Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) MD and CEO Punit Goenka on Tueday said that one of the major growth drivers for the company in the current financial year was Zee5. 

Crediting Zee5 for the company's growth, he said that the digital platform provided 40% advance growth. 

"It is always our aim to beat the growth rate and surpass it," he said.

He further added that the year turned out to be a surprise where the performance was exceedingly well even in the domestic market. 

Goenka conceded that the growth in the Middle East had been relatively slower. "We can see a growth but it is at a very small level," he said.

Talking about Zee5 platform, the ZEEL MD and CEO said that the company was "very happy" with its performance. "In September, we had 41.05 million active users whereas in December, the number went up to 56 million," said Goenka, adding that the company is not focussing on susbscription aspect.

On Tuesday, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL), a leading global content company, reported a 50.3% year-on-year rise in profit after tax (PAT) at Rs 562.4 crore for the October-December quarter of the current financial year. 

Consolidated revenue for the third quarter stood at Rs 2,166.8 crore, up 17.9% over the corresponding period of the previous fiscal, driven by strong performance of the broadcast business. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) jumped 26.9% to Rs 754.3 crore and Ebitda margin expanded by 250 basis points to 34.8%. One basis point is a hundredth of a percentage point.

Subhash Chandra, chairman, ZEEL, said India is poised to remain one of the fastest growing economies in the world. “Decline in crude oil prices and rationalisation of Goods and Services Tax rates will further boost the economy and help maintain the growth momentum in consumption. Even in media and entertainment space, content consumption is growing at a brisk pace across mediums. This trend along with macro-economic tailwinds will drive growth in both advertising and subscription revenues. ZEE5 is scaling up in line with our expectations and is on course to become India's number one digital entertainment platform,” said Chandra, adding that the company has delivered yet another quarter of strong performance across all businesses.