DB Corp's H1 Ad Revenue Rises to ₹843 Crore as a Navratri Shift Hits the September Quarter

DB Corp, publisher of Dainik Bhaskar, Divya Bhaskar and Divya Marathi, grew its consolidated advertising revenue 1.3% to ₹843 crore in the first half of FY27, but ad revenue fell 6.4% to ₹411 crore in the September quarter, BestMediaInfo reported.

The company blamed the quarterly drop mainly on the calendar: Navratri fell in the September quarter last year but moves to the December quarter this year, taking festive advertising with it. On a comparable basis, DB Corp said ad revenue and EBITDA both grew at positive single-digit rates. It also cited a below-normal monsoon in parts of India.

The numbers

• First half: total income up 2% to ₹1,246 crore; EBITDA down 2.7% to ₹289 crore; net profit down 2.8% to ₹169 crore.
• September quarter: total income down 3.2% to ₹614 crore; EBITDA down 21.5% to ₹124 crore; net profit down 26.6% to ₹68.62 crore.
• Print: Q2 print ad revenue fell 6.7% to ₹378 crore, and print EBITDA fell 22.4% to ₹113 crore as newsprint costs rose 14%.
• Circulation: Q2 circulation revenue fell 3.9% to ₹116 crore.
• Radio: MY FM's first-half revenue was roughly flat at about ₹82 crore, while its EBITDA rose 8.3% to ₹26 crore.

Waiting for the festive season

Managing director Sudhir Agarwal said the company remains encouraged by the resilience of its core businesses, and expects the festive season to lift advertising and consumption. DB Corp expects the deferred festive ad revenue to show up in the December quarter and support the second half.