Zee Entertainment Q2 Results: Cons net profit falls 63% YoY to Rs 76 crore, revenue down 2%

Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEE) on Thursday reported a 63% year-on-year (YoY) fall in its consolidated net profit at Rs 76.5 crore in the second quarter. The same stood at Rs 209.4 crore in the last year quarter.

Revenue from operations in the same period fell 2%YoY to Rs 1,996 crore.

Sequentially, profit also dropped from Rs 144 crore in Q1FY26, reflecting a slowdown in both advertising and subscription segments.

The revenue drop was driven by muted ad spending and a sluggish recovery in the linear TV segment. On a sequential basis, revenue rose about 8% from Rs 1,850 crore in Q1.

Segment-wise, advertising revenue fell 12% YoY to Rs 806 crore, down from Rs 902 crore a year ago due to slowdown in FMCG spending.

The company said the domestic ad environment continues to be soft, while a pick-up on account of the festive season augurs well for near-term.

Subscription revenue, however, grew modestly 5% YoY to Rs 1,023 crore (Rs 969.9 crore a year ago), driven by OTT and domestic linear price increases.

Revenue from other sales and services fell sharply to Rs 139 crore from Rs 224.5 crore in Q2FY25.

Expenses rise, margins weaken

Total expenses increased 7% YoY to Rs 1,880 crore from Rs 1,759 crore a year ago. Operational costs climbed 2% YoY to Rs 1,078 crore, led by higher programming costs due to the launch of non-fiction content and two new GEC channels. Employee expenses rose 7% to Rs 214 crore.

Advertising and publicity spending also saw a steep 42% jump YoY to Rs 369 crore, driven by new channels launch, higher number of movie releases and new content.

On Thursday, shares of ZEE closed 1.3% higher at Rs 108.5 on NSE.