DB Corp, one of the print media companies in India, on January 28 reported 21.3% rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 990 million for December quarter 2020 after considering forex loss of Rs. 3 million. The company had posted a profit after tax of Rs 816 million for the year-ago period.
Total revenue decreased 17.48% to Rs 4,966 million in the quarter as against Rs 6,018 million in the same period a year ago.
Advertising Revenue stood at Rs. 3,667 million as against Rs. 4,248 million. Circulation Revenue stood at Rs. 1,082 million as against Rs. 1,321 million.
For Radio business, advertising revenue came at Rs. 291 million versus Rs. 372 million; EBIDTA stands at Rs. 108 million versus Rs. 135 million and PAT at Rs. 44 million versus profit of Rs. 62 million.
Commenting on the performance for nine months FY 2020-21, Sudhir Agarwal, Managing Director, DB Corp said, "Fiscal 2021 has undoubtedly been a challenging and difficult year for all of us. With the brightest minds in the world working together, there finally seems to be some light at the end of this long and arduous tunnel and hopefully the widespread availability of the vaccine will help all of us get a semblance of normalcy back in our lives.
The Print Industry undoubtedly dealt a severe blow by the pandemic and while the economy gets back on track slowly, Tier-Il and Tier-IIl cities have not only bounced back stronger than most of the country but are leading the charge and have seen considerable improvement, especially in the festive season. The pandemic has further strengthened the divide between India and Bharat when it comes to the Print Industry. Indian language newspapers are doing well not only in circulation numbers and pagination, but as advertisers turn their focus from the metros to smaller cities, advertising revenue is also set to see growth.
For Dainik Bhaskar Group, the advertising revenues have seen a significant increase and our sustainable cost optimisation measures have given us permanent gains and this is reflected in improved operating performance. We are hopeful that this will set the pace for the forthcoming fiscal."
Shares of the company gained Rs 0.75, or 0.95%, to settle at Rs 80.10. The total volume of shares traded was 18,112 at the BSE (Thursday).
