BENGALURU: Zee Media Corporation (ZMCL) reported 33.7 per cent growth for its television business to Rs 103.87 crore in Q1-2015 as compared to Rs 77.68 crore in Q1-2014 and 25 per cent more than the Rs 82.78 crore in Q4-2014. The television segment reported operating result of Rs 4.78 crore in the quarter.
ZMCL’s advertising revenue in Q1-2014 at Rs 80.1 crore grew by 51.2 per cent as compared to the year ago ad revenue of Rs 52.9 crore. Ad revenue from existing channels grew 47.7 per cent to Rs 77.3 crore in Q1-2015 from Rs 52.35 crore in Q1-2014. New channels ad revenue increased to Rs 2.71 crore in Q1-2015 from Rs 0.55 crore in the Q1-2014.
The company reported a Q1-2015 loss of Rs 17.52 crore as compared to a PAT of Rs 4.11 crore in Q4-2014 and PAT of Rs 5.04 crore in Q1-2014.
Note : 100,00,000 = 10 million = 100 Lakhs = 1 crore
ZMCL has included the print segment’s numbers to its consolidated results for Q1-2014 for the first time. The Scheme of Amalgamation ("The Scheme") for merger of Essel Publishers Private Limited ("EPPL") with the Company was approved by the Bombay High Court vide Order passed on 2 May 2 2014, with appointed date being 1 April 2014. The Scheme has been made effective on 27 May 2014 and hence given effect to in the financial statements of the current quarter. As per the Scheme, all assets and liabilities of EPPL vested on the company were accounted at their respective fair values as per Accounting Standard 14. In pursuance of the Scheme, the company had on 9 June 2014 issued and allotted 122,381,817 equity shares of Re 1 each fully paid up to the shareholders of EPPL, which has resulted in (i) increase in paid-up capital of the company to 362,145,773 equity shares of Re. 1 each and (ii) increase in shareholding of promoters and promoter group to 69.11per cent. The current period EPS is not comparable to the previous periods, due to such allotment of equity shared during the quarter.
ZMCL’s print segment reported revenue of Rs 29.6 crore in Q1-2015 and an operating loss of Rs 15.19 crore, which was a major addition to the loss reported by the company during the current quarter.
Let us look at the other numbers reported by ZMCL for Q1-2015: (Q-o-q or y-o-y figures cannot be compared)
ZMCL reported total income from operations (TIO) in Q1-2015 to Rs 113.46 crore (includes print segment); Rs 82.78 crore (without print segment) in Q4-2014 and Rs 77.68 crore (without print segment) in Q1-2014.
The company’s total expense in Q1-2015 was Rs 143.80 crore (including print segment). In Q4-2014, total expense was Rs 93.09 crore (without print segment) and in Q1-2014 it was Rs 72.30 crore.
ZMCL’s employee benefit expense (EBE) in Q1-2015 was Rs 39.95 crore (29.9 per cent of TIO, including print segment). In Q4-2014, EBE was Rs 25.13 crore (30.4 per cent of TIO, without print segment) and in Q1-2014, it was Rs 23.25 crore (29.9 per cent of TIO, without print).
The company’s depreciation and amortisation expense in Q1-2015 was Rs 12.43 crore (9.3 per cent of TIO, including print segment), in Q4-2014, it was Rs 4.71 crore (5.7 per cent of TIO, without print segment) and Q1-2014, it was Rs 3.94 crore (5.1 per cent of TIO, without print segment).
ZMCL’s operational cost in Q1-2015 was Rs 32.96 crore (24.7 per cent of TIO, including print segment), in Q4-2014, it was Rs 20.28 crore (24.5 per cent of TIO, without print segment), and in Q1-2014, it was Rs 12.61 crore (17.89 per cent of TIO, without print segment).
The company’s other expense in Q1-2015 stood at Rs 33.78 crore (25.3 per cent of TIO, including print segment), in Q4-2014, it was Rs 27.83 crore (33.62 per cent of TIO, without print segment) and in Q1-2014, it was Rs 21.30 crore (27 per cent of TIO, without print segment)
Zee Media news cluster group CEO Bhaskar Das said, “Continuing to expand our horizon, ZMCL has enlarged its reach to over 147 million users across the country, again consolidating its position as the largest private news network. We have also continued to sharpen our focus on our online medium by ensuring seamless integration of content across platforms. The network set high benchmarks in coverage of general elections, striking a rich balance between insightful analysis and reportage from the field. While we are constantly striving for creating content differentiators, the network has posted a strong growth in advertisement revenue, especially on counting day of general elections.”
