Independent News & Media Regulatory News (INM)

29 Jan 2008 17:45

Independent News & Media PLC29 January 2008 INM's INDIAN ASSOCIATE REPORTS Q3 FY07/08 REVENUES UP BY 28.8% NET PROFIT UP BY 46.5% Ticker: (Bloomberg) INM ID/ INM LN and (Reuters) INME.I/ INME.L Q3 FY07/08 Results (all comparisons with Q3 FY06/07) • Operating revenues at Rs 2.0 billion (€34.8 million), up by 28.8 % from Rs 1.5 billion • Advertisement revenues at Rs 1.3 billion (€22.9 million), up by 29.0% from Rs 1.0 billion • EBITDA at Rs 432.7 million (€7.6 million), up by 50.5% from Rs 287.5 million • PAT at Rs 259.3 million (€4.5 million), up by 46.5% from Rs 177.0 million • EPS (non-annualised) of Rs 0.86, up by 45.8% from Rs 0.59 • Operating profit margin increased to 21.74% from 18.60% • PAT margin increased to 12.67% from 11.03% Dublin/London - January 29, 2008: Jagran Prakashan Limited (JPL), publishers of'Dainik Jagran', India's largest read newspaper (Source: IRS), has reported netoperating revenues of Rs. 2.0 billion (€34.8 million) for Q3 FY07/08, anincrease of 28.8% over the corresponding quarter of the previous year. The netprofit was Rs 259.3 million (€4.5 million), a sharp increase of 46.5% from Rs177.0 million over the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal. The EPS (onshares with a face value of Rs. 2 each) for the quarter was at Rs 0.86 asagainst Rs 0.59 for the corresponding quarter of FY 06/07. Advertising and circulation revenues from the publishing business registeredrobust growth of 29.0% and 11.3% respectively. Increases in advertisementrevenue were driven by increases in total space, including colour space, andalso better rates, whereas the increase in circulation revenue was mainly drivenby an increase in circulation of Dainik Jagran. I-Next, a newspaper brand launched in the third quarter of the last fiscal, wasexpanded to other markets viz. Varanasi, Allahabad and Agra during the currentquarter. After Dainik Jagran, I-Next has become the most circulated newspaperahead of other mainline dailies in the cities of Kanpur and Varansi. It hasexpanded the market size and has attained circulation numbers and positioningbeyond expectations in a short period of time. City Plus, another newspaperbrand launched in the outskirts of New Delhi in the second quarter of theprevious year, was further expanded with the launch of editions at two morelocations of New Delhi. Out of Home Advertising (OOH) and Event Management activity continued to scaleup their operations. J9, a dedicated arm of JPL to pursue its initiatives inmobile and web space, has launched home shopping, with plans to add a few moreservices such as a classified vertical in web space, to its basket in the nearfuture. STOCK SPLIT & DIVIDEND The Interim dividend @ Rs. 5 per equity share of Rs. 10 each as declared by theBoard in the last quarter has since been paid. Similarly, the Equity shares ofRs. 10 each have been sub-divided into Equity shares of Rs. 2 each, in terms ofshareholders' approval. HIGHLIGHTS OF THE QUARTER • I-Next launched in Varanasi, Allahabad and Agra and attains status ofNo.2 newspaper in cities of Kanpur and Varanasi and critical circulation numbersmuch beyond expectations in other cities where it is fast also approachingstatus of No.2 newspaper. • 2 more editions of City Plus launched in New Delhi. • Joint venture Agreement with Television Eighteen signed to launch abusiness newspaper in Hindi and other regional languages. Ends 29th January 2008 FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Gavin O'Reilly +353 1 466 3200 Chief Operating Officer Donal Buggy +353 1 466 3200 Chief Financial Officer +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+|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 53.6million readers (IRS 2007 R2). It was also voted the most credible and trustednewspaper in India, according to a survey by Globscan, conducted in 10 of theworld'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. The first edition was launched fromJhansi, Uttar Pradesh in 1942. Dainik Jagran is now published in 31 editionsacross 11 states from 29 different facilities. The company also publishes twomore youth oriented newspaper brands viz. I-Next, a daily bilingual compact, andCity Plus, an English infotainment weekly compact, besides publication of Sakhi,a monthly magazine targeted at women. The group also publishes Jagran Varshiki,an annual general knowledge digest, and various national and state statisticalcompilations. 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. J9 provides IVR/AVR/SMS services through its short code service57272 and is into web space and the company's Hindi news portal which is knownas www.jagran.yahoo.in. 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 of almostsix million people - and outdoor advertising operator in Africa and Australasiaand also has leading outdoor advertising positions in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indiaand Indonesia. 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 €4.1 billion and revenues of €1.8 billion. 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