Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEEL) Q2 26/27 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Q2 FY27 operating revenue rose 13% YoY to Rs 22,246 Mn; EBITDA fell 52% to Rs 708 Mn and margin was 3.2%, as FIFA and new-initiative investments weighed on profitability.

• Consolidated Q2 revenue was Rs 22,472m versus Rs 19,956m YoY; net profit was Rs 456m versus Rs 765m. H1 consolidated revenue rose to Rs 41,857m, while net profit was Rs 1,199m.

• Digital growth and subscription gains supported revenue; the Middle East crisis affected advertising conditions and investment levels.

Financial highlights

• H1 FY27 operating revenue rose 9% YoY to Rs 41,319 Mn; expenditure increased 16% to Rs 39,822 Mn, and EBITDA declined 60% to Rs 1,497 Mn.

• Q2 consolidated advertising revenue was Rs 8,030m versus Rs 8,063m YoY; subscription revenue rose to Rs 13,324m from Rs 10,230m.

• Consolidated Q2 profit before tax was Rs 631m versus Rs 1,154m YoY; H1 PBT was Rs 1,372m versus Rs 3,126m.

• H1 consolidated operating cash flow was negative Rs 3,706m versus negative Rs 386m; investing cash flow was negative Rs 973m versus negative Rs 271m.

Outlook and guidance

• Management expects H2 digital momentum to continue; subscription growth should remain above normalized levels but below Q2’s 30% rate.

• FIFA subscriber retention was 35%–40%; renewals into quarterly and longer-term packs are expected to support Q3 and Q4 subscription revenue.

• Advertising revenue is expected to remain stable in H2; the festive season, strong content pipeline and FIFA-supported digital growth underpin cautious optimism for FY27.

• Q3 digital releases include originals; KidZ, Bullet and Live remain investment priorities. Linear subscription benefits from Unite8 Sports and added football properties are expected mainly from next FY.