BENGALURU: DB Corp Limited (DB Corp), home to flagship newspapers Dainik Bhaskar, Divya Bhaskar, Dainik Divya Marathi and Saurashtra Samachar reported a 1.8 per cent drop in Q2-2015 total income from operations (TIO) to Rs 449.32 crore from Rs 461.07 crore in Q1-2015, but saw an increase from the Rs 416.15 crore TIO reported in the corresponding quarter of last year.
The company’s radio segment revenues however, went up 9.8 per cent in Q2 2015 to Rs 22.77 crore (4.7 per cent of TIO) from Rs 20.73 crore (4.2 per cent of TIO) in Q1 2015 and a massive 33.3 per cent more than the Rs 17.08 crore (3.9 per cent of TIO) in Q2 2014.
While DB Corp’s Q2-2015 PAT fell 13.9 per cent to Rs 68.11 crore (14.2 per cent of TIO) from Rs 79.13 crore (16.2 per cent of TIO) in Q1-2015 and rose by 13.2 per cent from Rs 60.16 crore (13.7 per cent of TIO), the company’s radio segment’s operating profit went up by 24.7 per cent in Q2-2015 to Rs 6.57 crore from Rs 5.27 crore in Q1 2015 and more than double (2.58 times) the operating profit of 2.54 crore in Q1-2014
Let us look at the other Q2-2015 and HY-2015 figures reported by DB Corp
DB Corp’s TIO for HY-2015 has been reported at Rs 969.41 crore which is 9.2 per cent more than the Rs 887.39 crore in HY-2014. It’s PAT for HY-2015 at Rs 147.23 crore (15.2 per cent of TIO) is 8.1 per cent higher than the Rs 136.26 crore (15.4 per cent of TIO) in HY-2014.
The company’s total expenditure (TE) for Q2-2015 at Rs 377.53 crore was 0.7 per cent more than the Rs 374.99 crore in Q1-2015 and 9.1 per cent more than the Rs 356.15 crore in Q2-2014. During HY-2015, the company’s TE went up to Rs 752.52 crore from Rs 678.49 crore in HY-2014.
The company reported 2.3 per cent lower raw material consumption in Q2-2015 at Rs 162.09 crore (33.8 per cent of TIO) versus the Rs 165.88 crore (33.9 per cent of TIO) in Q1-2015 and 7.8 per cent more than the Rs 150.36 crore (29 per cent of TIO) in Q2-2014. DB Corp’s raw material consumption in HY-2015 at Rs 327.97 crore (33.8 per cent of TIO) was 11.6 per cent more than the Rs 293.95 crore (33.1 per cent of TIO) in HY-2014.
Segment Revenue
DB Corp reports revenues from 5 segment: Printing and Publishing of Newspaper and Periodicals segment (Publishing); Radio business; events; internet and power.
The company’s radio segment details have been mentioned above. The results of the other three segments are quite small as compared to the contributions to overall revenue by DB Corp’s Printing and Publishing of Newspaper and Periodicals and Radio Business segments.
DB Corp’s Publishing segment revenue fell 2.6 per cent in Q2-2015 to Rs 449.32 crore from Rs 461.07 crore in Q1-2015 and rose by 8 per cent from Rs 416.17 crore in Q2-2014. Revenue in HY-2015 at Rs 910.39 crore was 7.7 per cent more than the Rs 845.32 crore in HY-2014.
The segment reported a 15.2 per cent drop in operating profit in Q2-2015 to Rs 100.67 crore from Rs 117.95 crore in Q1-2015 and an increase of 2.9 per cent from Rs 97.27 crore in Q2-2014. Operating profit of this segment in HY-2015 at Rs 210.02 crore dropped 1.9 per cent from Rs 222.16 crore in HY-2014.
According to the company, revenues from advertising reported a growth of 9 per cent y-o-y to Rs 361.0 crore in current period from Rs 331.1 crore in Q2 last fiscal, on a high base of Q2-2014.
DB Corp Managing Director Sudhir Agarwal, said “We are happy to report a quarter of satisfactory performance driven by satisfactory advertisement revenue growth with strong traction from segments such as FMCG, real estate, Auto and Life Style categories. On an overall basis, we have ensured that our legacy and emerging markets maintain steady growth as we continue to focus on delivering a content-backed news product that has become an integral part in the lives of our readers in various age-groups and with diverse interests.
Through continuous strategic reviews on product quality, DBCL is working diligently in each market to bring to its readers unbiased news reports based on local region-wise developments and on news of national importance. It is through this larger mission of unearthing the local potential that we continue to progress along the path of our vision to be the largest and most admired media brand enabling socioeconomic change.
While the print media business segment on a self-growth momentum, we have maintained a steady focus on the non-print segment. 52 per cent of India’s population is 24 years or younger comprising audiences of Generation X, Y and Z. We have very successfully adapted ourselves to this digital and social era and are harnessing our strengths to offer greater value to audiences across radio, digital and mobile platforms.
Over the past few months, macroeconomic sentiments have improved especially with several global institutions positively revising their India outlook, which has had a good impact on consumer and industrial confidence. We believe that the current outlook indicates broad economic stability and a pick-up in growth, which DBCL is very well positioned to capitalise on, given our inherent business strengths and position as the only media conglomerate that enjoys a leadership position in multiple states, and in multiple languages.”
