Expect to maintain 17% growth rate going forward: DB Corp

Girish Agarwaal, non-ED, DB Corp believes the company is likely to maintain a 17 percent growth rate going ahead. The print media company's consolidated net profit grew 25.4 percent year-on-year to Rs 60.2 crore, matching analysts' forecast for the second quarter (July-September) .

Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Agarwaal says the margins of the company were up 36 percent excluding the forex gain and loss. He believes the company will continue growing through its expansion in the form of new launches. DB Corp is planning to launch Bihar edition from Patna by the first quarter of next year.

Below is the verbatim transcript of Girish Agarwaal’s interview on CNBC-TV18

Q: On the basis of this quarter’s performance, can you extrapolate what the numbers might look like at the end of FY14? What kind of topline growth and margin performance are you expecting?

A: We are living month by month, so, anticipating anything for the next six months will be next to impossible. However, looking at the current trend, like this quarter also we have been able to grow at 17 percent and we feel this kind of growth should continue.

Q: Is there any ability to push up ad rates? What is the focus on ad volumes?

A: Since last seven quarters we have been doing that; we been pushing a lot on the yield increase, so whatever numbers have gone up, almost 50 percent has come from the yield increase and balance 50 percent has come from the volume.

Q: In terms of margins, do you think you could do better than 25 percent margin levels that you clocked this quarter because of the reasons you alluded to?

A: If I take out the forex gain and loss then margin is up by 36 percent, the number which you see at 24 percent is more because of the forex gain and loss and if I take that out, I am at 36 percent.

Looking at the dollar now, because last quarter we had taken dollar at 63/USD and now it has come down, we hope that in the next two quarters the number should improve drastically on this point and also the losses on the emerging editions, last time we mentioned to you that they are coming down.

If you look at apple to apple comparison, the losses of those editions have come down but at the same time we are working on the new editions like we launched in Akola and Amravati in Maharashtra and we are launching Bihar, maybe in the last quarter of this year or first quarter of next year and so, some expenses are happening on that side as well.

Q: Your earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) loss on the emerging editions will continue in the second half?

A: Yes, because if I do not expand, if I do not spend back in the business then after a while I will touch the roof, so one needs to keep expanding the roof and so one has to invest back in the market and that’s the reason why some of the growth like 17 percent has come from the market, which we have launched in the last couple of years like Maharashtra and Jharkhand. Similarly, we continue to grow and this year we are planning to launch Bihar edition from Patna and so, we will have to make some investments in those markets to continue growing.