Independent News & Media Regulatory News (INM)

29 Jun 2007 15:55

Independent News & Media PLC29 June 2007 INM'S INDIAN ASSOCIATE REPORTS FY07 REVENUES UP BY 27.95% NET PROFIT UP BY 140.45% New initiatives taken across all business division Dublin/London - June 29, 2007: Jagran Prakashan Limited ('JPL'), publishers of'Dainik Jagran', India's largest read daily (Source: IRS 2007 Round 1), hasreported total revenues of Rs 6.2 billion (€107.4 million) for FY07, an increaseof 27.95% as compared to Rs 4.9 billion in FY06. The net profit at Rs 762.2million (€13.1 million), showed an increase of 140.45% from Rs 317.0 million inthe corresponding period. The EPS for the year was Rs 12.65 (€0.218) as againstRs 6.23 at the end of FY06. The performance of the company in the last quarter of FY07 was commendable, withtotal revenues increasing by 29.71% to Rs 1.7 billion (€29.4 million) ascompared to Rs 1.3 billion in Q4 FY06. EBITDA and net profit increased by28.58% and 42.53% to Rs 339.6 million (€5.9 million) and Rs 180.9 million (€3.1million) respectively in the quarter ended March 31, 2007. In the last fiscal, JPL saw significant revenues (over Rs 300 million (€5.2million)) from out of home (outdoor) advertising and event managementactivities. During the year: (i) Two new brands viz. I-Next, a bilingual daily newspaper andCity Plus, a weekly infotainment newspaper, both targeting the youth market,were launched; and (ii) An alliance agreement was entered into with Yahoo India,under which the company's news portal www.jagran.com will be co-branded aswww.jagran.yahoo.in. Yahoo India will be responsible for hosting, maintainingand marketing the website on a revenue sharing basis. A separate profit centrenamed 'J9' was created to take the Short Code Service division of JPL to ahigher level. Apart from these new initiatives, the flagship brand of the company, DainikJagran, continued strengthening its leadership position in its areas ofoperation and also ventured into new territories (Indore, Siliguri, Amritsar).The advertisement and circulation revenues continued to increase, withadvertisement revenues at Rs 3.8 billion (€66.9 million) and circulation revenueat Rs 1.7 billion (€29.4 million) for the year. The advertisement revenue forDainik Jagran grew by 25.7%, higher than the industry's overall growth rate of22.8%. The advertisement revenues were driven by an increase in card rate,increased focus on local markets and an increase of about 18% in colouradvertisement space. This year also saw IRS 2007 (Round 1) reaffirming DainikJagran's position as the No. 1 newspaper in the country. Commenting on the performance of the company in the last fiscal, Mr. MahendraMohan Gupta, Chairman and Managing Director, JPL said, "In the last fiscal, wehave taken steps to expand our product and services portfolio and now JPL haspresence in all media genres viz print media, outdoor advertisement and eventmanagement and the new emerging media. Being a 360 degree media house, we havebecome one of the most diversified media players providing complete mediasolutions to all the clients, while maintaining our primary focus towardsmaintaining our credibility in giving detailed, accurate and up-to-date news toour readers". ENDS 29 June 2007 For further information, please contact: Gavin O'Reilly Chief Operating Officer +353 1 466 3200 Donal Buggy Chief Financial Officer +353 1 466 3200 +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+|Media |+--------------------------+------------------------+--------------------------+| | | |+--------------------------+------------------------+--------------------------+|Pat Walsh |Rory Godson |Paul Keary |+--------------------------+------------------------+--------------------------+|Murray Consultants |Powerscourt Media |Financial Dynamics (New ||(Dublin) |(London) |York) |+--------------------------+------------------------+--------------------------+|Tel: +353 1 498 0300 |Tel: +44 207 250 1446 |Tel: +1 212 850 5600 |+--------------------------+------------------------+--------------------------+| | | |+--------------------------+------------------------+--------------------------+|Investors and Analysts | | |+--------------------------+------------------------+--------------------------||Mark Kenny/ Jonathan | | ||Neilan | | |+--------------------------+------------------------+--------------------------+|K Capital Source (Dublin) | | ||+Tel: +353 1 631 5500 | | |+--------------------------+------------------------+--------------------------+|Email: | | ||INM@kcapitalsource.com | | |+--------------------------+------------------------+--------------------------+ About Jagran Prakashan Limited Jagran Prakashan Limited is a leading media house of India, which publishesDainik Jagran, India's largest read daily with a total readership of 17.11million readers per day (IRS 2007 R1). It was also voted the most credible andtrusted newspaper in India, according to a survey by Globscan, conducted in 10of the world's leading countries, including the US, UK, Germany and Russia. Established in 1942, Dainik Jagran was the brainchild of the Indian Freedomfighter, Late Shri Puran Chandra Gupta. Dainik Jagran is now published in 31editions across 11 states from 30 different facilities. The company alsolaunched I-next, the first ever bilingual newspaper in the country in December,2006 and also has an English Infotainment paper called City Plus. The grouppublishes Sakhi, a monthly magazine targeted at women. The group also publishesJagran Varshiki, an annual general knowledge digest, and various national andstate statistical compilations. Jagran Engage provides specialized 'Out of Home' advertising services, with aPan-India footprint. Jagran Solutions provides below the line activities likepromotional marketing, event management and on ground activities having panIndia presence. The company's portal www.jagran.com is the most visited Hindiportal in the world. The company provides IVR/AVR/SMS services through its shortcode service 7272. Independent News & Media PLC ('INM') is a leading international newspaper andcommunications group, with its main interests in Australia, India, Ireland, NewZealand, South Africa and the United Kingdom. Spanning four continents, 10 majormarkets and 21 individual countries, INM has market-leading newspaper positionsin Australia (regional), India, Ireland, New Zealand and South Africa. In theUnited Kingdom, it publishes the flagship national title, The Independent, aswell as being the largest newspaper group in Northern Ireland. Across these regions, the Group publishes over 180 newspaper and magazinetitles, delivering a combined weekly circulation of over 31 million copies witha weekly audience of over 100 million consumers and includes the world's largestread newspaper, Dainik Jagran, in India. The Group has established a strong andgrowing online presence, with over 100 editorial and classified sites. INM is the largest radio operator - over 130 stations and an audience exceedingfive million people - and outdoor advertising operator in Australasia and alsohas leading outdoor advertising positions in Hong Kong, Malaysia, India,Indonesia and across Africa. The Group has grown consistently over the last 15 years by building ageographically unique and diverse portfolio of market leading brands, and todaymanages gross assets of €3.9 billion, revenue of €1.8 billion and employsapproximately 9,800 people worldwide. Further information is available on the Group's website www.inmplc.com. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange