Indian newspaper industry seeing big upswing in advertising: Girish Agarwal, DB Corp

During the Q1 earnings call, the DB Corp Ltd Non-Executive Director said that advertisers in education, real estate, government, jewellery and health stayed steadfast in their preference for print

by exchange4media Staff
Published: Jul 28, 2023 9:02 AM | 3 min read

During the Q1 FY 2024 earnings conference call, DB Corp Ltd's Non-Executive Director Girish Agarwal said that advertisers, including education, real estate, government, jewellery and health have remained steadfast in their preference to use print as their preferred medium.

Agarwal highlighted that the Indian newspaper industry is witnessing a significant upswing in advertising across various segments.

Agencies such as CRISIL peg this growth at about 15% to 17%. He said ,"Our strong performance reaffirms our position as a key player in the Indian print media industry, and we are excited about the opportunities that lie ahead."

He said that it is worthwhile to share DB Corp's print business has registered a growth of strong 24% Y-o-Y for last five quarters. " If I have to see this year, Q1 and the four quarters of last year, then this Y-o-Y -- quarter-on-quarter growth is around 24%. Advertisers, including education, real estate, government, jewellery and health have remained steadfast in their preference to use print as their preferred medium."

According to Agarwal, during COVID, in the 2 years' time, industry was hearing some comments about some advertising, especially real estate and education

shifting to digital, but he shared that both these categories have shown a very good growth with print in the last 4 quarters.

"Furthermore, the auto sector advertising is experiencing recovery and we anticipate growth in the forthcoming quarters also. The print media continues to hold value for new age digital sectors also. Lastly, on the cost front, as we have been highlighting, there are tailwinds being created in the form of - savings from our cost optimization measures and most importantly, and benefit from softening of newsprint prices. This favourable trend is expected to yield furthermore significant benefits in the forthcoming quarters also."

He also highlighted that newsprint prices have further up and down and especially, the price range, which was earlier at 60-plus has gone down to 56. " I think there is a sizable benefit that has come to us and we expect the same to continue in the upcoming quarters also."

Speaking about the group’s Q1 performance, Pawan Agarwal, Deputy Managing Director shared that they have delivered an impressive performance in the first quarter setting a strong foundation for the commencement of the new financial year.

"This all-around remarkable growth was on the back of robust ad growth across all segments and cost optimization," said Pawan Agarwal.

He added that during Q1FY 2024, newsprint prices maintained a downward trajectory and they expect this trend to continue. "We are pleased to report that our average cost for newsprint has decreased from the previous high of Rs 63,500 per metric ton in quarter 2 FY 2023 to around Rs 56,600 per metric ton in Q1 FY 2024.

"This reduction in cost provides us with a favourable position and enhances our financial outlook for the future."

Moving on to our digital business, which has been a key focus area and an important vertical in terms of future growth for business. "The company has been working hard to increase its loyal monthly active user base across its applications. Our teams continue to work on the digital app to improve the engagement with users and this is helping overall retention of our readers across all formats."

Coming to the Radio division, he highlighted that through ongoing initiatives at MY FM, they are working towards building planned visibility, delivering compelling content and which will ultimately drive revenue growth. "We remain dedicated to providing the best possible experience for our listeners as well as advertisers as we continue to evolve and thrive in the ever-changing media landscape."

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Published On: Jul 28, 2023 9:02 AM

Tags Db corp Girish agarwaal