D B Corp Ltd Q2 FY2027 Concall Summary

Key Takeaways

• Festive shift masks underlying growth: Navratri moved from Q2 last year into Q3 this year, so reported advertising revenue and EBITDA face an adverse YoY comparison; on a like-to-like basis both showed positive single-digit growth.
• Newsprint costs are the one pain point: Per-tonne cost jumped ~21% YoY from ₹47,000 to ₹57,000, driven by geopolitical pressures, higher imports, and freight; management expects only a 2–3% relief in H2.
• Circulation is flat but monetization is improving: Copies held at ~38 lakh with a small QoQ decline of ~30,000, yet advertising revenue keeps growing because the company is upgrading advertisers to premium pages at higher rates.
• Digital is in experimentation mode: Subscription pricing, team structure, and the revenue model (advertising plus subscription plus tie-ups) are all being tested; management will not disclose detailed metrics, citing competitive sensitivity.
• What to watch next quarter: Whether the festive season delivers the high single-digit to early double-digit full-year advertising growth management is targeting, and whether newsprint costs ease as suppliers have indicated.

Advertising Revenue: The Festive Shift Story

• Headline vs. underlying: Reported advertising revenue declined YoY because Navratri fell in Q2 last year but lands in Q3 this year; adjusted for that shift, advertising grew in positive single digits, reflecting steady franchise momentum.
• Pricing lever is mix, not rate cards: The company raised effective unit prices by upgrading advertisers from inside pages to premium positions (back page, third page, front page, jackets), capturing higher prevailing page rates rather than increasing base rates.
• Sectoral performance was mixed even after adjusting for the shift: Real estate grew single digits (would have been double-digit with festive in Q2), jewelry performed well by starting early, BFSI and IPOs surged ~50%, healthcare posted strong double-digit growth, while auto was flat, education grew single digits, and FMCG, lifestyle, and hypermarkets were down or nearly down.
• Government advertising was lost due to panchayat elections and the model code of conduct in a couple of states.
• Full-year ambition: Management is targeting high single-digit to early double-digit advertising revenue growth for the full year, noting that the last 7–8 days of the festival season showed good momentum.

Girish Agarwal: "IPO business has done a fantastic job compared to last year, very much double-digit, 50%, to be very honest. ... but let's not get carried away by that because the volume is much—"

Circulation: Flat Copies, Better Monetization

• Copies held near 38 lakh: Circulation copies were ~37.68 lakh in Q2, down ~30,000 QoQ from ~38 lakh, with a few percentage points of decline concentrated in non-core markets; efforts are focused on maintaining core-market numbers.
• Revenue declined with copies: Circulation revenue fell from ₹120 cr to ₹116 cr QoQ, tracking the small copy decline.
• Strategy is market share, not absolute growth: Post-COVID, the company regained lost numbers but has not grown from there; the focus now is on maintaining the base while ensuring competitors decline more, thereby increasing market share and advertising revenue share even with flat circulation.
• Cover price hikes are off the table: Management believes raising the cover price would accelerate circulation decline and make the newspaper unaffordable; the lever remains available but will not be used currently.

Girish Agarwal: "Today we have got 38 lakh copies. And we have got crores and crores of readers; that also is a very, very large number. How do we deliver the response to the advertiser more impactful from that number? And that is the reason why, in spite of the circulation being flat, we've been able to continue showing the good single-digit growth on advertising quarter on quarter."

Newsprint Costs: The One Uncontrolled Variable

• Steep YoY increase: Per-tonne newsprint cost rose ~21% from ₹47,000 to ₹57,000, driven by geopolitical uncertainties, higher imported prices, domestic prices following suit, and increased freight costs.
• Modest relief expected: Suppliers have indicated prices may come down by 2–3% in Q3 and Q4, but not more than that; management describes this as the one cost element not in its control.
• Everything else is contained: Personnel and other costs are "very much under control," with management taking cuts on most cost elements; the QoQ increase in other expenses was driven by sales-based events (conclaves) where full cost and revenue are booked in the Publishing segment.

Girish Agarwal: "Only one thing which is not in our control is the newsprint prices, which has taken a steep of almost 20.8% hike over last year's quarter. So that's a painful thing."

Digital Business: Experiments in Progress

• Subscription pricing is being tested: The app subscription price was raised from ₹149 to ₹199 on an experimental basis, with lower monthly prices tried in some places; results so far are described as "pretty decent and good," and experiments will continue.
• Revenue model is being built across three pillars: Management is clear that digital revenue cannot rely on advertising alone; it must combine subscription, tie-ups, and advertising, all three of which are in a nascent stage.
• App advertising is new: The company only started placing advertising on the app in the last ~4 quarters.
• MAU declined on lower marketing spend: Monthly active users fell from 2 cr in Q4 to 1.8 cr in Q2, a QoQ difference of ~3–4%, as the company reduced marketing spend, believing brands should sustain their reader base on organic merit.
• Team changes underway: A senior executive and team have been hired for the Digital SBU, while there has been an exit due to an expectation-delivery mismatch.
• Metrics remain undisclosed: Management declined to provide historical trends and a way-forward disclosure, citing competitive sensitivity; it will take an investor request for such disclosure to the board at the next board meeting, noting that investor approval was previously obtained to avoid giving detailed competitive information.

Girish Agarwal: "We are pretty clear that going forward it cannot be only one vehicle of advertising which can give me the revenue going forward on digital. It has to be subscription, tie-ups, and the ad revenue, all three."

Radio & Other Segments

• Radio revenue dipped YoY but H1 profitability improved: Q2 revenue fell to ₹39 cr from ₹43 cr and EBITDA to ₹11 cr from ₹13 cr; however, H1 revenue was stable at ₹82 cr and EBITDA improved to ₹26 cr from ₹24 cr, reflecting better profitability.
• Other income spike was one-time: A ₹13.39 cr gain arose from the termination of the Ahmedabad registered office lease, where the builder is going for redevelopment, leading to derecognition of ROU assets and lease liability.

Capital Allocation & Costs

• No major capex ahead: All machines and production equipment are in place; no significant capex is planned for the next four to five quarters.
• Cash distribution to be decided: The board will decide on further distribution of the ~₹1,120 cr cash balance to stakeholders and shareholders.
• Dividend: A first interim dividend of ₹5 per share was already paid in Q1 FY27.

Guidance & Commitments

Key Metrics