Zee Entertainment Q3 results: Consolidated PAT falls 25% YoY to Rs 299 cr

Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) on Wednesday reported a 25 per cent on-year decline in consolidated net profit at Rs 299 crore for the quarter ending 31 December, 2021. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 400 crore in the year-ago period.

ZEEL’s consolidated total income fell 23 per cent to Rs 2,130 crore versus Rs 2,757 crore a year ago, the company said in a regulatory filing.

The company’s EBITDA, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation fell 24.8 per cent to Rs 479 crore, while the EBITDA margin for was down 330 basis points to 22.7 per cent.

ZEEL’s entertainment channel Zee5’s monthly active users (MAU) rose to 101.9 million “with steadily growing engagement.” 51 shows and movies (incl 11 originals) released during the quarter, it added.

The entertainment company stated that its gained market share in Hindi GEC on back of new launches. It also mentioned that it “strengthened leadership position” in Bengali and Kannada.

Earlier in December Sony Pictures Networks India Pvt Ltd (SPNI) and Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) announced that they have signed definitive agreements for their merger following conclusion of an exclusive negotiation period during which both parties conducted mutual due diligence after an intense boardroom drama ahead of the merger.

In a joint statement, the two companies said they had ”signed definitive agreements to merge ZEEL with and into SPNI and combine their linear networks, digital assets, production operations and program libraries”. The agreements follow the conclusion of an exclusive negotiation period during which ZEEL and SPNI conducted mutual due diligence, it added.

When the merger deal was announced in September, the two networks had stated that Sony would invest $1.575 billion and hold 52.93 per cent stake in the merged entity and Zee the remaining 47.07 per cent.

Shares of ZEEL on Wednesday closed 1.16 per cent higher at Rs 292.80 apiece on BSE. Business Today