Shares of Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEE) fell 4% to Rs 210.40 on the BSE in intraday trade on Tuesday after the media giant reported weak earnings for the December quarter (Q3FY23), with consolidated profit after tax (PAT) falling 92% to Rs 243 crore due to lower advertising spend and higher expenses. The company posted a PAT of Rs 2,987 crore in the quarter a year ago (Q3FY22).

At 9:45 am, ZEE was quoted 3% lower at Rs 212, while the S&P BSE Sensex rose 0.36%. The stock has fallen 20% over the past three months, compared with a 1.4% decline in the benchmark index. The stock touched a 52-week low of Rs 200.50 on June 20, 2022.

ZEE’s total revenue rose 6.7% year-on-year to Rs 2,111.2 crore. Domestic ad revenue fell 16%, while total spending climbed more than 10% to Rs 1,872 crore. The company said year-on-year growth in advertising revenue was impacted by the FTA withdrawal (Zee Anmol) and a slowdown in FMCG spending due to the challenging macroeconomic environment.

The company said that subscription revenue rose 11.2% year-on-year, driven by potential organic growth from Zee5 and Zee Music and recognition of subscription revenue from Siti Networks.

Ebitda was Rs 338 crore, down 18% YoY and up 35% QoQ, with a margin of 16%, down 482 bps YoY and up 243 bps QoQ.