Zee Entertainment Enterprises profit rises 21% to Rs 157 crore

NEW DELHI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises on Friday said its net profit for the quarter ended June 30, 2012 grew 20.6% to Rs 157 crore from Rs 130.16 crore in the same quarter last year.

The company's consolidated revenue for the quarter grew to Rs 842.96 crore from Rs 699 crore a year ago. Net Profit after tax, minority interest and share of profit/loss of associates in the first quarter grew to Rs 158.15 crore from Rs 133.68 crore last year. The EBITDA margin for the quarter stood at 27.7% and the PAT margin was 18.6%. Excluding the sports business, the EBITDA margin stood at 34.2%.

Puneet Goenka, managing director and chief executive officer of Zee Entertainment said that the company's operating margins grew in the quarter as a result of higher viewership on of Zee TV and lower sports losses.

He said, "The rollout of digitization will have a positive impact on our subscription revenues." The first phase of digitization of TV transmission, being implemented in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata, got shifted by four months to October 31, 2012.