DB Corp reports 9.2% drop in revenues in Q2FY20, profit up by 64%

DB Corp Limited, publisher of Dainik Bhaskar, Divya Bhaskar, Divya Marathi and Saurashtra Samachar, recorded 9.2% drop in its total revenues while the profit after tax grew by 64% for the quarter ended September 30, 2019.

Performance highlights for Q2 FY20:

Advertising Revenue stands at Rs 3670 million as against Rs 4132 million in Q2 last fiscal 

Circulation Revenue stands at Rs 1286 million as against Rs 1318 million Q2 FY2019 

Total Revenue came in at Rs 5336 million as against Rs 5874 million in Q2 of last fiscal 

EBIDTA was at Rs 1006 million (margin of 19%), against EBIDTA of Rs 977 million (margin of 17%) after considering forex loss of Rs 17.9 million 

PAT stands at Rs 756 million (margin of 14%), against Rs 462 million (margin of 8%), after considering forex loss of Rs 27.1 million and after application of new tax rates as per recent corporate tax rate change announcement. 

Radio business: 

Advertising Revenue stands at Rs 316 million against Rs 377 million Q2 FY2019 

EBIDTA stands at Rs 69 million (margin of 22%) against Rs 120 million (margin of 32%) 

PAT came in at Rs 50 million (margin of 16%) against Rs 58 million (margin of 15%)

Performance highlights for H1 FY20:

Advertising Revenue stands at Rs 8089 million as against Rs 8681 million in H1 of last fiscal 

Circulation Revenue stands at Rs 2600 million as against Rs 2663 million in H1 FY2019 

Total Revenue came in at Rs 11447 million in as against Rs 12267 million in H1 of last fiscal 

EBIDTA stands at Rs 2802 million (margin of 24%), against EBIDTA of Rs 2725 million (margin of 22%), in H1 FY2019, after considering forex loss of Rs. 17 million 

PAT stands at Rs 1693 million (margin of 15%), against Rs 1438 million (margin of 12%), in H1 FY2019, after considering forex loss of Rs 26.3 million and after application of new tax rates as per recent corporate tax rate change announcement.

Radio Business: 

Advertising revenues at Rs 693 million in H1 FY2020, against Rs 694 million in H1 FY2019 

EBIDTA stands at Rs 200 million (margin of 29%) against Rs 191 million (margin of 27%) 

PAT grew by 21% YOY to Rs 102 million (margin of 15%) from Rs 85 million (margin 12%)

Commenting on the performance for Q2 & H1 FY 2019-20, Sudhir Agarwal, Managing Director, DB Corp Ltd, said, “The market conditions have been lacklustre primarily due to the economic slowdown resulting in weak demand and tepid consumer spending. While we too have witnessed the impact, our innovative product strategies and growth-led initiatives aided in not only maintaining market leadership in all our major markets but also gaining share in newly forayed markets. Apart from the recently run ‘Circulation Expansion Drive’, our focus on extending the editorial philosophy of ‘Reader-centric’ to include ‘Knowledge and Ideation’ approach has delivered encouraging results, as also reflected in the recent survey data published by IRS and ABC. Further, within a short span of our launch in Bihar, we have emerged as the formidable No. 2 Newspaper in the State. With this operating philosophy of ‘Regular Product Re-invention’ being aggressively implemented across our Print, Radio and Digital segments, we look forward to exceling further in a rapidly evolving business environment.

As mentioned earlier, the first half of the fiscal has been challenging for the overall industry; however, our continued focus on Cost Control measures coupled with softening Newsprint prices helped in sustaining the overall profitability for the Company. Further, the initial signs of festive demand are positive and we are cautiously optimistic about growth revival.

We applaud the Central Government’s recent industry friendly announcements and hope for few more stimulus measures in the offing. These progressive steps towards reviving the economy are expected to provide the desired impetus to growth in the mid to long term. With all our fundamental growth drivers in place, we are wellprepared to capitalise on the upcoming opportunities and would strive to enhance our performance.”

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