DB Corp Q1: Net profit up over 2.5-fold at ₹78.75 crore

Media firm DB Corp Ltd on Thursday reported over two-and-half-fold jump in consolidated net profit at ₹78.75 crore in the first quarter ended June 30, 2023 riding on robust advertising revenue growth.

The company had posted a consolidated net profit of ₹31 crore in the same period last fiscal, DB Corp said in a regulatory filing.

Consolidated total income during the period under review stood at ₹573.6 crore, as compared to ₹499.38 crore in the corresponding quarter last fiscal, it added.

Total expenses in the first quarter were at ₹469.97 crore, as against ₹457.3 crore in the same period a year ago.

The company, which publishes newspapers including Dainik Bhaskar, Divya Bhaskar, Divya Marathi and Saurashtra Samachar, said the resurgence in print media continues to dominate all forms of media as the most trusted source of news, and this resurgence has resulted in a strong fillip as advertisers look for the best avenue for their marketing spends.

"Print advertisement continues to register strong revenue growth of 24 per cent year-on-year for the last five quarters from ₹1,351 crore to ₹1,675.5 crore," the company said.

Advertising revenue in the first quarter grew by 17.2 per cent to ₹394.6 crore, as against ₹336.8 crore in the corresponding period a year ago, it added.

Circulation revenue grew by around 4 per cent to ₹119.9 crore, as against ₹115.6 crore in the same period last fiscal.

Newsprint prices continued its downward trend in Q1 FY24, DB Corp said, adding "we are hopeful that this trend will continue based on our assessment", the company said.

"As global economies are making a slow recovery from their inflationary pressures, the Indian Economy, especially the non-metro markets continue to see rapid growth. The print sector has been on the uptrend for the past few months and this is likely to continue," DB Corp Ltd Managing Director Sudhir Agarwal said.

While English language print has been struggling with sluggish demand, regional newspapers seem to be faring better, he added.

"Along with ad revenue growth we have been focused on cost optimisation and over the last 4-6 months have also been helped with easing newsprint prices. This has helped us deliver our fifth quarter of consistent growth across all segments and are confident of continuing this trend in the forthcoming quarters," Agarwal said.