Many media firms see profits under pressure

“This quarter is dominated by movies but, on an annualized basis, we hope to achieve a 100% growth overall. Of this, about 40% will come from movies, 20% from gaming, 14-15% from broadcasting, 20% from television content and 5-6% from new media and internet," chairman and CEO Ronnie Screwvala said. Revenues from television registered a marginal dip and fell from Rs25.79 crore during the year-ago period to Rs25.62 crore. Revenues from the interactive segment also fell from Rs18.01 crore to Rs14.55 crore.

“We are looking to invest in an online gaming startup in the US and we are also interested in acquiring a controlling stake in a mobile games aggregator in the US. The company doesn’t make games itself, but acts as an intermediary between telecom companies and a large number of companies that make games," Screwvala said, but declined to name the companies. The company also expects to increase its stake in Ignition Entertainment Ltd from 70% to 95% by buying out a shareholder, UTV said. Ignition makes high-end games for consoles. UTV shares closed at Rs774.5, up 1.63%.

Jagran Prakashan

Jagran Prakashan Ltd, publisher of India’s largest read daily, Dainik Jagran, said net profit for the quarter ended 30 June fell 8.84% to Rs31.64 crore. Total income grew to Rs212.78 crore, up 10.66% from Rs192.27 crore in the year-ago period. Total expenditure grew 18.88% to Rs165.19 crore. Revenues from advertising grew to Rs140 crore during the quarter, up 10.47% from the year-ago period. Revenues from circulation grew to Rs47.79 crore, up 8.2%.

“This was a difficult quarter, given the negative sentiments on all economic fronts, but JPL could still continue to achieve higher than the industry’s overall growth in advertising revenue," chairman and managing director Mahendra Mohan Gupta said in a statement. “I’m optimistic that the company will end the current fiscal on expected lines and remain bullish on the industry."

Revenues from other operations, such as outdoor advertising, event management and mobile phone related services grew to Rs14.55 crore, up 36.36% from Rs10.67 crore. JPL’s shares closed at Rs65.55, down 1.87%.

Television Eighteen

Television Eighteen India Ltd, broadcaster of channels such as CNBC TV18 and CNBC Awaaz, posted a net loss of Rs9 crore for the quarter ended 30 June, compared with a profit of Rs45 lakh in the year-ago quarter. Total income grew to Rs92.9 crore, up 36.41% from the year-ago period. The consolidated results include the financials of Newswire18 Pvt. Ltd, the firm’s financial information business, as well as Web18 Software Services Ltd, which runs a host of internet properties.

While Newswire18 posted a net loss of Rs3.8 crore, down from Rs4.9 crore in the year-ago period, Web18 posted losses of Rs8 crore, up from Rs2.5 crore during the corresponding quarter last fiscal. Newswire18 posted a 450% rise in revenues, to Rs4.4 crore, up from Rs89 lakhs during the year-ago period. Web18’s revenues grew 40% year-on-year to Rs13.1 crore. The news operations turned a net profit of Rs9.2 crore, up 16.4% from Rs7.9 crore in the year-ago period. TV18 shares closed at Rs211.7, down 8.2%.

Deccan Chronicle

Deccan Chronicle Holdings Ltd, publisher of newspapers such as Deccan Chronicle and The Asian Age, said net profit for the quarter ended 30 June fell to Rs60.9 crore, down 27%. Revenues rose 8.6% to Rs199.4 crore, while expenditure grew 42.52% to Rs99 crore. “Newsprint prices are high and hurting," said P.K. Iyer, managing director. Shares of the company fell 4.85% to close at Rs111.8 a share.

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