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Tag: Divya Bhaskar

  • DB Corp launches Bhaskar English news app

    DB Corp launches Bhaskar English news app

    MUMBAI: DB Corp has officially launched Bhaskar English, a mobile news application aimed at expanding its reach as a trusted source of journalism in multiple languages. The company made this announcement through a regulatory filing with the Bombay stock exchange on 21 January 2025.

    This launch underscores the company’s commitment to engage a diverse global audience as it is known for serving news in Hindi, Gujarati, and Marathi, and it has four portals and three apps.It had launched the DNA English newspaper in partnership with Zee Media. It’s latest foray the Bhaskar English News app  is claimed to offer the latest news to users from 16 states.

    The app features advanced technology for real-time news updates and boasts an intuitive user interface, emphasizing DB Corp’s dedication to innovation and quality reporting. Designed for users who prefer news in English, Bhaskar English is available for download on both the App Store (iPhone) and Play Store (Android). At the time of writing it had got a rating of 4.9 on the App store and it had ranked at No 53 on the news chart.

    “With the launch of Bhaskar English, we aim to strengthen our position as a leader in the media industry and enhance our pioneering efforts in multilingual news delivery,” said a company spokesperson.

    DB Corp’s Dainik Bhaskar Hindi mobile app had 17.2 unique million monthly active users as of June 2024 while its Divya Bhaskar notched up 3.2 million unique monthly visitors. 

  • DB Corp’s radio business numbers expand with network growth

    DB Corp’s radio business numbers expand with network growth

    BENGALURU: DB Corp’s MY FM radio network now encompasses 26 live stations with the launch of nine new stations over the last two quarters of this fiscal (year ending 31 March 2017 or FY-17). DB Corp’s radio business revenue for the quarter ended 31 December 2016 (Q3-17, current quarter) increased 12.4 percent to Rs 36.32 crore as compared to Rs 32.32 crore in the corresponding year ago quarter (year-over-year or y-o-y).  The company’s press release says that its radio business operating profit (EBIDTA) grew 3 percent y-o-y to Rs 14.8 crore (41 percent margin), while profit after tax (PAT) also increased 3 percent y-o-y to Rs 8.1 crore (22 percent margin).

    DB Corp Limited (DB Corp), home to flagship newspapers Dainik Bhaskar, Divya Bhaskar, Dainik Divya Marathi and Saurashtra Samachar reported 6.3 percent higher consolidated revenue for the current quarter as compared to the corresponding year ago quarter. The media house’s total income from operations (TIO or revenue) in Q3-17 was Rs 627.27 crore as compared to Rs 589.97 crore.

    DB Corp’s consolidated profit after tax (PAT) increased 6.6 percent y-o-y to Rs 118.1 crore as compared to Rs 110.75 crore. However, quarter-over-quarter (q-o-q) it’s PAT declined 14.9 percent from Rs 103.96 crore in Q1-17.

    EBIDTA (excluding other income) for the current quarter increased 4.5 percent y-o-y to Rs198.25 crore as compared to Rs 189.63 crore and increased 39.2 percent q-o-q from Rs 142.39 crore.

    Four segments contribute to DB Corp’s numbers – Printing and publishing of newspaper and periodicals (Printing) segment; Radio segment; Event segment, Internet segment; and Power segment. Its Printing and Radio segments are major contributors to the company’s top and bottomlines and have been considered here.

    The radio segment or business numbers have been mentioned above.

    Printing and publishing of newspaper and periodicals (Printing) segment          

    DB Corp’s Printing segment reported 4.9 percent y-o-y growth in revenue to Rs 569.91 crore in the current quarter as compared to the Rs 543.36 crore in Q3-16.The Printing segment’s revenue increased 15.4 percent q-o-q Rs from Rs 493.79 crore. The segment’s operating profit in the current quarter increased 4 percent y-o-y to Rs 173.55 crore as compared to Rs 166.91 crore and increased 34.5 percent q-o-q from Rs 129 crore.

    Other numbers

    DB Corp’s consolidated Total Expenditure for Q3-17 increased 6.6 percent y-o-y to Rs 450.81 crore as compared to Rs 422.92 crore and increased 9.9 percent q-o-q from Rs 410.12 crore.

    Consolidated Cost of raw materials consumed in Q3-17 increased 6.5 percent y-o-y to Rs 177.24 crore from Rs 166.46 crore and increased 8.5 percent q-o-q from Rs 163.43 crore. Consolidated Employee Benefits Expense in the current quarter increased 6.6 percent y-o-y to Rs 108.5 crore as compared to Rs 102.16 crore in Q3-16 and increased 1 percent q-o-q from Rs 107.41 crore. Consolidated Total comprehensive income in Q3-17 increased 7.3 percent y-o-y to Rs 118.11 crore from Rs 110.05 crore, and increased 38.6 percent q-o-q from Rs 85.21 crore.

    Company speak

    Commenting on the performance DB Corp managing director Sudhir Agarwal said, “The resilience of our business model and strength of our operating strategy has been brought to the fore by our performance in Q3, which has broadly been a quarter of weak demand and subdued consumer spending and I take this opportunity to thank the team for their sincerity and dedication. Dainik Bhaskar has been acknowledged as the nation’s largest circulated multi-edition daily by RNI which is again an endorsement of our operating approach and philosophy. We have undertaken several growth oriented initiatives across all our print, digital and radio segments that have made a

    holistic impact on the business. We will continue to maintain this discipline and control at all levels while we are also empowering employees to enhance agility in the workplace.

    We expect the immediate-to-midterm impact of the currency purge undertaken by the Government, on consumption, to normalise over the next few months, a process which has already slightly started improving. We will continue to sharpen our strengths across our print and non-print businesses as well as

    our deep knowledge of our customers’ domain that are driving our ability to play a strategic role in the Indian M&E environment

    Note: The unit of currency in this report is the Indian rupee – Rs (also conventionally represented by INR). The Indian numbering system or the Vedic numbering system has been used to denote money values. The basic conversion to the international norm would be:

    (a) 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10,000,000 = 10 million = 1 crore.

    (b) 10,000 lakh = 100 crore = 1 arab = 1 billion.

  • DB Corp’s radio business numbers expand with network growth

    DB Corp’s radio business numbers expand with network growth

    BENGALURU: DB Corp’s MY FM radio network now encompasses 26 live stations with the launch of nine new stations over the last two quarters of this fiscal (year ending 31 March 2017 or FY-17). DB Corp’s radio business revenue for the quarter ended 31 December 2016 (Q3-17, current quarter) increased 12.4 percent to Rs 36.32 crore as compared to Rs 32.32 crore in the corresponding year ago quarter (year-over-year or y-o-y).  The company’s press release says that its radio business operating profit (EBIDTA) grew 3 percent y-o-y to Rs 14.8 crore (41 percent margin), while profit after tax (PAT) also increased 3 percent y-o-y to Rs 8.1 crore (22 percent margin).

    DB Corp Limited (DB Corp), home to flagship newspapers Dainik Bhaskar, Divya Bhaskar, Dainik Divya Marathi and Saurashtra Samachar reported 6.3 percent higher consolidated revenue for the current quarter as compared to the corresponding year ago quarter. The media house’s total income from operations (TIO or revenue) in Q3-17 was Rs 627.27 crore as compared to Rs 589.97 crore.

    DB Corp’s consolidated profit after tax (PAT) increased 6.6 percent y-o-y to Rs 118.1 crore as compared to Rs 110.75 crore. However, quarter-over-quarter (q-o-q) it’s PAT declined 14.9 percent from Rs 103.96 crore in Q1-17.

    EBIDTA (excluding other income) for the current quarter increased 4.5 percent y-o-y to Rs198.25 crore as compared to Rs 189.63 crore and increased 39.2 percent q-o-q from Rs 142.39 crore.

    Four segments contribute to DB Corp’s numbers – Printing and publishing of newspaper and periodicals (Printing) segment; Radio segment; Event segment, Internet segment; and Power segment. Its Printing and Radio segments are major contributors to the company’s top and bottomlines and have been considered here.

    The radio segment or business numbers have been mentioned above.

    Printing and publishing of newspaper and periodicals (Printing) segment          

    DB Corp’s Printing segment reported 4.9 percent y-o-y growth in revenue to Rs 569.91 crore in the current quarter as compared to the Rs 543.36 crore in Q3-16.The Printing segment’s revenue increased 15.4 percent q-o-q Rs from Rs 493.79 crore. The segment’s operating profit in the current quarter increased 4 percent y-o-y to Rs 173.55 crore as compared to Rs 166.91 crore and increased 34.5 percent q-o-q from Rs 129 crore.

    Other numbers

    DB Corp’s consolidated Total Expenditure for Q3-17 increased 6.6 percent y-o-y to Rs 450.81 crore as compared to Rs 422.92 crore and increased 9.9 percent q-o-q from Rs 410.12 crore.

    Consolidated Cost of raw materials consumed in Q3-17 increased 6.5 percent y-o-y to Rs 177.24 crore from Rs 166.46 crore and increased 8.5 percent q-o-q from Rs 163.43 crore. Consolidated Employee Benefits Expense in the current quarter increased 6.6 percent y-o-y to Rs 108.5 crore as compared to Rs 102.16 crore in Q3-16 and increased 1 percent q-o-q from Rs 107.41 crore. Consolidated Total comprehensive income in Q3-17 increased 7.3 percent y-o-y to Rs 118.11 crore from Rs 110.05 crore, and increased 38.6 percent q-o-q from Rs 85.21 crore.

    Company speak

    Commenting on the performance DB Corp managing director Sudhir Agarwal said, “The resilience of our business model and strength of our operating strategy has been brought to the fore by our performance in Q3, which has broadly been a quarter of weak demand and subdued consumer spending and I take this opportunity to thank the team for their sincerity and dedication. Dainik Bhaskar has been acknowledged as the nation’s largest circulated multi-edition daily by RNI which is again an endorsement of our operating approach and philosophy. We have undertaken several growth oriented initiatives across all our print, digital and radio segments that have made a

    holistic impact on the business. We will continue to maintain this discipline and control at all levels while we are also empowering employees to enhance agility in the workplace.

    We expect the immediate-to-midterm impact of the currency purge undertaken by the Government, on consumption, to normalise over the next few months, a process which has already slightly started improving. We will continue to sharpen our strengths across our print and non-print businesses as well as

    our deep knowledge of our customers’ domain that are driving our ability to play a strategic role in the Indian M&E environment

    Note: The unit of currency in this report is the Indian rupee – Rs (also conventionally represented by INR). The Indian numbering system or the Vedic numbering system has been used to denote money values. The basic conversion to the international norm would be:

    (a) 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10,000,000 = 10 million = 1 crore.

    (b) 10,000 lakh = 100 crore = 1 arab = 1 billion.

  • Q2-17: DB Corp revenue up, radio operating profit doubles

    Q2-17: DB Corp revenue up, radio operating profit doubles

    BENGALURU: DB Corp Limited (DB Corp), home to flagship newspapers Dainik Bhaskar, Divya Bhaskar, Dainik Divya Marathi and Saurashtra Samachar reported 10.5 percent higher consolidated revenue for the quarter ended 30 September 2016 (Q2-17, current quarter) as compared to the corresponding year ago quarter. The media house’s total income from operations (TIO or revenue) in Q2-17 was Rs 528.74 crore as compared to Rs 478.36 crore.

    DB Corp’s consolidated profit after tax (PAT) increased 55.9 percent year-over-year (y-o-y) to Rs 88.52 crore as compared to Rs 56.77 crore. However, quarter-over-quarter (q-o-q) it’s PAT declined 14.9 percent from Rs 103.96 crore in Q1-17.

    EBIDTA (excluding other income) for the current quarter increased 38.6 percent y-o-y to Rs150.55 crore as compared to Rs 108.66 crore, but declined 16.9 percent q-o-q from Rs 181.06 crore.

    Four segments contribute to DB Corp’s numbers – Printing and publishing of newspaper and periodicals (Printing) segment; Radio segment; Event segment, Internet segment; and Power segment. Its Printing and Radio segments are major contributors to the company’s top and bottomlines and have been considered here.

    Radio Segment

    DB Corp’s radio segment has an FM radio network under the brand My FM for which the company reported more than double y-o-y (2.15 times) operating profit for Q2-17 at Rs  12.97 crore as compared to Rs 6.04 percent. Q-o-q also, DB Corp’s radio segment’s operating profit was 69.1 percent higher (Rs 7.67 crore in Q1-17).  My FM operating revenue for Q2-17 was 24.6 percent higher y-o-y at Rs 29.86 crore as compared to Rs 23.96 crore and 6.4 percent higher q-o-q as compared to Rs 28.06 crore.

    Printing and publishing of newspaper and periodicals (Printing) segment

    DB Corp’s Printing segment reported revenue of Rs 483.4 crore in the current quarter as compared to the Rs 443.24 crore in Q2-16. However, q-o-q, the Printing segment’s revenue declined 8.2 percent from Rs 526.55 crore. The segment’s operating profit in the current quarter increased 37.8 percent y-o-y to Rs 129 crore as compared to Rs 93.64 crore but declined 19.7 percent q-o-q from Rs 160.73 crore.

    Other numbers

    DB Corp’s consolidated Total Expenditure for Q2-17 increased 2.4 percent y-o-y to Rs 399.75 crore as compared to Rs 390.56 crore but declined 2.4 percent q-o-q from Rs 410.33 crore. Consolidated Cost of raw materials consumed in Q2-17 increased 9.1 percent y-o-y to Rs 163.34 crore from Rs 149.69 crore and increased 1.8 percent q-o-q from Rs 160.46 crore. Consolidated Employee Benefits Expense in the current quarter increased 11.5 percent y-o-y to Rs 107.41 crore as compared to Rs 96.3 crore in Q2-16 and increased 0.6 percent q-o-q from Rs 106.77 crore. Consolidated Total comprehensive income in Q2-17 increased 53.5 percent y-o-y to Rs 85.21 crore from Rs 55,51 crore, but declined 17.9 percent q-o-q from Rs 103.8 crore.

    Note: The unit of currency in this report is the Indian rupee – Rs (also conventionally represented by INR). The Indian numbering system or the Vedic numbering system has been used to denote money values. The basic conversion to the international norm would be:
    (a) 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10,000,000 = 10 million = 1 crore.
    (b) 10,000 lakh = 100 crore = 1 arab = 1 billion.

  • Q2-17: DB Corp revenue up, radio operating profit doubles

    Q2-17: DB Corp revenue up, radio operating profit doubles

    BENGALURU: DB Corp Limited (DB Corp), home to flagship newspapers Dainik Bhaskar, Divya Bhaskar, Dainik Divya Marathi and Saurashtra Samachar reported 10.5 percent higher consolidated revenue for the quarter ended 30 September 2016 (Q2-17, current quarter) as compared to the corresponding year ago quarter. The media house’s total income from operations (TIO or revenue) in Q2-17 was Rs 528.74 crore as compared to Rs 478.36 crore.

    DB Corp’s consolidated profit after tax (PAT) increased 55.9 percent year-over-year (y-o-y) to Rs 88.52 crore as compared to Rs 56.77 crore. However, quarter-over-quarter (q-o-q) it’s PAT declined 14.9 percent from Rs 103.96 crore in Q1-17.

    EBIDTA (excluding other income) for the current quarter increased 38.6 percent y-o-y to Rs150.55 crore as compared to Rs 108.66 crore, but declined 16.9 percent q-o-q from Rs 181.06 crore.

    Four segments contribute to DB Corp’s numbers – Printing and publishing of newspaper and periodicals (Printing) segment; Radio segment; Event segment, Internet segment; and Power segment. Its Printing and Radio segments are major contributors to the company’s top and bottomlines and have been considered here.

    Radio Segment

    DB Corp’s radio segment has an FM radio network under the brand My FM for which the company reported more than double y-o-y (2.15 times) operating profit for Q2-17 at Rs  12.97 crore as compared to Rs 6.04 percent. Q-o-q also, DB Corp’s radio segment’s operating profit was 69.1 percent higher (Rs 7.67 crore in Q1-17).  My FM operating revenue for Q2-17 was 24.6 percent higher y-o-y at Rs 29.86 crore as compared to Rs 23.96 crore and 6.4 percent higher q-o-q as compared to Rs 28.06 crore.

    Printing and publishing of newspaper and periodicals (Printing) segment

    DB Corp’s Printing segment reported revenue of Rs 483.4 crore in the current quarter as compared to the Rs 443.24 crore in Q2-16. However, q-o-q, the Printing segment’s revenue declined 8.2 percent from Rs 526.55 crore. The segment’s operating profit in the current quarter increased 37.8 percent y-o-y to Rs 129 crore as compared to Rs 93.64 crore but declined 19.7 percent q-o-q from Rs 160.73 crore.

    Other numbers

    DB Corp’s consolidated Total Expenditure for Q2-17 increased 2.4 percent y-o-y to Rs 399.75 crore as compared to Rs 390.56 crore but declined 2.4 percent q-o-q from Rs 410.33 crore. Consolidated Cost of raw materials consumed in Q2-17 increased 9.1 percent y-o-y to Rs 163.34 crore from Rs 149.69 crore and increased 1.8 percent q-o-q from Rs 160.46 crore. Consolidated Employee Benefits Expense in the current quarter increased 11.5 percent y-o-y to Rs 107.41 crore as compared to Rs 96.3 crore in Q2-16 and increased 0.6 percent q-o-q from Rs 106.77 crore. Consolidated Total comprehensive income in Q2-17 increased 53.5 percent y-o-y to Rs 85.21 crore from Rs 55,51 crore, but declined 17.9 percent q-o-q from Rs 103.8 crore.

    Note: The unit of currency in this report is the Indian rupee – Rs (also conventionally represented by INR). The Indian numbering system or the Vedic numbering system has been used to denote money values. The basic conversion to the international norm would be:
    (a) 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10,000,000 = 10 million = 1 crore.
    (b) 10,000 lakh = 100 crore = 1 arab = 1 billion.

  • FY-16: DB Corp revenue up marginally, My FM revenue up 12 percent

    FY-16: DB Corp revenue up marginally, My FM revenue up 12 percent

    BENGALURU: DB Corp Limited (DB Corp), home to flagship newspapers Dainik Bhaskar, Divya Bhaskar, Dainik Divya Marathi and Saurashtra Samachar reported 2.1 percent increase in Total Income from operations (TIO) for the year ended 31 March 2016 (FY-16, current year). The company reported consolidated revenue of Rs 2,051.87 crore in FY-16 as compared to Rs 2,009.57 crore in the previous fiscal.

    Note: The unit of currency in this report is the Indian rupee – Rs (also conventionally represented by INR). The Indian numbering system or the Vedic numbering system has been used to denote money values. The basic conversion to the international norm would be:

    (a) 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10,000,000 = 10 million = 1 crore.

    (b) 10,000 lakh = 100 crore = 1 arab = 1 billion.

    For the quarter ended 31 March 2016 (Q4-16, current quarter) TIO increased 5.6 percent year-over-year (y-o-y) to Rs 514.28 crore as compared to Rs 485.60 crore, but declined 12.2 percent quarter-over-quarter (q-o-q) from Rs 585.89 crore.

    DB Corp’s PAT in the current year declined 6.2 percent to Rs 296.64 crore (14.5 percent PAT margin) from Rs 316.34 crore (15.7 percent PAT margin) in FY-15. PAT in the current quarter was almost flat y-o-y (increased by 0.4 percent) at Rs 64.24 crore (12.5 percent margin) as compared to Rs 64 crore (13.2 percent PAT margin), but declined 39.9 percent q-o-q from Rs 105.11 crore (19 percent PAT margin) in the immediate trailing quarter.

    Radio Segment – My FM

    DB Corp’s radio segment that has an FM radio network under the brand My FM reported 12.1 percent increase in TIO in FY-16 at Rs 107.50 crore as compared to Rs 95.87 crore in FY-15. The radio segment’s contribution to DB Corp’s overall revenue has gone up to 5.24 percent of TIO in the current year from 4.77 percent in the previous year.

    The radio segment’s operating profit increased 0.9 percent to Rs 31.52 crore in FY-16 from Rs 31.23 crore in the previous year. The radio segment’s operating profit in Q4-16 declined 5.9 percent y-o-y to Rs 9.4 crore from Rs 9.95 crore and declined 8.1 percent q-o-q from Rs 12 crore in Q3-16.

    Printing and publishing of newspaper and periodicals (Printing) segment

    Print segment reported 0.8 percent increase in TIO in FY-16 at Rs 1,892.56 crore as compared to Rs 1877.70 crore in FY-15. The print segment’s operating profit declined 2.7 percent in the current year to Rs 476.96 crore from Rs 490.23 crore in FY-15.

    Digital Business

    DB Corps’ Digital business revenue grew by 33 percent to Rs. 12 crore from Rs. 9 crore of corresponding quarter last fiscal.

    Circulation and Advertising revenues

    Circulation Revenue grew by 16 percent in FY-16 to Rs 435.6 crore from Rs 375.5 crore in FY-15, largely driven by yield growth of 13 percent, primarily in legacy markets. Circulation Revenue increased 15.3 percent y-o-y in Q4-16 to Rs 113.6 crore from Rs 98.5 crore, primarily due to yield driven growth, largely coming from mature markets.

    Advertising Revenues was lower in FY-15 at Rs 1481.2 crore as against Rs 1516.6 crore during last year. Advertising Revenue in Q4-16 was at Rs. 360.0 crore as compared to Rs 354.3 crore in Q4-15.

    Total Expenditure (TE) in the current year increased 4.5 percent to Rs 1605.10 crore from Rs 1535.46 crore in FY-15. TE in Q4-16 increased 7.5 percent y-o-y to Rs 422.34 crore as compared to Rs 390.75 crore and was almost flat q-o-q as compared to Rs 422.32 crore in the immediate trailing quarter.

    Raw material (RM) consumption in FY-16 declined 4.5 percent to Rs 618.67 crore from Rs 647.57 crore in FY-15. RM consumption in the current quarter increased 3.9 percent y-o-y to Rs 157.77 crore as compared to Rs 151.70 crore, but declined 5.2 percent q-o-q from Rs 166.46 crore in Q3-16.

    Company speak

    DB Corp managing director Sudhir Agarwal said, “Our performance this quarter continues to reflect sustained efforts to engage strongly with readers and advertisers. We continue to undertake several key initiatives to propel the company on a growth trajectory, since we have already laid a very strong foundation for the business that now has extremely strong fundamentals. Our strategic areas of focus are at the core of our growth and expansion roadmap and way forward, being led by print, digital and radio segments. This year we brought back the ‘Zidd karo’ campaign that resonates our operating philosophy – which has guided the group to report significant growth over the last few years. While we are implementing multiple efforts to increase reader engagement primarily driven through content, we are also focusing very intensely on advertiser engagement to help advertisers understand multiple ways of engaging with our readers since we know the preferences of our readers very well. On this basis, our yield strategy is gaining steady and strong acceptance. The key thrust areas going forward will centre on giving readers a well-rounded experience, our commitment to advertisers and associates, an enthusiastic and energised work environment for all staff and our responsibility towards stakeholders to deliver high shareholder value. We continue to be excited by the development of the radio and digital segments that have great growth capabilities and are on course. On an overall basis, Indian language print media holds tremendous potential and as the largest player in the industry backed by strong competitive advantages, we look forward to leveraging future opportunities.”

  • FY-16: DB Corp revenue up marginally, My FM revenue up 12 percent

    FY-16: DB Corp revenue up marginally, My FM revenue up 12 percent

    BENGALURU: DB Corp Limited (DB Corp), home to flagship newspapers Dainik Bhaskar, Divya Bhaskar, Dainik Divya Marathi and Saurashtra Samachar reported 2.1 percent increase in Total Income from operations (TIO) for the year ended 31 March 2016 (FY-16, current year). The company reported consolidated revenue of Rs 2,051.87 crore in FY-16 as compared to Rs 2,009.57 crore in the previous fiscal.

    Note: The unit of currency in this report is the Indian rupee – Rs (also conventionally represented by INR). The Indian numbering system or the Vedic numbering system has been used to denote money values. The basic conversion to the international norm would be:

    (a) 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10,000,000 = 10 million = 1 crore.

    (b) 10,000 lakh = 100 crore = 1 arab = 1 billion.

    For the quarter ended 31 March 2016 (Q4-16, current quarter) TIO increased 5.6 percent year-over-year (y-o-y) to Rs 514.28 crore as compared to Rs 485.60 crore, but declined 12.2 percent quarter-over-quarter (q-o-q) from Rs 585.89 crore.

    DB Corp’s PAT in the current year declined 6.2 percent to Rs 296.64 crore (14.5 percent PAT margin) from Rs 316.34 crore (15.7 percent PAT margin) in FY-15. PAT in the current quarter was almost flat y-o-y (increased by 0.4 percent) at Rs 64.24 crore (12.5 percent margin) as compared to Rs 64 crore (13.2 percent PAT margin), but declined 39.9 percent q-o-q from Rs 105.11 crore (19 percent PAT margin) in the immediate trailing quarter.

    Radio Segment – My FM

    DB Corp’s radio segment that has an FM radio network under the brand My FM reported 12.1 percent increase in TIO in FY-16 at Rs 107.50 crore as compared to Rs 95.87 crore in FY-15. The radio segment’s contribution to DB Corp’s overall revenue has gone up to 5.24 percent of TIO in the current year from 4.77 percent in the previous year.

    The radio segment’s operating profit increased 0.9 percent to Rs 31.52 crore in FY-16 from Rs 31.23 crore in the previous year. The radio segment’s operating profit in Q4-16 declined 5.9 percent y-o-y to Rs 9.4 crore from Rs 9.95 crore and declined 8.1 percent q-o-q from Rs 12 crore in Q3-16.

    Printing and publishing of newspaper and periodicals (Printing) segment

    Print segment reported 0.8 percent increase in TIO in FY-16 at Rs 1,892.56 crore as compared to Rs 1877.70 crore in FY-15. The print segment’s operating profit declined 2.7 percent in the current year to Rs 476.96 crore from Rs 490.23 crore in FY-15.

    Digital Business

    DB Corps’ Digital business revenue grew by 33 percent to Rs. 12 crore from Rs. 9 crore of corresponding quarter last fiscal.

    Circulation and Advertising revenues

    Circulation Revenue grew by 16 percent in FY-16 to Rs 435.6 crore from Rs 375.5 crore in FY-15, largely driven by yield growth of 13 percent, primarily in legacy markets. Circulation Revenue increased 15.3 percent y-o-y in Q4-16 to Rs 113.6 crore from Rs 98.5 crore, primarily due to yield driven growth, largely coming from mature markets.

    Advertising Revenues was lower in FY-15 at Rs 1481.2 crore as against Rs 1516.6 crore during last year. Advertising Revenue in Q4-16 was at Rs. 360.0 crore as compared to Rs 354.3 crore in Q4-15.

    Total Expenditure (TE) in the current year increased 4.5 percent to Rs 1605.10 crore from Rs 1535.46 crore in FY-15. TE in Q4-16 increased 7.5 percent y-o-y to Rs 422.34 crore as compared to Rs 390.75 crore and was almost flat q-o-q as compared to Rs 422.32 crore in the immediate trailing quarter.

    Raw material (RM) consumption in FY-16 declined 4.5 percent to Rs 618.67 crore from Rs 647.57 crore in FY-15. RM consumption in the current quarter increased 3.9 percent y-o-y to Rs 157.77 crore as compared to Rs 151.70 crore, but declined 5.2 percent q-o-q from Rs 166.46 crore in Q3-16.

    Company speak

    DB Corp managing director Sudhir Agarwal said, “Our performance this quarter continues to reflect sustained efforts to engage strongly with readers and advertisers. We continue to undertake several key initiatives to propel the company on a growth trajectory, since we have already laid a very strong foundation for the business that now has extremely strong fundamentals. Our strategic areas of focus are at the core of our growth and expansion roadmap and way forward, being led by print, digital and radio segments. This year we brought back the ‘Zidd karo’ campaign that resonates our operating philosophy – which has guided the group to report significant growth over the last few years. While we are implementing multiple efforts to increase reader engagement primarily driven through content, we are also focusing very intensely on advertiser engagement to help advertisers understand multiple ways of engaging with our readers since we know the preferences of our readers very well. On this basis, our yield strategy is gaining steady and strong acceptance. The key thrust areas going forward will centre on giving readers a well-rounded experience, our commitment to advertisers and associates, an enthusiastic and energised work environment for all staff and our responsibility towards stakeholders to deliver high shareholder value. We continue to be excited by the development of the radio and digital segments that have great growth capabilities and are on course. On an overall basis, Indian language print media holds tremendous potential and as the largest player in the industry backed by strong competitive advantages, we look forward to leveraging future opportunities.”

  • Q3-2016: DB Corp print revenue up 22%, radio revenue up 35%; radio op profit almost double

    Q3-2016: DB Corp print revenue up 22%, radio revenue up 35%; radio op profit almost double

    BENGALURU: DB Corp Limited (DB Corp), home to flagship newspapers Dainik Bhaskar, Divya Bhaskar, Dainik Divya Marathi and Saurashtra Samachar reported 22.5 per cent QoQ increase in Total Income from operations (TIO) for the quarter ended 31 December, 2015 (Q3-2016, current quarter). The company reported TIO of Rs 585.89 crore in the current quarter as compared to Rs 478.33 crore in the immediate trailing quarter. YoY, TIO increased 5.7 per cent as compared to Rs 554.57 crore in Q3-2015.

     

    Revenue growth was driven by a 21.9 per cent QoQ growth in revenue from the company’s print segment at Rs 539.28 crore as compared to Rs 442.24 crore and a 34.9 per cent QoQ growth in the company’s radio segment revenue at Rs 32.32 crore (5.5 per cent of TIO) as compared to Rs 23.96 crore (five per cent of TIO). YoY, revenue from print segment increased 3.9 per cent as compared to Rs 518.9 crore, while radio segment revenue increased 25.8 per cent as compared to Rs 25.69 crore (4.6 per cent of TIO).

     

    Note: 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10 million = 1 crore

     

    Operating Results/PAT

     

    The company reports revenue from five segments:  Printing and publishing of newspaper and periodicals (Printing segment); Radio segment (under the brand My FM); Events; Internet; and power. Two of the segments are major contributors to the revenue – printing and radio and their numbers have been considered in this report.

     

    The company reported 80.7 per cent QoQ growth in profit after tax (PAT) for the current quarter at Rs 108.63 crore (18.2 per cent margin) as compared to Rs 59.12 crore (12.4 per cent margin) and grew 1.6 per cent YoY as compared to Rs 105.11 crore (19 per cent margin).

     

    The company’s print business reported 73.5 per cent QoQ increase in operating profit at Rs 162.91 crore as compared to Rs 93.91 crore and increased 3.3 per cent YoY as compared to Rs 157.76 crore.

     

    Radio business reported almost double the operating profit (grew by 98.7 per cent) QoQ at Rs 12 crore as compared to Rs 6.04 crore and increased 27.1 per cent YoY as compared to Rs 9.44 crore.

     

    Advertisement and subscription revenue

     

    The company says that its advertising revenue declined 0.6 per cent YoY to Rs 391.2 crore in the current quarter as compared to Rs 393.4 crore in the corresponding quarter of last year, but increased 27 per cent QoQ as compared to Rs 307.9 crore. Circulation revenue increased 17.8 per cent in YOY in Q3-2016 to Rs 114.1 crore as compared to the Rs 96.9 crore and grew eight per cent QoQ as compared to Rs 105.7 crore.

     

    DB Corp managing director Sudhir Agarwal said, “The success of our yield strategy has begun delivering encouraging results as we make aggressive efforts to gain back volume growth across our legacy and emerging markets, which have started responding well. We have taken every step to maintain our leadership position and we continue to be the largest circulated newspaper since last three years while we are the fourth largest circulated newspaper in the world – a great honour and responsibility for us. Our focus on stronger operating efficiencies and better expense management has ensured our financial health while softened newsprint costs have also protected our profitability.

    Our non-print businesses are well on course as our digital business continues to gather momentum and our radio business strategy maintains commendable progress as we prepare to commence operations of the newly acquired stations over four to six months. The government is in the midst of introducing structural reforms with a long term vision and we believe that present green shoots will translate into a positive pick up for a better economic environment.”