DB Corp Q2 FY17 net up 55.9% at Rs 885 mn on back of mature markets

DB Corp, home to flagship newspapers Dainik Bhaskar, Divya Bhaskar, Dainik Divya Marathi and Saurashtra Samachar, has reported 55.9 per cent YOY growth in its profit after tax (PAT) at Rs 885 million (PAT margin 16.6 per cent) for the second quarter ended September 30, 2016. The figure stood at Rs 568 million (PAT margin 11.7 per cent) in Q2 of last fiscal.

Total revenue reported growth of 9.7 per cent YOY at Rs 5,328 million in the current period from Rs 4,858 million in Q2 of last fiscal.

Advertising revenues reported growth of 9 per cent YOY at Rs 3,740 million in Q2 FY17 from Rs 3,433 million in Q2 of last fiscal.

Circulation revenue has increased 11.5 per cent YOY to Rs 1,179 million from Rs 1,057 million, primarily due to yield driven growth. The growth has largely has come from mature markets.

EBIDTA grew by 33.2 per cent YOY at Rs 1,547 million with strong EBIDTA margin of 29 per cent for the quarter; against EBITDA of Rs 1,162 million (margin 23.9 per cent) in Q2 FY16.

Digital business revenue grew by 21 per cent to Rs 140 million in Q2 FY17 from Rs 116 million in the corresponding quarter of the last fiscal.

Radio business: Advertising revenues expanded by 24.6 per cent YOY to Rs 299 million in Q2 of the current period, against Rs 240 million in Q2 of last fiscal.

Radio business EBIDTA delivered strong growth of 89.9 per cent YOY at Rs 152 million (50.9 per cent margin), from Rs 80 million last year. Radio business maintains highest EBIDTA margin amongst all radio companies.

Radio business net profit grew by 114.1 per cent YOY to Rs 85 million (28.3 per cent margin) from Rs 39 million last year.

Meanwhile, out of the 13 acquired frequencies during Phase III radio auction, My FM (the FM radio offering from DB Corp) launched three new frequencies in Hisar, Karnal and Rajkot over July and August 2016. Following the new launches, the FM player has now extended operations to 20 live stations. MY FM also introduced several new content programmes as part of its ‘Ab Har Kaan Sunega’ campaign, aligned to audience preferences distilled from the ‘Aap Ki Marzi’ survey undertaken at the pre-launch stage.

Commenting on the performance for Q2 FY2016-17, Sudhir Agarwal, Managing Director, DB Corp, 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.”

He further said, “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. 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.”