Quote:Zee Entertainment has reported a set of numbers that were ahead of market expectations for the December quarter.

Revenues fell by 3 per cent over the same period last year to Rs 530.9 crore, but net profits grew by 36.8 per cent to Rs 115.1 crore (excluding a tax write-back of Rs 31.3 crore). A tight leash on programming and selling costs (that collectively account for 90 per cent of all expenses) has helped bottom line expansion.

The key positive for the company in the quarter has been an 8 per cent growth in subscription revenues, which contributes 46 per cent to the overall kitty. The increasing DTH penetration has resulted in the company benefiting. In fact the company claims to beam into nine million DTH households (of the total 18.5 million) that access various channels of the Zee. With healthy additions, this segment is all set to increase contributions to revenues.

Full Story: Subscriptions boost Zee net