DB Corp Q1 net profit up over 2.5-fold at Rs 78.75 cr

financialexpress.com:

Media firm DB Corp Ltd on Thursday reported over two-and-half-fold jump in consolidated net profit at Rs 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 Rs 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 Rs 573.6 crore, as compared to Rs 499.38 crore in the corresponding quarter last fiscal, it added.

Total expenses in the first quarter were at Rs 469.97 crore, as against Rs 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 Rs 1,351 crore to Rs 1,675.5 crore,” the company said.

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

Circulation revenue grew by around 4 per cent to Rs 119.9 crore, as against Rs 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