Shares of Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEE) touched a 52-week low of Rs 175.80, down 2% on the BSE in intraday trade on Friday, after the media giant reported operating Ebitda fell 70% YoY and 58.5% QoQ to Rs 151.70 crore in the March quarter (Q4FY23). Ebitda’s margin fell to 7.2% from 17.4% in the previous quarter and 21.8% in the same period last year.

Lower ad revenue (on the back of weaker ad spend), higher movie content and Zee5 costs impacted margins, and one-time charges further added to bottom-line pain.

The stock fell below the previous low of Rs 176.60 hit on February 27, 2023. At 9:24 am, the stock has pared early losses and is quoted 1% higher at Rs 180.50. In contrast, the S&P BSE Sensex gained 0.10% to 61,938.

ZEE posted a consolidated net loss of Rs 196 crore in Q4FY23, compared to a profit of Rs 182 crore a year ago. The company reported an unusual loss of Rs 89.9 crore, of which Rs 62 crore was for staff and legal costs related to the proposed scheme of arrangement.

Operating income for the quarter fell 9% year-on-year and was flat quarter-on-quarter at Rs 2,112 crore. Advertising revenue fell 10.2% year-on-year to Rs 1,006 crore, with domestic advertising revenue down 10.2% year-on-year.