Mumbai: DB Corp has announced the results for the quarter and financial year ended March 31, 2024. The fiscal revenue for DB Corp grew by 14.5% to Rs. 24,821 million as against Rs. 21,682 million. Total revenue witnessed absolute revenue growth of Rs 3139 million
Ad revenue grew by 18.2% to Rs. 17524 million as against Rs. 14,827 million. Ad revenue witnessed absolute revenue growth of Rs 2697 million. Circulation revenue grew by around 3.5% to Rs. 4791 million as against Rs. 4,627 million. EBIDTA grew by 94.7% to Rs. 7033 million as against Rs. 3,611 million aided by Revenue growth coupled with effective cost control measures, & also helped by softening newsprint prices. EBIDTA margin expanded by 1100 basis points to 28% from 17% last year. Net Profit grew by 151.7% YOY to Rs. 4255 million as against Rs. 1,691 million.
Radio business:
Ad revenue grew by 21% YOY at Rs. 1623 million versus Rs. 1,342 million
EBIDTA grew by 36.9% YOY to Rs. 551 million versus Rs. 402 million
Sudhir Agarwal, MD DB Corp said, “Fiscal 2024 marks yet another year of continued growth for the Print Media sector in general and Dainik Bhaskar in particular. The momentum that has built over the past few quarters is a demonstration of the underlying strength of the medium. Apart from our Print business, our radio business continues this growth trajectory, digital business is also progressing as planned, and we are enthused by the immense potential of our omni-channel platform that is now firing on all cylinders. “We are happy that we have built a strong platform of growth and are encouraged by the broad-based advertising revenues that we continue to attract. With India’s growth momentum going strong, we see a plethora of opportunities and going into the new financial year, we are hopeful to be able to continue this momentum and increase our leadership position and deliver growth to all stakeholders”.
Fourth Quarter Results:
Advertising revenue grew by 24.6% to Rs. 4457 million as against Rs. 3,578 million.
Circulation revenue grew by 3% to Rs. 1187 million as against Rs. 1,153 million
Total Revenue grew by 17.8% to Rs. 6418 million as against Rs. 5,446 million.
EBIDTA grew by 121.2% to Rs. 1967 million as against Rs. 889 million aided by advt revenue Growth with effective cost-control measures, & also helped by softening newsprint prices. EBIDTA margin expanded by 1500 basis points to 31% from 16% last year
Net Profit grew by 198.6% YOY to Rs. 1225 million as against Rs. 410 million.
Radio business:
Ad revenue grew 32.5% YOY at Rs. 426.6 million versus Rs. 322 million
EBIDTA grew by 71.2% YOY to Rs. 144.2 million versus Rs. 84 million
The print media the company said continued to be impactful and effective in the overall media landscape. The company said that it has created a virtuous cycle of growth, aiding its advertisers’ success while simultaneously thriving alongside them. All sectors are turning towards Indian Language newspapers. Auto saw a resurgence, along with Education, Real Estate, Jewellery, Health and Govt advertisements all showing strong growth.
Newsprint prices continued to be soft in Q4 FY2024 and the expectation is that newsprint purchase prices will remain stable in the next few quarters. The company’s 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 49300 PMT in Q4 FY2024 resulting in newsprint cost reduction of 14% YoY in FY 24.
On the Circulation front, it said that its teams are putting in strong efforts to gain traction with our old readers as well as acquiring new readers. Its engagement with old readers saw an innovative approach of a customised and personalised reach out program which has resulted in strong traction on the ground. Its reader engagement and acquisition moves saw focused programmes such as Bachat Coupons for the readers, Dainik Bhaskar Quiz League among others. Further, in our endeavour to automate circulation operations, we achieved an industry first in automation by generating an E-Challan along with other initiatives to improve the efficiency and prune costs and help its network partners.
Digital Business – Maintaining a Dominant Position in News Apps: For the past four years, the Digital Business has been a key focus area and an important pillar for future growth of the business. This focus it explains has been translated into strong gains. Its ability to innovate it said clearly puts it ahead of the competition and with a highly personalised product experience – which includes text, graphics and videos as well as other new engaging formats. The app has grown from 2 million in January 2020 to approximately 14 million in March 2024. This the company claims has propelled Dainik Bhaskar to extend its leadership as the dominant digital leader with the #1 Hindi and Gujarati News Apps, with the competition either staying flat or declining its user base.
It said that it is the #1 Phygital Indian Language Newspaper in the country. It added that its three-dimensional approach towards user retention and engagement – content, user experience and technology backbone is one of the driving forces of the performance. It explains that its teams continue to work on minor and major improvements to help deliver the 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.
