MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEE) has posted a net loss of Rs 765.8 crore for the fourth quarter of the financial year ended March 31, 2020. This is compared to a net profit of Rs 292.5 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.

ZEE’s operating revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% to Rs 1,951.1 crore, compared with Rs 2,019.3 crore in the year-ago period, as poor macroeconomic environment and the onset of Covid-19 outbreak resulted in a drop in advertising revenues.

The drop in advertising revenue was largely offset by a 41% jump in domestic subscription revenues, driven by implementation of the new tariff order last year and growth in ZEE’s subscription revenues, the company said.

ZEE posted an operating loss (EBITDA) of Rs 283.9 crore, compared to a profit of Rs 568.3 crore in Q4FY19. Excluding one-offs for the quarter, ZEE managed to post operating profit of Rs 319.3 crore.

Total expenditure for the quarter jumped 54% to Rs 2,234.9 crore, mainly because of an 18.3% increase in the programming cost (Rs 1,044.8 crore) and 40% increase in other expenses (Rs 242.5 crore). The company reduced its personal cost from Rs 201.5 crore in Q42019 to Rs 160.4 crore during the quarter under review.

The company has also included in administrative cost an onetime provision of Rs 343.3 crore for balances related to ad, subscription and other assets where recovery has become doubtful on account of Covid-19 led uncertainty, ZEE said.

For the full fiscal, ZEE’s net profit dropped by 66.5% to Rs 524.6 crore, from Rs 1,567.3 crore in the previous fiscal, while EBITDA was down 36.2% to Rs 1,364.5 crore.

Total revenue for the year was at Rs 8,129.9 crore, up 2.5% compared to FY19.

Deloitte Haskins & Sells has qualified a related party transaction in the company’s financial statements for the year ended March 31st.

The qualified opinion is regarding the letter of comfort (LOC) issued by ZEE in May 2016 to Yes Bank in connection with a borrowing by Living Entertainment, a related party. While the matter is sub-judice, the ZEE management has not considered the LOC as a financial guarantee and has not accounted for any liability in respect of the LOC, as LEL has defaulted on the payments.

ZEE has disclosed that the board meeting commenced at 2.30 pm and concluded at 4.30 pm on Friday, but the result was published on the bources at 12:30 am.

ZEE stock had closed at Rs 151.65 apiece, down 4.6% on Friday on BSE.