Strong revenue growth momentum continues

- ZEE5 launched with the biggest Indian content catalogue, 100,000+ hours of content

- Domestic ad revenue growth (adjusted for sports) of 24.90/0 in Q4FY18, 18.70/0 in FY18

- Domestic subscription growth (adjusted for sports) of 18.1 % in Q4FY18, 11.8% in FY18

- EBITDA for FY18 at Rs. 20,761 mn, EBITDA Margin of 31.1%

- Board Recommends Equity Dividend of 290% 

The Board of Directors in its meeting held today, has approved and taken on record the audited consolidated financial results of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) (BSE: 505537, NSE: ZEEL.EQ) and its subsidiaries for the quarter and financial year ended March 31,2018. 

Advertising revenue for the quarter was Rs. 10,496 million recording a growth of 23.9%. Adjusted for sports, domestic advertising grew by 24.9% to Rs. 9,834 million. On a comparable basis (excluding sports, RBNL and IWPL), domestic advertising revenue grew by 21.5%. International advertising revenue for the quarter was Rs. 662 million .

Subscription revenue for the quarter was Rs. 5,465 million. Adjusted for the sale of sports business, domestic subscription revenue grew by 18.1%) to Rs. 4,521 million. International subscription revenue stood at Rs. 944 million .

EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortization) for the quarter stood at Rs. 5,062 million and EBITDA margin stood at 29.3% .2 Marathi movies Yere Yere Paisa and Gu/aabjaam were released and performed well at the box-office. 

For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018, ZEEL reported consolidated revenue of Rs. 17,253 million. Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) was Rs. 5,062 million with an EBITDA margin of 29.3%. PAT for the quarter was Rs. 2,310 million.

For FY18, ZEEL reported consolidated revenue of Rs. 66,857 million. Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) was Rs. 20,761 million with an EBITDA margin of 31'.1%. PAT for the year was Rs. 14,791 million. 

Dr. Subhash Chandra, Chairman, ZEEL, commented, "Looking at our performance one might not realise that the first half of the year was not as smooth, which is a testimony to the strength of our team. Being the number one TV entertainment network is a result of our strategy and the consistent hard work we have put in over the years. With the launch of ZEE5, we have taken a major leap towards our preparation for the future and we are confident that like TV business we will be in the leadership position in the digital space as well." 

Mr. Punit Goenka, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, ZEEL, commented, "We launched our new digital platform ZEE5 with over 100,000 hours of content across 11 languages. We are happy with the initial response and are confident that the sheer depth and breadth of our content offering will enable it to become the number one digital entertainment platform in India. We have also focused on the peculiarities of Indian market and designed technological features to improve the user experience. Unlike most of the existing apps which are either focused on the English-speaking segment or the youth audience, ZEE5's vast content catalogue is designed with an objective to cater to all sections of video viewing audience.

We are delighted with the strong operating and financial performance during the quarter. Domestic ad revenue growth of 24% is driven by broad based recovery in advertising spends. With high visibility of product campaigns, improving consumer demand and GST related benefits trickling down to ad spends, we are confident of continued traction in advertising spending. The full-year domestic subscription revenue growth of 12% is a tad lower than our initial expectations due to some unforeseen events. However, there is no change in our medium-term outlook for the same."