| MUMBAI:
Subhash Chandra's Zee Telefilms Limited today reported second quarter consolidated
revenues of Rs 4.64 billion representing a 38.1 per cent growth over the corresponding
period in the previous fiscal where it stood at Rs 3.36 billion.
Consolidated
operating profit stood at Rs 338 million, after expensing of initial investments
in new activities viz. Zee Telugu, Zee Smile, Zee Sports and others, amounting
to Rs 832 million (17.9 per cent of consolidated revenues).
As a result,
consolidated operating profits of continuing businesses were Rs 1,171 million,
higher by 28.4 per cent over to the corresponding quarter last year. Profit before tax for the
second quarter of fiscal 2007 was Rs 409 million while net profit was Rs 333 million,
down 21.6 per cent from the Rs 425 million recorded last year.
The results
announced are after consolidating the financials of ETC Networks Limited (ETC)
for the second quarter of FY2007.
2Q
FY2007 - Highlights | | Advertisement
revenue Rs 2,107 million - up 42.6% | | Subscription
revenue Rs 1,930 million - up 10.6% | | Zee
TV now leader in 9-10 pm & in 6-8:30 pm time band | | Siticable
acquires 250,000 last mile cable connections | | DishTV
enhances content offering, Star bouquet available from August |
| DishTV
subscriber base now 1.5 million |
Said Chandra, "Zee's
second quarter results prove the continued strength of our content business and
a growing presence across new genres. Not only are we growing our content business,
we have been very successful in integrating it with new platforms like DTH, with
significant growth potential. The performance reflects our success in delivering
superior content to viewers and stronger relationship with our consumers."
Chandra
added, "We are also happy about some recent developments relating to our
business. There is continued monitoring of High Court for implementation of CAS
in the notified areas of Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata by December 31, 2006. This
will additionally help in bringing about addressability on cable. On DTH, DishTV
further enhanced its offering from August when the Star bouquet was also made
available to subscribers and now DishTV has the most comprehensive content on
any pay television service, whether cable or satellite. All these have extremely
positive and long term impact on our business."
Commenting on the
restructuring exercise, Chandra continued, "The restructuring exercise is
underway and is expected to be completed by January 2007. There has been some
delay from our earlier expectation of November 2006, due purely to a number of
adjournments of court hearings. When completed, the restructuring would result
in four listed companies ready to exploit the vast emerging opportunities in each
line of business. The next several years would provide tremendous growth opportunities
for all these four businesses." Punit Goenka, whole time
director and responsible for content creation, commented, "Zee TV continued
to increase its viewership share from 25% in 1Q FY2007 to 28% during 2Q FY2007,
along with a significant growth in time spent. During the quarter, average gross
ratings points (GRPs) of Zee TV remained at 240 levels, while recording peak GRPs
of 270 in week 36. The growth momentum has been led by widespread success of Sa
Re Ga Ma Pa Little Champs, Saat Phere and Kasamh Se, while our
new launches Dulhan and Betiyan have been very well received. Betiyan
touched a TVR of 5 in its first week. Zee TV now has five programmes in the Top
20 and 12 programmes in the Top 50. It has leadership in the 9 pm to 10 pm time
band, and between 6 pm to 8:30 pm on weekdays."
"Zee Cinema continues
to be the No. 1 movie channel, and increasingly is becoming a reach channel for
the advertisers. Zee Marathi has improved its viewership by 16 per cent during
2Q FY2007. Zee Bangla has improved its viewership by 60 per cent and has gained
leadership position in the 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm time band. Zee Sports continues
to build on the back of Cricket Tri-Series in Malaysia between India, Australia
and West Indies. We will continue to reinforce our competitive advantage and deliver
more value to viewers and shareholders." Goenka added.
Elaborating
on the performance, CEO Pradeep Guha said, "We are pleased with the strong
operating results, content business delivered in the second quarter. We once again
outperformed the market with unmatched connection with our audience and remain
focused on building on our progress. Looking ahead, we are confident that continued
execution of our content strategy would result in a revenue growth faster than
that of industry." |
