MUMBAI: Zee Telefilms has reported net profit of Rs 876 million for the Q4 2004, an increase of 8.4 per cent compared to the corresponding quarter last year.

Overall subscription revenues for the media major, including domestic and international businesses, recorded a gain of 14.2 per cent over Q4 2003. Domestic pay revenues too have continued on a strong growth path, with a whopping 21 per cent increase over the corresponding period last year. Subscription revenue clocked was Rs 1,576 million for Q4 2004.

Advertisement revenue earned was Rs 1,836 million for the fourth quarter ended March 2004, up by six per cent as compared to Q4 2003. Domestic subscription revenue was Rs 585 million for the fourth quarter 2004, an increase of 21 per cent compared to the corresponding period last fiscal.

These numbers were arrived at after consolidating the financials of ETC Networks Limited (ETC) and Padmalaya Telefilms Limited (PTL) for the fourth quarter of FY2004, the two entities that merged with ZTL last fiscal.

The fourth quarter consolidated revenues for ZTL amounted to Rs 3,826 million, an 8.9 per cent jump over the corresponding period in the previous fiscal. The consolidated operating profit has also increased by 22.6 per cent to Rs 1,274 million over the same period last year. The growth was attributed to the higher pay revenues from domestic and international markets, and also a healthy recovery in advertising revenues from the corresponding quarter last year, despite the Indo-Pak Cricket series.

ZTL Chairman and MD Subhash Chandra states "The fourth quarter witnessed continued recovery in advertising business, growing 6 per cent from Rs 1,732 million in 4Q FY2003 to Rs 1,836 million. This is in line with our expectations and was achieved despite the diversion of advertising spends to Cricket. We also achieved 21 per cent growth in domestic pay revenues. We have also made an aggressive push into the modern broadcasting and distribution platform of HITS for CAS and DTH and carried out corporate restructuring for transparency, operational efficiencies and simplification of corporate structure. " Chandra said.

Padmalaya Telefilms Limited, sister concern of ZTL, also managed to record a marginal increase. ZTL has managed to streamline costs, with a 3.9 per cent decline in programming and transmission costs, compared to the corresponding period last year.