DB Corp Q2 FY2024 ad revenue up 13% YOY at Rs 4,301 million

DB Corp Limited (DBCL), home to flagship newspapers – Dainik Bhaskar, Divya Bhaskar, Divya Marathi and Saurashtra Samachar – has registered stellar growth of 13% YOY in is advertisement revenue to Rs 4,301 million for the second quarter ended September 30, 2023, from Rs 3,811 million, on a high base of last year.

DB Corp’s EBIDTA grew by 71.4% YOY to Rs 1,676 million, against Rs 977 million. EBIDTA margin expanded by 1000 basis points to 28% against 18%. Print Business EBIDTA margin stood at 30% in Q2 FY2024. Profit After Tax grew by 105% YOY to Rs 1,003 million, compared to Rs 488 million in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.

Radio Segment has delivered Industry-best EBITDA margins, which are sustainable. With government-led radio business initiative of allowance of news and increase of DAVP rates, radio business is expected to accelerate top line and bottom line. “All our businesses continue to fire on all cylinders and our teams continue the well-thought-out cost-control and optimisation measures and this, coupled with our circulation strategy and the growth of advertising revenues have helped us deliver strong operating results for 8 consecutive quarters and we expect the momentum to continue over the next quarters,” DB Corp stated in a release issued.

On the Advertising front, traditional advertisers such as Education, Real Estate, Government, Jewellery, Health, etc., continue to use print as their preferred medium. The Auto Sector is already seeing increasing ad spends, but a lot of headroom for future growth is seen. New-age digital sectors continue to see value in the Print media, and in this quarter too, digital, app-based companies and start-ups continued their print preference.

Performance highlights for H1 FY2024 – Consolidated

• Advertising Revenue grew by strong 15% to Rs 8,247 million as against Rs 7,179 million.
• Circulation Revenue grew by around 4% to Rs 2,404 million as against Rs 2,313 million.
• Total Revenue grew by around 12% to Rs 11,755 million as against Rs 10,480 million.
• EBIDTA grew by strong 77% to Rs 3,035 million as against Rs 1,715 million, aided by stringent cost control measures, and also helped by softening newsprint prices. EBIDTA margin expanded by impressive 1000 basis points to 26% from 16% last year.
• Net Profit grew by impressive 124% YOY to Rs 1,790 million as against Rs 798 million.

Radio business:

• Revenue grew by 11% YOY at Rs 732 million versus Rs 658 million.
• EBIDTA grew by 11% YOY to Rs. 223 million versus Rs. 201 million.

Commenting on the performance for Q2 FY2024, Sudhir Agarwal, Managing Director, DB Corp Ltd, said, “The Indian Consumption Story is continuing to fuel growth, with Tier 2 and beyond cities driving the expansion. Over the past few quarters, print media has been cemented as the most trustworthy medium and Dainik Bhaskar has been a strong component of that trust. This has resulted in robust growth in advertising revenues, and we are happy to see that trend continuing. Across sectors, advertisers are using our platform for hyperlocal advertisements to increase their returns. What really enthuses us is that even though the festive season for this year is entirely in Q3, our Q2 numbers have shown strong double-digit growth – highlighting the vast potential of the markets that we operate in. We look forward to a good festive and wedding season ahead with an estimated 3.5 million weddings that are likely to happen in Nov-Dec, spurring the local economies.”