DB Corp reports strong Q 2 FY 2017 financials

Total revenues have shown a growth of 9.7 per cent at Rs 5,328 million. Ad revenues also reported a growth of 9 per cent to Rs 3,740 million

BestMediaInfo Bureau | Mumbai | October 21, 2016

DB Corp Limited (DBCL) -- the print media company and home to flagship newspapers Dainik Bhaskar, Divya Bhaskar, Dainik Divya Marathi and Saurashtra Samachar -- has announced its financial results for the quarter that ended on September 30, 2016.

Consolidated Q2 FY 2016-2017:

Total revenues have shown a growth of 9.7 per cent year on year at Rs 5,328 million up from Rs 4,858 million in Q2 last fiscal. Advertising revenues have also reported a growth of 9 per cent to Rs 3,740 million from Rs 3,433 million in Q2 of last fiscal. The circulation revenue also increased 11.5 per cent to Rs 1,179 million from Rs 1,057 million, primarily due to yield-driven growth.

EBIDTA grew by 33.2 per cent at Rs 1,547 million with a strong EBIDTA margin of 29 per cent for the quarter against EBITDA of Rs 1,162 million for Q2 of last year. PAT margin stands at 16.6 per cent at Rs 885 million against Rs 568 million in Q2 of last year.

The advertising revenues from the radio business expanded by 24.6 per cent to Rs. 299 million as against Rs 240 million in Q2 of last fiscal. Radio business EBIDTA delivered strong growth of 89.9 per cent at Rs 152 million from Rs 80 million last year. Radio Business PAT grew by 114.1 per cent to Rs 85 million from Rs 39 million last year. Digital business revenue grew by 21 per cent to Rs 140 million from Rs 116 million of the corresponding quarter last fiscal.

H1 FY 2016-2017:

Consolidated total revenues grew by 14.5 per cent to Rs 1,1074 million, as against Rs 9,670 million during H1 last year. Consolidated advertising revenues grew by 14.9 per cent to Rs 7,876 million from Rs 6,855 million last year. Circulation revenue also showed an increase of 13.3 per cent to Rs 2,354 million from Rs 2,079 million.

The company achieved a consolidated EBIDTA margin of 30.7 per cent in H1 FY 2017 at Rs 3,400 million. Consolidated PAT margin is 17.4 per cent at Rs 1,925 million from Rs 1,211 million after considering forex loss of Rs 12 million.

The radio business grew by 27.4 per cent to Rs 579 million from Rs 455 million last year and the radio business EBIDTA grew by 77.6 per cent to Rs 250 million from Rs 141. Radio business PAT grew by 104.3 per cent YOY to Rs 134 million from Rs 66 million. Digital business revenue grew by 21.3 per cent to Rs 263 million from Rs 217 million during.

Dainik Bhaskar was awarded ISO-9001:2015 certification for Quality Management Circulation Distribution Systems. The Audit Bureau of Circulation's (ABC) latest results for January-June 2016 declared Dainik Bhaskar as the largest circulated national daily in India consistently for the last five times. Dainik Bhaskar has also been ranked as the world's fourth largest circulated news daily by WAN IFRA, the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers, making it the only Indian language news daily to feature among the world's top five most circulated newspapers.

My FM has also launched three new frequencies in Hisar, Karnal and Rajkot over July and August 2016 out of the 13 acquired frequencies, during phase III radio auction. On the digital front, Homeonline.com was launched in Bhopal and Raipur on Aug 1, 2016 with the objective to better serve property seekers in tier 2 and tier 3 towns (DB Market).

Sudhir Agarwal

Commenting on the performance for Q2 FY 2016-17, Sudhir Agarwal, Managing Director, DB Corp Ltd said, “Our performance till date reflects a strong top line growth with an even better profitability growth despite a challenging market situation. We are also pleased to share that Dainik Bhaskar is probably the only newspaper in India to be ISO 9001:2015 certified for Quality Management Circulation Distribution Systems, which acknowledges our commitment to efficient processes. As we grow, the following operational and strategic areas will continue to be important: maintain market share and consolidate our leadership, strengthen the Bhaskar brand recall in a competitive environment and fortify client relationships. We will also maintain a stringent control on operating efficiencies and processes which has played a defining role, engage more meaningfully with our communities and ensure that we actively leverage positive macroeconomic trends that will propel higher news consumption across platforms.

As our editorial strategies remain at the core, we are also very excited with our non-print segments, as MY FM extends presence in three new stations of Hisar, Karnal and Rajkot that strengthens our local focus to deliver better value to advertisers. Our digital initiatives are on course as we expand our forays into specialty genres to acquire new users. On an overall basis, with several initiatives of economic reforms underway, good monsoons to support agricultural production, the near term domestic outlook is encouraging and expected to supplement overall economic growth.”

DB Corp Qtr 2' FY 17 Unaudited financial

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