Jagran Prakashan Q2 net up 10% at Rs 55 cr

Media firm Jagran Prakashan (JPL) today posted an increase of 10.40 per cent in its consolidated net profit at Rs 55.50 crore for the quarter ended September 30.

This is against a consolidated net profit of Rs 50.27 crore for the same period last year, JPL said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Total revenue stood at Rs 276.85 crore for the July-September quarter, as against Rs 246.82 crore registered in the same quarter last fiscal, up 12.16 per cent.

While advertising revenues were up 12.74 per cent at Rs 193.47 crore, circulation revenues stood at Rs 54.82 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2010.

Event and outdoor revenues stood at Rs 20.81 crore for the reported quarter.

"Growth in ad revenues would have been greater but for massive floods in our region, cancellation of advertisements in the last week of September (because of uncertainty caused by Ayodhya verdict) and shifting of festive season shifting to Q3 unlike last year," JPL CMD Mahendra Mohan Gupta said.

Higher than expected growth became possible due to continued good performance by non-newsprint based businesses and decent ad revenues, he added.

JPL had, with effect from April 1, 2010, acquired  the print business of Mid Day Infomedia, the publishers of Mid Day English, Mid Day Gujarati and Urdu daily The Inquilab.

JPL has various publications like Dainik Jagran, Sakhi and Jagran Varshiki. It also runs out-of-home advertising firm Jagran Engage and event management firm Jagran Solutions.