Network18 Media Posts Net Profit of Rs 60 Cr in Q4

New Delhi, Apr 23 (PTI) Media firm Network18 Media & Investments Ltd on Thursday reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 60.19 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 2020.

The company had posted a net loss of Rs 75.57 crore for the January-March period of the previous fiscal, Network18 Media said in a regulatory filing.

Consolidated revenue from operations rose 18.97 per cent to Rs 1,464.51 crore for the quarter under consideration, as against Rs 1,230.93 crore in the corresponding period a year ago.

Total expenses rose 1.73 per cent to Rs 1,333.43 crore, from Rs 1,310.71 crore earlier.

Network18 Chairman Adil Zainulbhai said: "The COVID-19 pandemic is a major black swan event, which has dragged the economy and the advertising environment as a result. The immediate impact on ad-driven media industry will be significant; however an increasing proportion of subscription revenues will help us pull through. Amid uncertain times, the strength of our brands and our class-leading content creation capabilities continues to shine through."

"The growth in media consumption witnessed augurs well for the future, as some of the increased engagement will be sticky even once the pandemic tapers off. We have stayed the course on our digital impetus and sharp focus on profitability," he added.

The board of the company had on February 17, 2020 approved the scheme of amalgamation and arrangement between the company, Den Networks, Hathway, TV18 Broadcast, Media18 Distribution, Web 18 and Digital18 Media, subject to necessary approvals

The company's consolidated net profit for the financial year 2019-20 stood at Rs 56.14 crore. It had reported a loss of Rs 177.60 crore in 2018-19.

Revenue from operations for FY20 rose 4.70 per cent to Rs 5,357.15 crore, from Rs 5,116.18 crore in FY19.

Shares of Network18 Media & Investments Ltd settled at Rs 24.15 on BSE on Thursday, up 1.68 per cent.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)