

    MUMBAI: Zee News Ltd (ZNL) has posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 2.24 million (after minority interest) for the three-month period ending September on a revenue of Rs 615.87 million.

    The corresponding quarter a year ago had six regional general entertainment channels which powered a net profit of Rs 131.49 million for the second-quarter of FY‘10. Since 1 January 2010 the regional GECs have moved to group company Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd.

    On sequential basis, ZNL had posted a net profit of Rs 33 million on a turnover of Rs 648.5 million in the fiscal first quarter.

    ZNL chairman Subhash Chandra said, “The company has utilised the last two quarters to consolidate its position post demerger, and is poised to expand from here. The balance sheet looks sanguinely healthy and advertising and subscription revenues have continued to grow. What is particularly heartening is that the company has managed to show robust growth at a time when most players in the industry have been facing degrowth.”

    Ebitda for the quarter under review stood at Rs 70.2 million and profit before tax at Rs 32.1 million.

    The trimmed down ZNL‘s advertising revenue grew 16.3 per cent over the year-ago period, while subscription revenue for the quarter was Rs 194.1, which constituted 31.5 per cent of the total revenue.

         
      The expenses of the company stood at Rs 545.7 million.

    ZNL posted Ebitda profit of Rs 186.8 million from its existing business (Zee News, Zee Business, Zee 24 Taas, Zee Punjabi and 24 Ghanta). The company, however, suffered Ebitda loss of Rs 116.5 million from its new business (Zee Tamizh, Zee 24 Ghantalu and Zee News UP).

    ZNL CEO Barun Das added, “Our performance in the second quarter of this fiscal reflects all round growth. All our existing channels continued to perform, while both the newly launched news channels are on path to meet their respective breakeven targets. Our focus to offer a bouquet of channels in national and vernacular languages has reaped rich dividends, giving us an edge over competition. Advertising revenues of 16.3 per cent would possibly standout as an exception in TV News industry. Moreover, our strategy to concentrate on the middle line besides top line has ensured that the company remains in fine fettle. Usually Q2 is the slowest quarter in terms of advertising revenue. Despite that, we are pleased to post a healthy Ebitda. In this context, the buoyant figures in Q2 set the pace for an even more successful Q3.”

  • Zee News Ltd Q1 net at Rs 33 mn on revenue of Rs 648.5 mn

    Zee News Ltd Q1 net at Rs 33 mn on revenue of Rs 648.5 mn

    MUMBAI: Zee News Ltd (ZNL) has posted a fiscal first-quarter consolidated net profit of Rs 33 million on a revenue of Rs 648.5 million.

    The comparing quarter a year ago had six regional general entertainment channels which powered a net profit of Rs 119.1 million for the three months to 30 June 2009. Since 1 January 2010 the regional GECs have moved to group company Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd.

    Ebitda for the quarter under review stood at Rs 81.2 million and profit before tax at Rs 55.3 million. 

    ZNL’s advertising revenue grew 14.5 per cent, a satisfying growth considering that the year-ago quarter benefitted from political ads for the general elections.

    The expenses of the company stood at Rs 567.3 million

    ZNL posted Ebitda profit of Rs 208.3 million from its existing business (Zee News, Zee Business, Zee 24 Taas, Zee Punjabi and 24 Ghanta). The company, however, suffered Ebitda loss of Rs 127.1 million from its new business (Zee Tamizh, Zee 24 Ghantalu and Zee News UP).

    ZNL chairman Subhash Chandra said, “Continuing its sound performance in FY 09-10, ZNL has started FY 10-11 with a great zeal. Immediately after de-merger the company’s aim was to consolidate its existing operations. Our focus on innovation, efficiency enhancement, and further rationalisation of cost has enhanced our competitive advantage and has resulted in such encouraging performance.”

    On the first quarter numbers, Chandra added, “ZNL has out-performed the industry in Q1 of FY 2010-11.The advertising revenue of the company grew by 14.5 per cent, which is quite creditable given the fact that last year during the same period news genre enjoyed an unprecedented revenue growth owning to general elections of the Country. Aggressive business strategy, coupled with operational efficiency has enabled us achieve a 12.5 per cent Ebitda margin for the company despite the losses accruing from the three newly launched channels. In a cluttered television news market where profitability is a prerogative of only a select few, ZNL’s performance certainly stands apart.”