Jagran Prakashan - Reports Higher Profits

Jagran Prakashan Q3 Net Profit Up By 143.80%

Jagran Prakashan Limited (JPL), publishers of ‘Dainik Jagran’, India’s largest read newspaper (Source: IRS), has recorded net revenues of Rs 163.45 crore for Q3 FY07, an increase of 29.79% over the corresponding quarter of the previous year. The net profit was at Rs 17.70 crore, a sharp increase of 143.80% from Rs 7.26 crore in the corresponding quarter of previous fiscal. The EPS for the quarter was at Rs 2.94 as against Rs 1.47 in the corresponding quarter of FY 06. The company also announced an interim dividend of Rs 7.50 per share.

Better advertising and circulation revenues from the publishing business have led to the increased revenues in this quarter. The Out of Home (OOH) and Event Management activities of the company too have had contribution of Rs. 8.30 crore in the increased revenues.

In the publishing business, the increase in ad rates and total space particularly color space sold have led to a 28.53 % increase in the advertisement revenue to Rs 103.20 crore and the circulation revenue increased by 3.63% to Rs 42.73 crore in Q3 FY07.

Jagran Prakashan Limited launched I-next, the first bilingual newspaper in the country in this quarter targeting readers in the age group of 18-35 years from SEC A and B1. The paper was launched in Lucknow and Kanpur and the company has plans to launch the brand in 5 more mini metros of North India.

The company also launched City Plus, an English Infotainment newspaper in September 2006, which has shown commendable response in this quarter. Owing to the success of the initial editions in Noida and Gurgaon, the company also launched editions of the paper in Faridabad and Ghaziabad and has plans to launch four more editions in current fiscal.

Commenting on the the performance and developments in the company in this quarter, Mr. Mahendra Mohan Gupta, CMD of Jagran Prakashan Limited said "We have always directed our efforts towards providing quality reading material to our readers and our constant effort is to provide the readers what they want to read. With the launch of I-next and City Plus, we are now in a position to cater to readers across different age groups and categories, both in Hindi and English. The Out-of-Home and Event Management business of the company are also growing, and are well poised to add to the revenues in the coming time."

Jagran Engage, Out of Home (OOH) advertising division of the company, which had already established its presence in leading markets for OOH business like Lucknow, Kanpur, Pune, Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. The division now has about 700 sites in addition to advertising rights at Lucknow railway station and has plans to grow further.

Jagran Prakashan Limited is concentrating on its current markets and strengthening its position as more editions will keep maturing. It aims to increase its market share by launching I-next and City Plus, and seeks to provide 360° marketing solutions under one umbrella through its various business segments.