Publisher Jagran Prakashan Ltd today said net profit for the quarter ended 31 March was up 40.89% year-on-year at Rs21.81 crore on stronger ad sales. Net sales was up 6.59% at Rs197.57 crore. Total income grew 5.92% to Rs201.2 crore, even though it contracted marginally from Q3’s Rs207 crore. JPL publishes Dainik Jagran, India’s largest read daily.
For the year ended 31 March, net profit was down 6.61% at Rs91.63 crore.
In an interview with CNBC TV18, Jagran’s chairman and managing director Mahendra Mohan Gupta said the ongoing quarter was also good for the company and he expected to report higher revenues ahead.
Anand Shah, an analyst who tracks the company for Mumbai-based brokerage Angel Broking Ltd, said the result was largely in line with expectations. “It is a good set of numbers. Advertising is still weak, but is gradually picking up. Margins have expanded quite a bit due to savings in newsprint prices, resulting in a much better bottom line. The outlook remians positive.” Shah has a neutral recommendation on the stock with a target price of Rs80.
On Tuesday, JPL closed marginally up at Rs80.25 on the Bombay Stock Exchange. Benchmark Sensex gained 0.55% to close at 14,957.91.
Full results. Press release.
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