DB Corp Q3 net down 29% at Rs 55 cr

Print media and radio firm DB Corp Ltd today reported 29% decline in its consolidated net profit for the third quarter ended December 31, 2011 at Rs 55.35 crore, compared to same period previous fiscal due to forex losses and expenditure on new launches.

Net profit during the three months ended December 31, 2010 stood at Rs 77.82 crore, the company said in a statement.

The company's net sales for the third quarter of the current fiscal increased 10% to Rs 378.92 crore, as against Rs 344.44 crore in the year-ago period.

During the quarter the company said it suffered a forex loss of Rs 8.73 crore, it said, adding advertising revenues during the period under review increased 9% year-on-year to Rs 30.59 crore.

It had also spent Rs 2.13 crore on launches of editions of some newspapers in Maharashtra.

An adjustment of Rs 12.7 crore has been considered towards demerger of the radio division, it said.

Commenting on the firm's the quarterly performance DB Corp Managing Director Sudhir Agarwal said: "Despite a challenging macroeconomic environment, higher advertising revenues that has been a function of an expanding readership base, has enabled us to deliver a growth-oriented operating and financial performance."

Undoubtedly, these are demanding times - the economic deceleration together with currency markdowns have been creating further strain, he added.

DB Corp publishes eight newspapers, including Dainik Bhaskar, Divya Bhaskar and Divya Marathi, with 64 editions, 191 sub editions in four languages in 13 states in India.

The company's other business interests also span in the radio segment through 'My FM' brand with presence in seven states.

DB Corp scrips closed at Rs 183.60 per share on the BSE, down 0.33% from the previous close.