Mahesh Pratap Singh, ZEEL’s Head of Investor Relations, noted that one month of this salary increment has been factored into the quarter’s results, ending September.
“From a Q2 standpoint you already have one month of increment in the numbers in that sense because these were effective 1st September. So, to that extent, the one month of cost is already in the numbers,” Singh said.
ZEEL’s consolidated employee benefits expense decreased by over 12% to Rs 228 crore, with the figure remaining flat quarter-on-quarter.
Singh highlighted that while specific figures for employee benefit expense inflation cannot be shared, the company maintains strict cost controls that will be visible in future performance.
“Yes, you should think of a little bit of effect of that coming in, but also keep in mind that our efficiencies have been coming in during the course of Q2 and you may not have had everything full quarter impact coming in and so on, so build that. I mean, it will be a little bit of a modelling,” Singh elaborated.ZEEL MD & CEO, Punit Goenka, also shared that cost rationalisation on the personnel front is now complete, with ongoing natural attrition expected as part of regular business operations.”Going forward, as any business has churn in employee, we will have those regular churns that happen, but that’s part of our day-to-day life,” he added.
As part of a broader strategy to achieve a 20% EBITDA margin by FY26, ZEEL initiated a 15% workforce reduction, affecting approximately 700 employees out of a total of 4,577.
Additionally, ZEEL has optimised costs by reducing staff in its Technology & Innovation Centre (TIC) by 50%, aiming to enhance its operating profit margin.
This restructuring also led to the departure of senior leaders, including Rahul Johri (head of revenue), Punit Misra (head of content), Shariq Patel (head of movie business), and Atul Das (head of distribution).
