Sony Pictures India’s FY23 net profit jumps 11% to Rs 1,042 crore

The company, which operates 26 TV channels and the SonyLIV streaming platform, has recorded revenue of Rs 6,684 crore, a 0.66% decline from Rs 6,746 crore last year. Total expenses fell 0.73% to Rs 5,553 crore from Rs 5,594 crore.

According to the company’s financial data sourced by Tofler, SPNI’s ad revenue declined 11% to Rs 3,286 crore, while subscription revenue expanded by 8% to Rs 3,134 crore. Income from licensing and the sale of programs surged 115% to Rs 260 crore.

The company’s cost of programs, films, and other rights declined by 3.39% to Rs 3,013 crore from Rs 3,119 crore. Broadcast and technical costs were up 11% to Rs 568 crore from Rs 512 crore. Employee benefit expenses dropped 13% to Rs 542 crore from Rs 624 crore.

During a recent presentation at Sony Corporation’s annual corporate strategy meeting, SPNI MD and CEO NP Singh stated that the company’s 26 channels reach 700 million viewers in 167 countries.

He also emphasised the fact that SonyLIV has 33.3 million users, including those from partner platforms, and provides more than 40,000 hours of programming in eight different languages.Singh also noted that SPNI has made significant investments in sports, including key cricket properties, UEFA tournaments, World Wrestling Entertainment, and Grand Slam tennis. Furthermore, SPNI’s Hindi GEC, Sony Entertainment Television India’s YouTube channel, is the third-most subscribed channel in the world with 156 million global subscribers.

Singh had stated that the merger deal with ZEEL would help the company expand its content creation capabilities.

“In 2021, we announced the signing of a deal to merge ZEEL into SPNI, which, upon closing, will enable us to expand our content creation and strengthen our connection with diverse communities within India,” he said.

Sony Corporation Chairman and CEO Kenichiro Yoshida stated that the Sony-Zee merger is expected to be completed by September 2023.

The Mumbai Bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) recently reserved its order pertaining to the approval of the Sony-Zee merger scheme. The merger deal has already received approvals from the Competition Commission of India (CCI), BSE, and NSE.