Network 18 Media & Investments Ltd shares rose 15% on July 16 after the media firm reported strong June quarter results, led by strong performance in its digital and TV segments.
Net profit, after exceptional items, stood at Rs 516 crore in the fiscal first quarter. June quarter EBITDA increased by 69 percent and operating margin expanded to 1 percent from 0.5 percent in the year earlier, the company said.
At 2:22 pm on July 16, Network18 shares were trading 15.4% higher at Rs 64.31 apiece. Network18 shares led the gains in Nifty Media index on July 16 as it surged 1% to trade at 1,755.
Revenue for the June quarter declined from a year earlier as the base quarter had a healthy contribution of election-linked advertising. Further, ad environment for the genre continued to be soft due to weak consumer demand and a sports-packed quarter, the company said in a stock exchange filing.
Despite the dual impact of weak ad environment and high base, Network18 displayed resilient performance on the back of its strong operating position, with news business operating revenue down by only 4.9 percent. Compared with the first quarter of FY24, which also did not have any significant revenue linked to elections, revenue is up 9 percent, added the company.
“Another quarter of strong operating performance, however, persisting macro-economic headwinds meant that it did not translate into a commensurate financial performance. Our steady progress across operating metrics over the last few quarters is a testimony to our vision for the business and the strategic execution of our plans. Our new product launches highlight our forward-looking approach and our endeavor to continue diversifying our business and build new avenues of growth,” said Adil Zainulbhai, Chairman of Network18.
Disclaimer: Moneycontrol is part of the Network18 group. Network18 is controlled by Independent Media Trust, of which Reliance Industries is the sole beneficiary.
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