Shares of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) hit a day low of Rs 82.30 on the NSE on 20 May, falling as much as 6% after the company posted a net loss for the January to March quarter, dragged down by a sharp drop in advertising income and a one-time accounting charge.

The broadcaster reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 102 crore for Q4 FY26, swinging from a profit of Rs 188 crore in the same quarter last year. Overall revenue fell 5.4% during the period.

Advertising revenue, which makes up nearly 40% of Zee’s total income, slipped 3.5% in the quarter. 

The company’s deputy CEO and CFO, Mukund Galgali, told analysts that ad spending in March was ‘severely impacted’ by the ongoing Middle East conflict, as brands held back budgets near the quarter-end. 

Without that disruption, ad revenue would likely have grown in the low single digits.

Zee revised estimates related to movie rights amortisation, resulting in an accelerated charge of Rs 408.4 crore. 

Total expenses jumped 19.6%, with advertising and publicity costs alone surging 44% on the back of new content launches, including the children’s vertical KidZ. 

Adjusted EBITDA came in at Rs 139.8 crore, down 51% year on year.

One bright spot. Zee5, the company’s streaming arm, posted its second straight quarter of EBITDA profitability. 

Core losses narrowed sharply to Rs 8.4 crore from Rs 75.3 crore a year ago, while Zee5 revenue surged 71% to Rs 470 crore, driven by subscriber growth and higher average revenue per user. 

Subscription revenue for the overall business also rose nearly 4%.

At 10:26 am on 20 May, shares of ZEEL were trading down by 6.38% at Rs 82.09 on the NSE. The stock has fallen around 33% over the past year, against a 52-week high of Rs 151.70 touched in July 2025.

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