DB Corp’s consolidated advertising revenue grew by 1% to Rs 829 crore as against Rs 824.7 crore. The print and other business advertising revenue stood at Rs 360 crore in Q2 FY25, reflecting a 7.5% decline compared to Q1 FY25.
Total revenue grew by 2% to Rs 1198.8 crore as against Rs 1175.5 crore. The radio industry experienced a notable 11% year-on-year growth in advertising revenue, rising from Rs 72 crore to Rs 80.1 crore.
The circulation revenue is reported at Rs 236.7 crore, down from Rs 240.4 crore previously.
The Company stated that DB Corp has delivered advertisement revenue CAGR growth of 20% in the last three years period from Rs 1008.4 crore in FY21 to Rs 1752.4 crore in FY24. Similarly, PAT has delivered an impressive 44% CAGR growth in the last three years from Rs 141.4 crore in FY21 to Rs 425.5 crore in FY2024.
In the first half year of FY25, EBITDA margins expanded by 200 bps YoY to 27.8% and EBITDA stood at Rs 335.1 crore with growth of 10% YOY, on account of soft newsprint prices and reflecting efficient cost management.3
Profit After Tax saw a 12% YoY growth to Rs 200.4 crore, showcasing sustained profitability.
The Company stated that newsprint prices continued to be soft in H1 of FY2025. Its average cost for newsprint has reduced to Rs 47450 PMT in H1 FY2025 from Rs. 54050 PMT in last year resulting in newsprint cost reduction of 18% YoY. Further, newsprint prices are expected to remain soft at current levels in the next few quarters.
For the past four years, digital business has been a key focus area and an important pillar for the future growth of the company, translating this focus into strong gains.
“Our ability to innovate clearly puts us ahead of the competition, offering a highly personalised product experience that includes videos, text, graphics, and other engaging formats. Our apps have registered tremendous growth, rising from 2 million users in January 2020 to approximately 19.5 million in August 2024. For our Digital Mobile App visibility and spread, we are now focusing on 14 states including Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand for our Mobile App visibility and presence. This growth has solidified Dainik Bhaskar’s position as the dominant digital leader, with the #1 Hindi and Gujarati news apps. With our established dominance in print and now in digital, we are undoubtedly the #1 phygital Indian language newspaper in the country,” it stated.
“Our three-dimensional approach to user retention and engagement– high-quality content, unparalleled user experience, and a strong technology backbone- drives our performance. Our teams continuously work on both minor and major improvements to deliver crisp content curated by our editorial teams and ensure that our users receive hyperlocal news from towns, cities, and states across our markets. Additionally, we have focused on enhancing the visual aspect of news to further boost engagement,” it added.
Commenting on the performance for Q2 FY 2025, Sudhir Agarwal, Managing Director, DB Corp, said, “In Q2 FY25, we did not meet our revenue growth targets, primarily due to the extended monsoon season, which slowed market activity and consumer spending, and a high base effect – Q2FY24 was an exceptionally strong quarter bolstered by significant advertising driven by state elections filled environment. We believe will continue our growth trajectory in the coming quarters to meet our long-term growth strategy as we are actively adapting to
current market conditions. Our Digital Business is thriving, with continued growth in MAUs to almost 20 million as of Aug’24, despite monetizing on a pilot basis.”
“Our foundation for future success remains strong, built on our commitment to editorial excellence, continued broad-based support from advertisers, and the robust economic growth in our key markets. These factors position us well to capitalise on emerging opportunities. As India’s economic landscape evolves in the post-election period, we are confident in our ability to further cement our market leadership and continue to focus on enhancing value to our stakeholders,” he added.
