Zee slips into red with Rs 196 cr loss on advertising slowdown

Zee Entertainment Enterprises (Zee) on Thursday posted a consolidated net loss of Rs 196 crore for the quarter ended on March 31, 2023 (Q4), on the back of an advertising slowdown, missing street estimates by a wide margin. Bloomberg consensus estimates had pegged Q4 profit at Rs 113 crore. The media company had posted a net profit of Rs 182 crore in the year-ago period.

Revenue fell nearly 10% year-on-year (y-o-y) to Rs 2,126 crore from Rs 2,360 crore in the same period last year. Advertising revenue fell 11% to Rs 1,006 crore from Rs 1,119.7 crore reported last year. Bloomberg consensus estimate had pegged revenue at Rs 2,064 crore.

Zee’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) plunged 70% y-o-y to Rs 151.7 crore due to elevated strategic investments across the business, the company said. It had reported a `505.3 crore Ebitda last year.