News Broadcasting
DB Corp q4 PAT grows by 158 %, circulation revenue dips
New Delhi: Print media company, DB Corp Limited (DBCL), which is home to flagship newspapers – Dainik Bhaskar, Divya Bhaskar, Divya Marathi and Saurashtra Samachar has announced its financial results for the quarter ended 31 March, 2021.
Despite the strong pandemic led headwinds, the company said its carefully calibrated editorial, circulation and ad revenue strategies continued to help it outperform the industry performance in both circulation as well as ad revenue fronts.
The consolidated profit after tax (PAT) for Q4FY21 grew by 158 per cent YOY at Rs. 619 million as against Rs. 241 million. For Q4, the advertising revenue for Q4 stood at Rs. 3084 million as against Rs. 3303 million, while the circulation revenue stood at Rs. 1104 million as against Rs. 1200 million.
The continued efforts of the circulation teams have yielded results with the Group managing to salvage a challenging year. “The on-ground calibrations done by local teams have helped Dainik Bhaskar achieve almost 95 per cent of pre-Covid levels in select cities and towns. The recoveries have been significant in the key states of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat,” it said on Thursday.
The financials results showed that the circulation revenue of the company for FY21 dropped to Rs. 4146 million as against Rs. 5122 million in FY20, while the advertising revenue stood at Rs. 10,084 million as against Rs. 15,640 million.
The total revenue came in at Rs. 15222 million as against Rs. 22363 million the previous fiscal. The EBITDA stood at Rs. 3193 million as against Rs. 4940 million and PAT stood at Rs. 1414 million as against Rs. 2750 million.
“The unprecedented year has reaffirmed the changing dynamics of the Print Industry,” said DB Corp Ltd, managing director, Sudhir Agarwal. “The Indian language newspapers performed significantly better than our English counterparts and outstripped them not only in circulation numbers, but in advertising revenues as well. We are happy to reiterate that the un-metro path chosen by our founder and solidified by the company over the past few years is continuing to fructify. Our digital efforts are also beginning to see traction and we are confident that we will continue to deliver quality journalism through all mediums. The local content has further strengthened the franchise.”
On the advertising front, the Group published over 20 ‘Mega Editions’ across its major markets, despite challenging fiscal, re-affirming its strategy of operating in the Tier-II, Tier-III cities and beyond.
News Broadcasting
Network18 Q4 revenue grows 9.7 per cent, EBITDA at Rs 30 crore
PAT improves to Rs 306.6 crore, margins steady amid cost pressures.
MUMBAI: Not all news is breaking, some of it is quietly improving. Network18 Media & Investments Limited appears to be doing just that, tightening losses and stabilising margins even as costs continue to weigh on the business. For FY26, the company reported revenue from operations of Rs 1,955.1 crore, up from Rs 1,896.2 crore in FY25, signalling modest top-line growth in a challenging media environment. Total income stood at Rs 1,978.2 crore, compared to Rs 1,913 crore a year earlier.
Profit after tax came in at Rs 306.6 crore for the year, a sharp turnaround from Rs 3,225.4 crore in FY25, largely reflecting the absence of large exceptional items that had inflated the previous year’s numbers. On a more comparable basis, the company’s operating performance showed signs of gradual stabilisation.
However, the quarterly picture remained under pressure. For the March quarter, Network18 reported a loss of Rs 53.1 crore, narrower than the Rs 98.1 crore loss in the same period last year, but still indicative of ongoing cost challenges.
Expenses continued to track high. Total expenses for FY26 stood at Rs 2,235.7 crore, up from Rs 2,197.8 crore in FY25. Key cost heads included operational expenses of Rs 765.9 crore, employee benefits of Rs 475.9 crore, and marketing, distribution and promotional spends of Rs 427.1 crore, underlining the continued investment required to sustain reach and engagement.
At an operating level, margins remained under strain. Operating margin stood at 2.33 per cent for FY26, marginally higher than 1.77 per cent in FY25, while net profit margin remained negative at -13.02 per cent, though improved from -14.89 per cent.
On the balance sheet, total assets rose to Rs 8,957.6 crore as of 31 March 2026, from Rs 8,317.5 crore a year earlier. Equity strengthened to Rs 4,958.7 crore, while borrowings increased to Rs 3,112.8 crore, reflecting a higher reliance on debt to support operations.
Cash flows told a mixed story. While financing activities generated Rs 83.9 crore, operating cash flow remained negative at Rs -24 crore, highlighting ongoing pressure on core cash generation. Cash and cash equivalents, however, improved to Rs 33.9 crore from Rs 1.8 crore.
The numbers point to a company in transition growing revenues, trimming losses, but still grappling with structural cost pressures. In a sector where scale often comes at a price, Network18 seems to be inching towards balance, one quarter at a time.
