DB Corp reports 85% recovery in Q2 FY22 on pre-Covid levels

The print media giant DB Corp, which owns Dainik Bhaskar, Divya Bhaskar, Divya Marathi and Saurashtra Samachar, has shown robust recovery in the second quarter of FY22 as compared to the corresponding quarter of FY20 (pre-Covid).

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According to the financial results for the quarter ending September 30, 2021, the print major’s total revenue stands at 85% of the pre-Covid levels. While the print advertising revenue has achieved 82% recovery, radio advertising and print circulation revenues have crossed 90% of the pre-Covid levels.

In its regulatory filing, the company said its efforts to resume circulation to pre-covid levels have yielded stellar results with various initiatives having contributed to the restoration of almost 92- 95% of pre-covid circulation copies along with cover price increase in select markets. “Further, these efforts have resulted in expanding market share gains, with an average increase of around 2-3% YOY across all markets in which the Group operates, underscoring the resilience of the group. The Dainik Bhaskar Group is well positioned to expand its market share further, owing to its superior offering, a welloiled and efficient distribution network and strong trade connections,” it said.

The company said the print advertising is recovering despite the absence or muted performance of large categories such as Auto and Consumer Durables. “All other sectors, such as Real Estate, Education, BFSI, Healthcare, Retail and newer categories such as e-commerce and start-ups, are inundating the advertising space across our newspapers.”

“Local advertising which constitutes almost 70% of the overall advertising is currently growing by almost double digit,” it added.

DB Corp’s advertising revenue stood at Rs 302.9 crore in Q2FY22 as against Rs 226.3 crore, recording a growth of ​​31.8%. Circulation revenue stood at Rs 115.9 crore as against Rs 103.3 crore in the previous year.

Radio advertising revenue jumped 57.8% to Rs 28.7 crore in Q2FY22 versus Rs 18.2 crore in Q2FY21.

Total revenue grew 29% to reach Rs 451.3 crore as against Rs 349.8 crore.

EBIDTA stands at Rs 105.4 crore (23% margin) as against Rs 74.5 crore (margin of 21%), aided by stringent cost control measures and despite large digital business investment for future growth.

Net profit stood at Rs 53.8 crore as against Rs 28.5 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year.

Commenting on the performance for Q2 FY 2022, Sudhir Agarwal, Managing Director, DB Corp Ltd, said, “With the pandemic creating a sombre environment in the past few quarters, we are pleased that the cloud of despair seems to have been lifted with a strong wave of positive sentiments flowing in. We had always expected a good recovery, but the robust momentum that we are witnessing in our key Tier-II, III and beyond markets is truly encouraging. With this broad-based recovery, we have not only crossed our performance of last year but are on track to reach our performance of 2019 or before the pandemic started. This, we believe, is a testament to our well-thought-out strategy, editorial integrity, and continued leadership position in the markets we operate in, making us natural partners for our advertising clients, and importantly, the first choice in newspapers for millions of readers across the country. As our digital footprint expands, we hope to be able to capture the mind-space of our readers across drint as well as digital mediums. We will continue to strive for our stakeholders and are excited to go into the second half of the year with strong momentum.”

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