Zee Ent

On the face of it, it looks like Zee Entertainment has posted a stellar performance for Q4FY17. Its consoldiated net profit has jumped up almost 7 times to Rs.1514 crore v/s Rs.226 crore in Q4FY16; that too, on an almost flat 0.4% rise in revenue at Rs.1528 crore. Digging a little further, you realise the net profit is inflated because of the exceptional gain of Rs 1223 crore on sale of sports business.

Thanks to the 5% drop in expenditure, EBITDA showed a 14% rise at Rs.469 crore. Other income saw a 46% jump but this was more or less nullified by the 51% rise in depreciation. Interest cost, which is substantial at Rs.112 crore, was down 16%.

Advertising revenue for the quarter was Rs 8,47 crore and domestic advertising revenue grew by 8% to Rs.794 crore while international advertising revenue stood at Rs.52 crore. Subscription revenue for the quarter was at Rs.558 crore, a decline of 6% YoY, due to high base on account of catch-up revenues in Q4FY16. Domestic subscription revenue stood at Rs.455 crore while international subscription revenue stood at Rs.103 crore.

The company ended FY17 with a 11% (YoY) rise in revenue at Rs.6434 crore and net profit for the year was at Rs.2220 crore which included exceptional income of Rs.1223 crore. Its equity stands at Rs.96 crore and borrowings at Rs.1526 crore.