Jagran Prakashan Q2 results: Net profit soars six-fold to Rs 61 cr

New Delhi: Jagran Prakashan Ltd, the publisher of Hindi daily Dainik Jagran, on Monday reported a sixfold jump in its consolidated net profit to Rs 60.89 crore for the quarter ended in September 2021. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 10.14 crore during the July-September quarter a year ago, Jagran Prakashan Ltd (JPL) said in a BSE filing.

Its revenue from operations was up 39.23 per cent to Rs 402.52 crore during the quarter under review as against Rs 289.10 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago.

JPL's total expenses stood at Rs 338.65 crore, up 17.97 per cent in Q2/FY 2021-22 as compared to Rs 287.06 crore of the corresponding quarter.

Commenting on the performance of the Company, JPL Chairman and Managing Director Mahendra Mohan Gupta said the July-September quarter saw a significant uptick in the overall business performance of the company.

"All businesses have performed well and we expect strong growth to continue. I am also pleased to report that the Company surpassed pre-Covid profits much before our expectations. With our ability to adjust to the environment coupled with the cost control measures in past 18 months, this quarter witnessed a steep growth in profits over comparable pre-Covid quarter," he said.

During the quarter, Jagran Prakashan's revenue from 'Printing, publishing and digital' was Rs 341.64 crore, up 36.96 per cent, as against Rs 249.44 crore of the corresponding period last fiscal.

FM Radio business revenue was up 39.76 per cent to Rs 42.04 crore as against Rs 30.08 crore of Q2/FY 2020-21.

"In Radio, with the improved operating leverage due to combination of cost control and efficiency improvement measures taken at the beginning of the pandemic, incremental operating profit was over 80% of increased revenue in comparison with Q2FY21 as well as Q1FY22," said Gupta.

Its advertisement revenues were at Rs 287.73 crore, up by 47.5 per cent from Rs 195.05 crores.

In a separate filing, Jagran Prakashan also informed about the appointment of Amit Jaiswal as the new Chief Financial Officer of the Company with effect from November 1, 2021.

Shares of Jagran Prakashan Ltd on Monday settled at Rs 61.55 on the BSE, down 0.89 per cent over the previous close.