I hope all of you are doing well and gearing up for the festivities! Let me take this opportunity to wish you, much in advance. May this Diwali bring in lots of happiness and prosperity to each one of you. Hope you all have planned a good break with family! I appreciate your time and would like to thank you for joining us this evening, as we discuss the Company’s performance during the second quarter of the financial year 2024-2025. Being an eternal optimist; to me, optimism is not just an approach, but a conscious choice. A choice that enables me and my team to transform challenges into opportunities.
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The strategic growth plan that has been implemented, stems from this firm belief. Today, I would like to touch upon the steps taken, in line with this plan, to achieve our targeted aspirations for the future. We aligned our strategic priorities to enhance our performance and profitability levels across the board, with Frugality, Optimization, and a sharp Focus on Quality Content as the core pillars. I am pleased to share with all of you, that this approach is displaying tangible results for the Company, and we are witnessing a consistent improvement in performance on a sequential basis. A more prudent cost discipline and sharper focus on operations has enabled us to clock strong improvement in EBITDA margins, coupled with robust free -cash generation, even amidst an incessantly challenging macro-economic environment. Let’s look at the Subscription Revenues. The outlook remains healthy as the underlying effects of NTO 3.0 have stabilized. Amidst this scenario, the Company has consistently displayed resilience and demonstrated its ability to grow, while judiciously balancing pricing and churn. We remain optimistic of a further uptick in subscription revenues in the second half of the fiscal on the back of healthy trends in our linear and digital segments. On the advertising revenue front, while the sentiment remained subdued during the quarter, for the industry at large; we have seen some pickup from the month of September with the onset of the festive season. Hence , here as well, we remain optimistic about the upcoming festive quarter leading to an uptick in advertising revenues. That said, I must mention that a strong and sustained rural consumption pickup is surely needed for the industry at large. Our viewership share across markets also witnessed an increase, which served as a testament to the concerted efforts invested by the teams in delivering more compelling and engaging content to our viewers across languages. The gains in market share quarter on quarter enable us to remain well -positioned in an increasingly competitive landscape. Let’s move on to the digital side of the business. The efforts sown in to achieve a balanced cost structure for the digital business are enabling us to dial growth back into ZEE5. The performance of ZEE5 is consistently improving quarter on quarter, showcasing immense potential, and we aim to achieve stability in growth from the
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third quarter onwards. We also continue to offer a compelling content slate to our users at a competitive price point. Post a thorough review and restructuring exercise, we have sharpened the scope of our Technology & Innovation Centre in Bengaluru, to support the linear and digital teams in a holistic manner on the content creation, distribution, and monetization process. As we continue to enhance our performance sequentially, we remain enthused by the well -diversified portfolio of the Company, encompassing four strong business segments. This enables us to reduce dependencies and maintain a firm grip on profitability across the board. For instance, the music business has proven to be an asset for the Company in terms of building scale and margin. As the second largest music label in the country, Zee Music Company is enhancing its rich catalogue with a sharp focus on profitability. As we step into the second half of the fiscal, the overall growth outlook for the Company remains positive. We have taken the necessary action -oriented steps to enhance the performance across all aspects, and we are confident on further strengthening the margin profile going forward. We are well on track to achieve our targeted margin aspirations, and we remain firmly committed towards our set goals for the future. The translation of our efforts into profitability is visible in our cash flow as well, which has inched up during the quarter and continues to strengthen our financial muscle. As the industry continually evolves and competition intensifies, our ability to fortify our position as a formidable player in the ecosystem remains strong. I have always maintained that healthy competition augurs well for the growth of the industry at large, and it will only generate more opportunities for all the players in the ecosystem. The Company has a proficient leadership team that will enable us to achieve our set goals and priorities for the future. With this dedicated and agile team at the forefront, we are confident of enhancing the Company’s capabilities by manifold to redefine the new era of entertainment. We continue to maintain a sharp focus on returning to our industry-beating margin profile as we invest in strengthening our business for the future.
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As we work on these steps, we remain committed to fortifying our portfolio across all segments, with a prudent cost discipline approach. Prudent cost discipline – is an apt point for me to hand over the call to the desk where the buck stops! Over to you Mukund – for you to elaborate more on our operating and financial performance. Thank you, everybody.