DB Corp Limited (DBCL) home to flagship newspapers - Dainik Bhaskar, Divya Bhaskar, Divya Marathi and Saurashtra Samachar has posted a total revenue of Rs 602 crore in Q2FY24, growing 10% on a YoY basis as compared to Rs 549 crore in Q2 FY23. 

The company’s consolidated ad revenue grew by 13% to Rs. 430 crore in Q2 FY24 against Rs 381 crore in Q2FY23, over a high base of last year, said DB Corp in a press release. Meanwhile, the circulation revenue grew 4% to Rs 121 crore against Rs 116 crore of the previous year.

The company’s EBIDTA stands at Rs 168 crore with a margin of 28% a 1000 bps increase over the previous year. The company said that the print business reported stellar EBIDTA margins of 30%.  The Profit After Tax (PAT) registered a growth of 106% YoY to Rs 100 crore in Q2 FY24 as compared to Rs 49 crore in Q2 FY23. 

Meanwhile, the company’s consolidated ad revenue grew by 15% for H1 FY24 to Rs 825 crore against Rs 718 crore in H1 FY23.

The total revenue grew 12% YoY to Rs. 1176 crore in H1 FY24 against Rs 1048 crore in H1 FY23. The circulation revenue grew 4% YoY to Rs 240 crore against Rs 231 crore. The EBIDTA grew 77% YoY to Rs. 304 crore from Rs. 172 crore and PAT recorded a growth of 124% YoY to Rs. 179 crore against Rs. 80 crore in H1FY23. 

According to the official statement, the Radio segment has delivered the Industry-best EBITDA margins which are sustainable. “With the 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 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,” read the release. 

Sudhir Agarwal, Managing Director, DB Corp Ltd said, “The Indian consumption story is continuing to fuel growth, with Tier II 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.” 

He further added that across sectors, advertisers are using DB Corp’s platform for hyperlocal advertisements to increase their returns. He mentioned, “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. As a market leader that has been at the forefront of innovation in the sector, our teams continue to work hard to not only maintain the pole position but also extend our reach and improve our delivery. With an omni-channel mechanism in place resulting in eight continuous quarters of growth, we are confident that the next few quarters will extend our lead even further.”

The company said that the print media segment has now cemented its place as the most trusted source of news. As advertisers continue to reap benefits and see their sales increase through ad spending, they are increasing their budgets for Print – creating a virtuous cycle. 

It also highlighted that the newsprint prices continued their downward trend in Q2FY2024 and based on their assessment, the company expect newsprint purchase prices to remain softened in the next few quarters. “Our average cost for newsprint has reduced from the high of Rs 63,500 PMT in Q2 FY2023 to around Rs 56500 PMT in Q1 FY2024 and now further down to Rs 51500 PMT in Q2 FY2024 resulting in newsprint cost reduction of 16% YoY.