Helped by cost control measures and softening newsprint prices print media company DB Corp’s third quarter net profit more than doubled by 156.8 per cent to Rs. 1240 million as against Rs. 483 million. Revenue rose by 15.5 per cent to Rs. 6648 million as against Rs. 5,756 million for the same quarter in the previous fiscal. It is home to newspapers – Dainik Bhaskar, Divya Bhaskar, Divya Marathi and Saurashtra Samachar.
– Ad revenue grew by 18.4 per cent to Rs. 4819 million as against Rs. 4,069 million.
– Circulation Revenue grew by around 3.4 per cent to Rs. 1200 million as against Rs. 1,161 million
– EBIDTA grew by 101.7 per cent to Rs. 2031 million as against Rs. 1,007 million aided by
stringent cost control measures, and also helped by softening newsprint prices.
– EBIDTA margin expanded by 1400 basis points to 31% from 17% last year
Radio business:
– Revenue grew by 28.3 per cent YOY at Rs. 464.4 million versus Rs. 362 million
– EBIDTA grew by 55.6 per cent YOY to Rs. 183 million versus Rs. 118 million
For the nine month period ended 31 December 2024
– Revenue grew by around 13.3 per cent to Rs. 18403 million as against Rs. 16,236 million.
– Ad revenue grew by 16.2 per cent to Rs. 13066 million as against Rs. 11,248 million.
– Circulation revenue grew by 3.8 per cent to Rs. 3604 million as against Rs. 3,474 million
– EBIDTA grew by 86.1 per cent to Rs. 5066 million as against Rs. 2,722 million aided by stringent
cost control measures and also helped by softening newsprint prices.
– EBIDTA margin expanded by 1100 basis points to 28 per cent. This is up from 17 per cent last year
– Net profit grew by 136.6 per cent year on year to Rs. 3030 million as against Rs. 1,281 million.
Radio business:
– Revenue grew by 17.2 per cent year on year at Rs. 1196 million versus Rs. 1,020 million
– EBIDTA grew by 27.8 per cent year on year to Rs. 407 million versus Rs. 318 million
DB Corp MD Sudhir Agarwal said, “Dainik Bhaskar’s leadership position in the Print Media Sector is exemplified by a track record of strong growth outperformance for nearly 10 Qtrs now, making it the torchbearer of growth for the sector. We are encouraged by our readers, advertisers and our partners who continue to repose trust in us and use our platforms of Print, Digital and Radio to amplify their messaging.”
“With a slew of positive events – Elections in our key markets, the Cricket world cup, General economic buoyancy in our markets and the festive season, our performance in Q3 FY2024 is a testament to all the efforts that we continue to put to deliver the best product, and with an omni-channel delivery mechanism working well, we believe that we should be able to extend our leadership position and fortify our financial position going ahead.”
The company said that it believes that happy days are back for the print business. Print media’s dominance in the news landscape has been demonstrated with consistent growth for advertisers for amplifying their messaging. The company explains that its mantra of ‘We Grow when our Advertisers Grow’ has helped it in creating a virtuous cycle. The quarter gone by also saw a fillip due to overall festival days and also due to economic buoyancy in key states due to election faze.
Newsprint prices’ southward journey continued and the expectation is that newsprint purchase prices will further soften in the next few quarters. The average cost for newsprint has reduced from the high of Rs 63,500 PMT in Q2 FY2023 to around Rs 51,500 PMT in Q2 FY2024 and now to Rs 50200 PMT in Q3 FY2024 resulting in newsprint cost reduction of 18.3% YoY. Newsprint prices are expected to soften further in ensuing quarters.
On the ad front, the buoyancy continued. The Auto sector saw further traction, with traditional
advertisers such as Education, Real Estate, Government, Jewellery, Health etc. continue to use print as their preferred medium.
On the Circulation front, the teams continued to focus on ensuring that the page-heavy ad-laden copies
reached readers on time, daily. The teams the company explains continue their focus on activating our distribution lists of old readers, while continuing its initiatives on retention, renewals and expansion of our reader base. Reader engagement activities during the quarter included thematic events such as Rajneetibaaz, Cricket Challenge etc. The company said that it works with partners to help improve their efficiency, for instance, it continues to push UPI Payments by readers to help network partners.
The digital business the company added continues to be in sharp focus area as an important pillar for future growth of its business. The company said that it offers a highly personalised product experience – which includes text, graphics and videos. Its app grew from two million in January 2020 to around 13 million in December 2023. The company said that its three-dimensional approach towards user retention and engagement – high quality content, a user experience and the technology backbone is one of the driving forces of its performance. Its teams continue to work on minor and major improvements to help deliver content curated by editorial teams and ensure that users get hyperlocal news from all towns, cities and states in the markets. It has also worked on increasing the visual aspect of the news for further engagement.
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