“The print media industry has been gaining prominence over the past few quarters, again, as readers and advertisers alike are looking to stick to the culture. We have always believed that our ability to deliver very crisp, relatable content with a high level of integrity will help us in the long run,” said DB Corp Non-Executive Director Girish Agarwal during the Q3 FY23 earnings conference call.

He further shared that coming out of the challenging pandemic period Q3 and the nine months of the fiscal have shown that there is tremendous potential in the print sector.

Automobile, another key traditional sector, is also showing signs of revival, Agarwal said, adding that this is crucial as it comes after the company’s ‘soft performance’ in the last 3-4 years. 

On the circulation front, he said the company has been rolling out several initiatives for readers and trade partners to drive more reader acquisitions. 

According to Agarwal, January of 2023 has registered a strong double-digit percentage when compared to last year. “The growth has come from all segments like government, education, real estate, automobile, lifestyle and jewellery. So fortunately, this January has closed on a very strong double-digit growth, and we are hopeful that this momentum will continue going forward also.”

He shared that the company’s cost-cutting measures continue to serve well. “We continue to rationalize our operations and have managed to save approximately 9% from our total operating cost for the nine months FY 2023 versus nine months FY 2020, pre-pandemic. We have been consistently achieving these cost reductions due to the long-lasting nature of our measures. Our EBITDA growth of 6% in the 9-month period comes after accounting for higher newsprint prices as well as our continued investment in the digital business, which we believe will help us in the long run.”

According to Pawan Agarwal, Deputy Managing Director, DB Corp, the company witnessed another good quarter driven by advertising revenues from the festive season, coupled with a robust revival of demand in the key markets of non-metro Tier 2 and 3 cities.

“We have, over the past few quarters, highlighted a strong resurgence in traditional media. This quarter is a strong testament to that trend. As India's largest print media group, our innovation and consistent focus on our editorial and circulation strength have helped us build on our strength and continue this momentum.”

He shared that the consolidated nine months’ advertising revenue grew by 29% to Rs 11,233 million versus Rs 8,693 million in nine months FY 2022. Circulation revenue recorded a growth of 2% to Rs 3,469 million against Rs 3,406 million in the previous year. Total revenues grew by 24% Y-o-Y to Rs 16,209 million as against Rs 13,087 million. EBITDA grew by 6% to Rs 2,722 million as against Rs 2,565 million, aided by stringent cost control measures and despite relatively high newsprint prices, and large digital business investments for future growth.

Consolidated PAT for the nine months grew by 8.5% to Rs 1,281 million versus Rs 1,180 million in FY2022. “Further, it is worthwhile to share that domestic newsprint prices are witnessing softness of around 12% to 15% from the peaks of around Rs 70,000 per ton. Similarly, imported newsprint spot prices have also seen a correction of around 15% to 20% from their highs of US $850 purchased by us. We expect domestic newsprint prices to further soften due to weak demand. The partial impact of these corrections has started reflecting in our results in the current quarter, and we expect quarter-on-quarter corrections to continue in Q4FY23 as well,” Pawan Agarwal said. 

In Q3FY23, advertising revenue grew by 2.6% Y-o-Y to Rs 4,052 million versus Rs 3,951 million of Q3FY22. He shared although adjusting for the festive season and billing spread on a like to-like basis, ad revenue has grown double-digit in comparison to the previous festive season. 

Circulation revenue stood at Rs 1,157 as against Rs 1,141 million of Q3 FY2022. Total revenue grew by 4.6% Y-o-Y to Rs 5,745 million as against Rs 5,495 million in Q3FY22. EBITDA stood at Rs 1,007 million versus Rs 1,459 million after considering a forex loss of Rs 21 million and despite relatively high newsprint prices and large digital business investments for future growth. PAT for the quarter stood at Rs 483 million versus Rs 865 million in Q3FY22 after considering a forex loss of Rs 24 million.

Moving on to digital business, which has been a key focus area and an important vertical in terms of future growth for the company’s business, Agarwal said that the company has been steadily growing its loyal monthly active user base across all its app with an increase of over 7x from 2 million in January 2020 to more than 15 million in November 2022. 

“As the dominant player in both the physical and digital mediums, we are not resting on our laurels and continue to work on increasing the engagement of our users. 

Coming to the radio division, in the nine months of FY2023, revenue grew by 24.6% to Rs 1,020 million versus Rs 819 million last year. EBITDA grew by 37.3% to Rs 318 million versus Rs 232 million and formed a margin of 31% in nine months FY2023. “Our teams at MY FM continue to work towards building a strong brand visibility through key tie-ups in current affairs and innovative content to increase audience engagement, which will help us increase our ad rates and augment revenues.”