Jagran Prakashan Q3 net down 21% at Rs 41 cr

Jagran Prakashan Ltd (JPL) today reported a 21.54% decline in standalone net profit to Rs 41.30 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2011, due to rupee depreciation.

In the quarter ended December 31, 2010, the company's net profit stood at Rs 52.64 crore.

The firm's standalone net sales during the quarter under review increased by 13.73% to Rs 317.01 crore from Rs 278.72 crore in the same period of the prior fiscal.

"The net profit is after accounting for sharp depreciation of the rupee, resulting in accounting of a mark-to-market exchange fluctuation loss of over Rs 8.67 crore as against mark-to-market exchange fluctuation gain of about Rs 0.30 crore in Q3, FY11," JPL said in a statement.

Commenting on the performance, JPL Chairman and Managing Director Mahendra Mohan Gupta said: "Our overall performance in a challenging environment was more than satisfactory. Growth in advertisement revenue and outdoor advertising was outstanding."

However, headwinds will persist in the remainder of the financial year because macro economic conditions are still not conducive for growth, he said.

"Lower than expected profit is too not worrying as it will start improving once currency risk is normalised and growth in revenue happens on expected lines," he added.

JPL is a media house with interests in newspapers (including Dainik Jagran and Midday), magazines, outdoor advertising, promotional marketing and event management and the digital space.

The firm's shares settled at Rs 97.25 per share on the BSE today, up 1.83% from their previous close.