D. B. Corp Ltd (DBCORP) Q2FY27 Concall Transcript - Sep-2026 Qtr
Moderator: Ladies and gentlemen, good evening, and welcome to D. B. Corp Ltd Q2 FY '27 earnings conference call. As a reminder, all participant lines will be in the listen-only mode, and there will be an opportunity for you to ask questions after the presentation concludes. Should you need assistance during the conference call, please signal the operator by pressing star, then zero, on your touch-tone phone. Please note that this conference is being recorded. We have with us today the senior management of the D. B. Corp Ltd, Mr. Pawan Agarwal, Deputy Managing Director, Mr. Girish Agarwal, Director, Mr. Lalit Jain, Chief Financial Officer, and Mr. Mushtaq Ali, Senior Vice President, Finance and Accounts, who will represent D. B. Corp Ltd on the call. The management will be sharing the key operating and financial highlights for the quarter ended and H1 ended September 30, 2026, followed by the question-and-answer session. Please note that some of the statements made in today's discussion may be forward-looking in nature and may involve risks and uncertainties. Document relating to the company's financial performance have already been emailed to you and are available on the website of stock exchanges and the company's investors section. Trust you have been able to go through the same. I now hand the conference over to Mr. Pawan Agarwal. Thank you, and over to you, sir.
Pawan Agarwal (D. B. Corp Ltd): Good evening, everyone, and thank you for joining the Q2 FY '27 D. B. Corp earnings conference call. We will begin the call by highlighting the key financial performance for the quarter ended September 30, 2026, followed by key operational updates across our businesses. Our consolidated total revenues for the quarter stood at ₹614 crores compared to ₹635 crores in Q2 FY '26. EBITDA stood at ₹124 crore compared to ₹115 crore in the corresponding quarter last year, while profit after tax stood at ₹69 crore against ₹93 crore.
Pawan Agarwal (D. B. Corp Ltd): reflects the continued strength of the company's established franchise and the steady momentum of its core business. Coming to advertising revenue, our consolidated advertising revenue stood at ₹411 crore, compared to ₹439 crore in Q2 FY '26. While the timing of festive advertising impacted the year-on-year comparison, we remain focused on strengthening advertiser relationships and sustaining engagement across our key markets. Circulation revenue stood at ₹116 crore, compared to ₹121 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. On the cost front, newsprint cost increased by 14% during the quarter, primarily due to broader geopolitical uncertainties and related cost pressures. We continue to focus on procurement efficiencies, cost optimization, and disciplined inventory management to mitigate the impact of higher input cost and preserve operating profitability. Let me now briefly take you through our first-half performance. For H1 FY '27, consolidated total revenue stood at ₹1,246 crore, compared to ₹1,222 crores in H1 FY '26. Advertising revenue increased to ₹843 crore from ₹832 crore, while circulation revenue stood at ₹236 crore, compared to ₹241 crore. EBITDA for the first half stood at ₹289 crore against ₹297 crore, and profit after tax was ₹169 crore, compared to ₹174 crore in the corresponding period last year. Moving on to our radio business, revenue for Q2 FY '27 stood at ₹39 crore, compared to ₹43 crore in Q2 FY '26, while EBITDA stood at ₹11 crore against ₹13 crore. For H1 FY '27, radio revenue remained stable at ₹82 crore, while EBITDA improved to ₹26 crore from ₹24 crore in the corresponding period last year, reflecting an improvement in profitability. Our digital business continues to be an important long-term growth pillar for the company. We remain focused on strengthening our digital presence through investments in content, technology, and user experience, while building on the reach and credibility of our established media brands. With this, I would now like to hand over the call to Mr. Girish Agarwal. Over to you, Girish.
Girish Agarwal (D. B. Corp Ltd): Thank you, Pawan, and good evening, everyone. And thank you for joining us on this call today. A shift in festival-linked advertising activity impacted the quarter's year-on-year comparison. Despite these challenges, our underlying business remains broadly stable, supported by our strong reader relationship, trusted brands, and continued relevance among advertisers. Looking ahead, we remain positive about the opportunities in the second half of the year, with the festive season expected to support advertising activity across our key markets. We will continue to strengthen our advertiser partnership, enhance reader engagement, and build on our competitive advantage across newspapers, radio, and digital. With a sustained focus on efficiency, innovation, and long-term growth, we remain committed to strengthening our market position and creating sustainable value for all our stakeholders. With this, we can now open the floor for the questions and answer session. Thank you.
Moderator: Thank you very much. We will now begin with the question and answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may press star and then one on their touch-tone phone. If you wish to remove yourself from the question queue, you may press star and two. Participants are requested to use handsets while asking a question. Ladies and gentlemen, we will wait for a moment while the question queue assembles. Again, to register for a question, please press star and one. Your first question comes from the line of Abhinav Mandowara with Equitas Investments. Please go ahead.
Abhinav Mandowara (Equitas Investments): Hi. Good evening. My first question is Yeah, my first question is regarding the seasonality. As you mentioned that Navratri was there in Q2 last year, and this time we're seeing in Q3. So what is the revenue guidance on our advertisement for Q3 and for the whole year as a whole, and also circulation business?
Girish Agarwal (D. B. Corp Ltd): See, on the advertising front, as we mentioned to you, because of the 8 days of shift of the season from September to October, we believe there is an impact of almost around ₹40 crore. Now with that shifting into Q3 and the overall momentum
Girish Agarwal (D. B. Corp Ltd): belief is there, though in certain parts of India, the monsoon is not playing well, because in Rajasthan even there's the rains happening even today. So, I don't know how the overall three or next six months are going to pan out, especially, I'm more concerned about the geopolitical situation. But, having said that, looking at the overall momentum which our country has, I'm pretty optimistic on the next two quarters also.
Abhinav Mandowara (Equitas Investments): Right. I guess in one of our interviews you had mentioned that we are confident of reaching high single digit to early double digits revenue for the full year for advertisement. Do you think, considering the festive demand, we'll be able to reach somewhere there?
Girish Agarwal (D. B. Corp Ltd): That's what our endeavor is. Looking at this the what we see in last 7-8 days of festival, overall momentum is good. Let's hope this continues.
Abhinav Mandowara (Equitas Investments): What would have led to the circulation decline, however, since you've mentioned?
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