Network18 Media Q2 profit jumps nearly threefold to Rs 199 crore

Network18 Media & Investments Ltd on Tuesday reported nearly threefold jump in consolidated net profit at Rs 199.27 crore for September quarter 2021-22 driven by improved revenue performance, controlled opex and lower finance costs.

The company had posted a net profit of Rs 68.01 crore in July-September period a year ago, the media firm said in a regulatory filing.

Revenue from operations was up 30.76 per cent to Rs 1,387.24 crore during the quarter under review, as against Rs 1,060.89 crore in the year-ago period.

According to Network18, its both news and entertainment businesses further improved profitability.

During the quarter it had a strong revenue growth driven by viewership and the highest ever Q2 revenue (ex-film), grew 29 per cent YoY, said Network18 in a post earning statement.

Total expenses surged to Rs 1,189.04 crore from Rs 976.90 crore.

Commenting on the results, Network18 Chairman Adil Zainulbhai said the quarter was quite remarkable, both from a macro as well as the company’s point of view.

Over the outlook, Zainulbhai said, it is looking quite promising from a medium-term perspective and this is a good news for all the consumer-facing businesses.

Our digital assets, both news and entertainment, got a lift during the pandemic and we continue to invest to leverage those gains. With expansion into sports genre, we have taken a significant step towards scaling up our entertainment portfolio to the next level, he said.

This will also help establish the company as an integrated media company across broadcast, OTT and content studio business spanning general entertainment, news, movies and sports, Zainulbhai added.

Network18 Media and Investments is one of the largest media conglomerates and is promoted by Independent Media Trust of which Reliance Industries is the sole beneficiary.

Its step-down firm TV18 Broadcast manages its primary business of broadcasting. TV18 runs the largest news network in India, spanning business news, general news and regional news channels.

Shares of the company on Tuesday settled at Rs 79.25 apiece on BSE, down 5.37 per cent from the previous close.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Dear Reader,

Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.

We, however, have a request.

As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.

Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.

Digital Editor