Tag: Saurashtra Samachar

  • 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.”

  • 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.”

  • Q2-2016: DB Corp print revenue drops marginally; radio revenue up 5%

    Q2-2016: DB Corp print revenue drops marginally; radio revenue up 5%

    BENGALURU: DB Corp Limited (DB Corp), home to flagship newspapers Dainik Bhaskar, Divya Bhaskar, Dainik Divya Marathi and Saurashtra Samachar reported a 0.4 per cent fall in YoY Total Income from Operations (TIO) in the quarter ended 30 September, 2015 (Q2-2016, current quarter). The company reported a TIO of Rs 478.33 crore in the current quarter as compared to the Rs 480.21 crore in the corresponding year ago quarter and a one per cent growth as compared to the Rs 473.36 crore in Q1-2016.

     

    Note: (1) 100,00,000 = 100 Lakhs = 10 million = 1 crore

     

    (2) The figures mentioned in this report are consolidated figures unless stated otherwise.

     

    Segment Numbers

     

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

     

    Radio segment

     

    DB Corp’s radio segment reported a 5.2 per cent growth in operating revenue to Rs 23.96 crore in the current quarter as compared to the Rs 22.77 crore in Q2-2015 and 11.5 per cent more than the Rs 21.50 crore in Q1-2016. The segment reported an eight per cent drop in operating profit to Rs 6.04 crore in the current quarter as compared to the Rs 6.57 crore in Q2-2015, but 48 per cent more than the Rs 4.08 crore in the immediate previous quarter. The company’s radio business PAT stands at Rs 4 crore. 

     

    Radio segment EBIDTA declined 6.7 per cent in Q2-2016 to Rs 8 crore as compared to the Rs 8.6 crore in Q2-2015, but grew 31.6 per cent as compared to the Rs 6.1 crore in Q1-2016.

     

    Printing segment

     

    The company’s printing segment reported a 1.6 per cent decline in operating revenue at Rs 442.24 crore in Q2-2016 as compared to the Rs 449.32 crore in Q2-2015, but 0.5 per cent more than the Rs 440.19 crore in Q1-2016. The segment reported a 6.2 per cent decline in operating result to Rs 93.91 crore as compared to the Rs 110.07 crore in Q2-2015 and was 6.2 per cent lower than the Rs 108.56 crore in the immediate trailing quarter.

     

    DB Corp’s profit after tax (PAT) in the current quarter declined 13.2 per cent to Rs 59.12 crore as compared to the Rs 68.11 crore in Q2-2015 and declined 11 per cent as compared to the Rs 66.46 crore in Q1-2016.

     

    DB Corp achieved EBIDTA margins of 24 per cent at Rs 117.1 crore from Rs 127.1 crore in Q2-2015, after factoring in forex loss of Rs 1.56 million and its Bihar launch preoperative expenditure of Rs 2.77 crore.

     

    Total Expenditure in the current quarter grew 2.8 per cent to Rs 388.14 crore as compared to the Rs 377.53 crore in Q2-2015 and was 4.3 per cent more than the Rs 372.30 crore in Q1-2016. Raw Material consumption in Q2-2016 declined 7.7 per cent to Rs 149.69 crore as compared to the Rs 162.09 crore in Q2-2015 and was 3.4 per cent more than the Rs 144.74 crore in Q1-2016.

     

    Advertising and Circulation revenue

     

    The company says that its advertising revenue declined to Rs 343.3 crore in the current quarter as compared to Rs 316 crore in the corresponding quarter of last year on account of the impact of the difference in the dates of the Navratri festival during the years FY-2015 and FY-2016.

     

    Circulation revenue increased 16 per cent in Q2-2016 to Rs 105.7 crore as compared to the Rs 91.5 crore, primarily due to yield driven growth, largely coming from its mature markets.

     

    Company speak

     

    DB Corp managing director Sudhir Agarwal said, “This quarter we established another expansion milestone as we consolidated our presence in Bihar, a region of strong strategic importance and we are able to provide a better reach to our advertisers and cater to an under-tapped, yet potential readership base. The yield strategy we have adopted has begun delivering good results as is evident from a consistent growth in yields. We are patiently continuing to have intensive successful discussions with our national and local level advertisers who have supported our yield strategy and highly appreciate the value we bring to support their plans. We are committed to strengthen these relationships as we progress.”

     

    “DB Digital has been performing well as we continue to gather commendable momentum with 177 per cent growth in page views and unique visitors. Our radio business strategy to be the market leading radio business in ‘Unmetro ‘ regions is well aligned to print business and with the recent acquisition of 14 frequencies in the Phase III auctions, we are now strongly placed to offer compelling package and reach to advertisers in Maharashtra, Rajasthan, CPH and Gujarat. On an overall basis, we continue to take all measures to leverage our strengths across print, radio and digital businesses to drive growth aggressively, while also ensuring that we continue to achieve better organisational efficiencies.“

  • Q1-2016: DB Corp y-o-y revenue down 3.2%; My FM revenue up 3.7%

    Q1-2016: DB Corp y-o-y revenue down 3.2%; My FM revenue up 3.7%

    BENGALURU: DB Corp Limited (DB Corp), home to flagship newspapers Dainik Bhaskar, Divya Bhaskar, Dainik Divya Marathi and Saurashtra Samachar, reported a 3.2 per cent fall in Total Income from Operations (TIO) to Rs 473.36 crore in the quarter ended 31 June, 2015 (Q1-2016, current quarter) from Rs 489.20 crore in Q1-2015 and 2.5 per cent fall from the Rs 485.60 crore in Q4-2015 on the back of lower advertising revenue.

     

    The company’s radio segment under the brand My FM reported a 3.7 per cent growth in operating revenue to Rs 21.50 crore (4.5 per cent of TIO) in Q1-2016 from Rs 20.73 crore (4.2 per cent of TIO) in Q1-2015, but 19.4 per cent lower than the Rs 26.68 crore (4.2 per cent of TIO) in the immediate trailing quarter. Operating results from the company’s radio segment dropped sharply and have been mentioned later in this report.

     

    Note: (1) 100,00,000 = 100 Lakhs = 10 million = 1 crore

    (2) The figures mentioned in this report are consolidated figures unless stated otherwise.

     

    Advertising and Circulation revenue

    The company says that print advertising revenues declined by eight per cent in Q1-2016 to Rs 342.30 crore as against Rs 373 crore, due to base effect of election revenue in Q1-2015 along with focus on high yield growth. Ad revenue in Q1-2016 was 7.3 per cent more than the Rs 319.10 crore in Q4-2015.

     

    Circulation revenue increased by 16 per cent in the current quarter to Rs 102.20 crore from Rs 88.50 crore primarily due to yield driven growth says the company. Circulation revenue increased 21.8 per cent as compared to the Rs 83.9 crore in Q4-2015.

     

    Company speak

     

    DB Corp managing director Sudhir Agarwal said, “Through this quarter, we continued our efforts to consolidate our positions across our all markets with a key focus on continuing to implement our strategy of yield increase, which was undertaken last quarter with an aim to monetize better yield growth, as we progress towards achieving our ambitious long term growth plans and goals. We took some important strategic steps to strengthen the foundations of our business over the last few years which continue to hold us in good stead and Bhaskar is working fiercely in an environment that continues to demand aggressive marketing efforts across all regions with our presence. In an environment that continues to be challenging, we are confident of our current strategies and business fundamentals that are directed towards enterprise growth while ensuring that we continue to operate efficiently and in a calibrated manner for the future. Our operating efficiencies continue to be validated while we also continue to benefit from softened newsprint prices. Several market expansion initiatives are underway and we look forward to completing our Bihar foray within the next few month. As the government continues with its efforts and initiatives to boost economic growth, we remain confident of our operating strengths and highly differentiated business approach that positions us very well to capitalize on better opportunities, as we move ahead.”

     

    Let us look at the other results reported by DB Corp 

     

    DB Corp reported 16 per cent lower PAT (Profit after Tax) at Rs 66.46 crore in Q1-2016 as compared to the PAT of Rs 79.13 crore in Q1-2015 and 3.8 per cent more than the PAT of Rs 64 crore in Q4-2015.

     

    The company’s total expenditure (TE) in Q1-2016 at Rs 373.20 crore was 0.7 per cent lower than the Rs 374.99 crore in Q1-2015 and 4.7 per cent lower than the Rs 390.74 crore in Q4-2015.

     

    Raw material consumption (RMC) in Q1-2016 at Rs 144.74 crore was 12.7 per cent lower than the Rs 165.88 crore in Q1-2015 and was 4.6 per cent lower than the Rs 151.7 crore Q4-2015. 

     

    Segment Revenue 

     

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

     

    Printing segment revenue at Rs 440.19 crore in Q1-2016 was 4.5 per cent lower than the Rs 461.07 crore in corresponding quarter of the previous year and was 1.8 per cent lower than the Rs 448.41 crore in Q4-2015.

     

    Printing segment reported operating result of Rs 108.56 crore in Q1-20165, which was eight per cent lower than the Rs 117.95 crore in Q1-2015 but was 3.3 per cent lower than the Rs 112.21 crore in the immediate trailing quarter.

     

    The company’s radio segment (My FM) revenue has been mentioned above. My FM reported a 22.5 per cent drop in operating profit to Rs 4.08 crore in Q1-2016 as compared to the Rs 5.27 crore in Q1-2015 and a massive 59 per cent lower (less than half) than the Rs 9.95 crore in Q4-2015.