Revenue from operations jumped 65.7% year on year to Rs 2,329.58 crore in Q4 FY24, driven by sports and movie segments.
The company reported a pre-tax loss of Rs 126.84 crore in Q4 FY24 as against a profit before tax of Rs 32.67 crore posted in Q4 FY23.
Total expenses surged 86.55% YoY to Rs 2636.40 crore during the quarter. Operational cost was at Rs 1,644.20 crore (up 159.71% YoY) and Marketing, distribution and promotional expense stood at Rs 436.46 crore (up 26.5% YoY) during the period under review.
The firm reported negative operating EBITDA of Rs 161 crore in Q4 FY24 as compared with positive operating EBITDA of Rs 77 crore recorded in Q4 FY23.
TV News business revenue rose 28% YoY while EBITDA was flat in Q4 FY23. The rise in the revenue was primarily driven by an increase in advertising revenue across clusters. With leadership positions across key markets, the network delivered industry-leading growth in display advertising.
During the quarter, the company's operating revenue in entertainment business soared around 80%, primarily due to movie and sports segments revenues. TV advertising revenue also delivered a strong growth on the back of increased viewership share and non-fiction properties.
On full year basis, the company reported net loss of Rs 48.61 crore in FY24 as against net profit of Rs 116.18 crore is recorded in FY23. Revenue from operations jumped 51.82% YoY to Rs 8,975.97 crore in FY24.
Adil Zainulbhai, chairman of Network18, said, “The year gone by has been incredibly successful for us with strong organic growth and a flurry of M&A activity. The announced merger of Viacom18 with Star India is a remarkable moment for India’s M&E sector and we believe that the combined entity shall have the power to change the media landscape of the country in a meaningful way, creating value for all the stakeholders – consumers, customers and shareholders. In parallel, we expect the merger of our TV and Digital news businesses also to be completed sometime this year, making us ready to embark on a truly transformative journey which will deliver growth in the long term.”
TV18 Broadcast, a subsidiary of Network18 manages its primary business of broadcasting. TV18 runs the largest news network in India, spanning business news, general news and regional news channels.