BENGALURU: DB Corp Limited (DB Corp), home to flagship newspapers Dainik Bhaskar, Divya Bhaskar, Dainik Divya Marathi and Saurashtra Samachar, reported a 3.2 per cent fall in Total Income from Operations (TIO) to Rs 473.36 crore in the quarter ended 31 June, 2015 (Q1-2016, current quarter) from Rs 489.20 crore in Q1-2015 and 2.5 per cent fall from the Rs 485.60 crore in Q4-2015 on the back of lower advertising revenue.
The company’s radio segment under the brand My FM reported a 3.7 per cent growth in operating revenue to Rs 21.50 crore (4.5 per cent of TIO) in Q1-2016 from Rs 20.73 crore (4.2 per cent of TIO) in Q1-2015, but 19.4 per cent lower than the Rs 26.68 crore (4.2 per cent of TIO) in the immediate trailing quarter. Operating results from the company’s radio segment dropped sharply and have been mentioned later in this report.
Note: (1) 100,00,000 = 100 Lakhs = 10 million = 1 crore
(2) The figures mentioned in this report are consolidated figures unless stated otherwise.
Advertising and Circulation revenue
The company says that print advertising revenues declined by eight per cent in Q1-2016 to Rs 342.30 crore as against Rs 373 crore, due to base effect of election revenue in Q1-2015 along with focus on high yield growth. Ad revenue in Q1-2016 was 7.3 per cent more than the Rs 319.10 crore in Q4-2015.
Circulation revenue increased by 16 per cent in the current quarter to Rs 102.20 crore from Rs 88.50 crore primarily due to yield driven growth says the company. Circulation revenue increased 21.8 per cent as compared to the Rs 83.9 crore in Q4-2015.
Company speak
DB Corp managing director Sudhir Agarwal said, “Through this quarter, we continued our efforts to consolidate our positions across our all markets with a key focus on continuing to implement our strategy of yield increase, which was undertaken last quarter with an aim to monetize better yield growth, as we progress towards achieving our ambitious long term growth plans and goals. We took some important strategic steps to strengthen the foundations of our business over the last few years which continue to hold us in good stead and Bhaskar is working fiercely in an environment that continues to demand aggressive marketing efforts across all regions with our presence. In an environment that continues to be challenging, we are confident of our current strategies and business fundamentals that are directed towards enterprise growth while ensuring that we continue to operate efficiently and in a calibrated manner for the future. Our operating efficiencies continue to be validated while we also continue to benefit from softened newsprint prices. Several market expansion initiatives are underway and we look forward to completing our Bihar foray within the next few month. As the government continues with its efforts and initiatives to boost economic growth, we remain confident of our operating strengths and highly differentiated business approach that positions us very well to capitalize on better opportunities, as we move ahead.”
Let us look at the other results reported by DB Corp
DB Corp reported 16 per cent lower PAT (Profit after Tax) at Rs 66.46 crore in Q1-2016 as compared to the PAT of Rs 79.13 crore in Q1-2015 and 3.8 per cent more than the PAT of Rs 64 crore in Q4-2015.
The company’s total expenditure (TE) in Q1-2016 at Rs 373.20 crore was 0.7 per cent lower than the Rs 374.99 crore in Q1-2015 and 4.7 per cent lower than the Rs 390.74 crore in Q4-2015.
Raw material consumption (RMC) in Q1-2016 at Rs 144.74 crore was 12.7 per cent lower than the Rs 165.88 crore in Q1-2015 and was 4.6 per cent lower than the Rs 151.7 crore Q4-2015.
Segment Revenue
The company reports revenue from five segments: Printing and publishing of newspaper and periodicals (Printing segment); Radio segment; Events; Internet; and power. Two of the segments are major contributors to the revenue – printing and radio and numbers have been considered here.
Printing segment revenue at Rs 440.19 crore in Q1-2016 was 4.5 per cent lower than the Rs 461.07 crore in corresponding quarter of the previous year and was 1.8 per cent lower than the Rs 448.41 crore in Q4-2015.
Printing segment reported operating result of Rs 108.56 crore in Q1-20165, which was eight per cent lower than the Rs 117.95 crore in Q1-2015 but was 3.3 per cent lower than the Rs 112.21 crore in the immediate trailing quarter.
The company’s radio segment (My FM) revenue has been mentioned above. My FM reported a 22.5 per cent drop in operating profit to Rs 4.08 crore in Q1-2016 as compared to the Rs 5.27 crore in Q1-2015 and a massive 59 per cent lower (less than half) than the Rs 9.95 crore in Q4-2015.
