DB Corp flags drop in government ads; BFSI, auto drive print growth

New Delhi: DB Corp said government advertising has declined sharply this year, while most other print advertising categories have continued to grow, led by banking and financial services, healthcare, real estate, jewellery and education.

During the company’s Q3 FY26 earnings call, Girish Agarwal, promoter-director at DB Corp, flagged the government category as the biggest weak spot for print advertising. “All our traditional print categories have registered growth, except the government category, which has declined sharply by 24% in 9 months because of the high base last year,” Agarwal said.

He also pointed to a drop in the government category’s share in the company’s print ad mix. “Last year, the government contributed almost 24%. This year, it has gone down to 17%,” Agarwal said.

While DB Corp did not share category-level revenue numbers, the management indicated that private sector segments have remained active advertisers across its print platforms, supporting overall demand.

Agarwal said banking and financial services have been among the strongest contributors, helped by IPO-related activity and financial services campaigns. “Banking, thanks to IPOs and financial services, has gone up by 30%,” he noted.

Healthcare-linked advertising has also remained strong, with Agarwal highlighting that hospitals and related categories delivered close to 20% growth. “Hospitals, cleaning services and healthcare have grown by almost 20%,” he said.

Real estate and jewellery were also among the better-performing categories. “Real estate has gone up strong double digit, jewelry at a double digit,” Agarwal said, pointing to sustained advertiser activity in both segments.

At the same time, the company flagged that FMCG remained relatively soft compared to other sectors. Agarwal said that while most categories were performing well, FMCG showed a slight decline over the broader period.

For the quarter, Agarwal shared indicative contribution levels for key sectors in DB Corp’s print advertising mix. “The Automobile sector was 10-11%, and jewelry was 8%. The real estate sector was 10% while FMCG was 5%,” he said.

The management also indicated that the advertising growth has been largely volume-driven rather than led by pricing. “I would say the split was 80-20,” Agarwal added, referring to the mix between volume growth and yield improvement.

On advertiser engagement, DB Corp said it has been in active discussions with automobile companies and expects spends to improve as sales trends stabilise. “We are talking to all the automobile industries,” Agarwal commented. He noted that the sector performed well in the second quarter but saw some softness later.

Agarwal also indicated that auto’s share in the company’s revenue mix remains in double digits but below pre-Covid levels. “It’s already in double digits right now, around 10%,” he said.

Real estate, another major print advertiser, has slowed in the past couple of months, he added. He mentioned that developers are holding back for now, but DB Corp continues to track the segment closely.

Looking ahead, the company expects advertising momentum to come from core categories such as automobile, real estate, healthcare, banking and finance, and education.