Print advertising posted a strong year-on-year growth of 27% for FY2023 and 16% for Q4 FY2023, said DB Corp Limited, which posted its financial results for the quarter and the year ended March 31, 2023.
The company’s rise in revenue was helped by strong demand for its print publication and higher growth in advertising income.
The print media company’s consolidated EBIDTA posted strong growth of 34% y-o-y in the fourth quarter.
Compared to FY2022, advertising revenue for the group grew by 25.4% to Rs 1482.7 crore as against Rs 1182.7 crore in FY2023. Total Revenue grew by around 21.2% to Rs. 2168.2 crore as against Rs. 1788.5 crore. Circulation Revenue grew by around 1.5% to Rs. 462.7 crore as against Rs. 455.8 crore.
EBIDTA grew by 12% to Rs. 361.1 crore as against Rs. 322.8 crore, after considering a forex loss of Rs 5.2 crore, aided by stringent cost control measures, & despite high newsprint prices and large digital business investment for future growth. Net Profit grew 19% to Rs. 169.1 crore as against Rs. 142.6 crore, after considering forex loss of Rs 60 crore.
In the radio business, advertising Revenue grew 20% to Rs. 134.2 crore versus Rs. 112.2 crore. EBITDA grew by 28% to Rs. 40.2 crore (EBITDA margin at 30%) versus Rs. 31.4 crore.
As compared to Q4 of FY2022, the corresponding quarter of this financial year say ad revenue grow by 14.2 % to Rs. 357.8 crore as against Rs. 3,13.4 crore. Total Revenue grew by 13.5% at Rs. 5,44.6 crore as against Rs. 4,79.9 crore. Circulation Revenue stands at Rs. 1,15.3 crore as against Rs. 1,15.2 crore. EBIDTA grew by 34% to Rs. 88.9 crore as against Rs. 66.3 crore aided by stringent cost control measures, & despite high newsprint prices and large digital business investment for future growth. Net Profit grew by 67% at Rs. 41 crore as against Rs. 24.5 crore. Radio business: Ø Advertising Revenue grew by 6% YOY at Rs. 32.2 crore versus Rs.30,3 crore. EBIDTA stands at Rs.8.4 crore versus Rs. 8.2 crore.
Sudhir Agarwal, Managing Director, DB Corp Ltd said, “While other major economies around the world faced a tough year, the Indian Economy, especially the nonMetro centres, showed great resilience in fiscal 2023. GST Collections in Tier-II and beyond cites have increased by ~15-25% underscoring the strong potential of these markets. Advertisers continue to repose their trust in Print Media, especially in these markets, with new age advertisers also seeing tremendous value in using hyperlocal ad campaigns. Dainik Bhaskar’s editorial strategies and dominant position in these markets has resulted in strong growth of advertising revenues across the board. Our circulation strategy has enabled us to extend our lead as India’s number one Newspaper and Newspaper Group. Our readers are the central focus of all our teams, and we continue to innovate our content, improve our omnichannel platform for delivering truthful, crisp and pertinent content to our loyal reader base. With our strong financial position, we are well-placed to continue the growth trajectory and deliver robust returns to all our stakeholders.”
DB Corp Ltd publishes 5 newspapers with Dainik Bhaskar 43 editions, Divya Bhaskar 8 editions & Divya Marathi 6 editions with 211 sub-editions in 3 multiple languages (Hindi, Gujarati and Marathi) across 12 states in India.
