Jagran Prakashan Ltd Management Discussions

Management Discussion and Analysis

Forward-looking statements

This report contains forward-looking statements, which may be identified by their use of words like Rs.plans, Rs.expects, Rs.will, Rs.anticipates, Rs.believes, Rs.intends, Rs.projects, Rs.estimates or other words of similar import. All statements that address expectations or projections about the future, including but not limited to statements about the Companys strategy for growth, product development, market position, expenditure, and financial results, are forward-looking statements. Forwardlooking statements are based on certain assumptions and expectations of future events. The Company cannot guarantee that these assumptions and expectations are accurate or will be realised. The Companys actual results, performance or achievements could thus differ materially from those projected in any such forward-looking statements. The Company assumes no responsibility to publicly amend, modify or revise any forward-looking statements, based on any subsequent developments, information or events.

Overview of Indian economy

In continuation of previous year, Indian economy outperformed the worlds major economies, though pace of growth was slower than the previous year. While fundamentals such as fiscal deficit, forex reserve, lower inflation, governments plan to rationalise debt vis-a-vis GDP and stable currency continue to remain favourable, there are challenges emerging from global events such as conflicts and the US threat of reciprocal tariff. Fortunately, India unlike China is not export dependent economy and therefore the impact of these two major events is not likely to be significant. Internally, the biggest threat to growth is subdued urban consumption which should improve with inflation cooling down and the tax reliefs extended by the government to the tax payers with middle class being the biggest beneficiary. However, lack of employment opportunities and low growth in income for years are major concerns which need to be addressed forthwith if meaningful growth in consumption and higher growth in economy have to be sustained for decades to become advanced economy by 2047. Let us hope that massive government spend on infrastructure for some years now start translating into creation of enough jobs sooner than later.

Efficient utilisation of technology, capacity building in high- end manufacturing and enhancing competitiveness and productivity have been pivotal in strengthening the countrys economic fundamentals. By developing robust digital public infrastructure like Aadhaar linked public utilities and UPI payment facilities, the country has rapidly achieved financial inclusion targets in recent years which would otherwise have taken decades. Aadhaar linked public utility facility and direct transfer of subsidies to the bank account of beneficiaries have saved billions by minimising the leakages. UPI facility, which has been embraced by people from all walks of life, allowed billions of rupees to flow into the formal economy.

Indias ascent to the worlds fifth-largest economy, surpassing Chinas population and young demography show its vast untapped potential. Before the demographic advantage is lost and India too starts ageing like other countries, the country has to capitalise on the opportunities offered by size of population and its demography. Unlike advanced economies where there are fewer job aspirants and much higher per capita income, India is different and requires models tailored to her unique circumstances.

While consumption continues to remain sluggish, demand for luxury goods, services, and real estate remains strong but economies like India with per capita income of less than 3000 USD cannot be driven by these households alone for long as these are a select few and form miniscule part of total population. Despite challenges, Indias strong fundamentals and government initiatives, position it as one of the fastest- growing economies, with economic growth expected to remain around 6.5% going forward.

Indian Media and Entertainment (M&E) Industry

The Indian media and entertainment industry (M&E) witnessed a transformative growth in calendar year 2024, fuelled by digital media revenues. Size of the industry is reported to be Rs.2.5 trillion (US$29.4 billion) registering a revenue growth of 3.3% growth in 2024 vs 8.3% in the previous year. Lower growth is primarily attributed to stagnant to falling subscription for all media segments including digital and subdued consumption leading to advertisers either to maintain or trim their advertisement budget.

As per FICCI-E&Y report, the sector contributed 0.73% to Indias GDP which is far less than the comparable global economies indicating huge untapped potential for growth in future. Digital media in India has overtaken television to become the largest segment within the M&E sector. The advertising revenues for the industry grew 8.1%. This growth was led by digital advertising including e-commerce platforms, out of home (OOH) advertising including digital OOH media, live event and retail advertising of print and radio. TV registered de-growth due to shift of consumers to digital platforms.

FICCI-E&Y report expects industry to grow by 72% reaching Rs.2.7 trillion in 2025 and then expand at a CAGR of 7% to reach Rs.3.1 trillion by 2027. Digital is expected to be growth driver even in future but the relevance of traditional media will remain intact. However, innovation, adaption, collaboration vs fragmentation and belief that all mediums complement each other and can co-exist hold the key to better the growth rate for traditional media and to ensure long term sustainability.

Digital news and information platforms are yet to devise a business model focused on profitable growth rather than merely expanding the user base, to fully realise its potential and meet expectations. It is possible only when this category of digital media works on becoming more credible and relevant for consumers and finding the ways and means to optimally monetise the existing user base.

Traditional media advertising de-grew by around 1.5% primarily due to 6% de-growth in TV advertising. Its share slipped to 44% from 48% a year ago. Even if the impact of n ew med ia on d ecision making of media users may be far lower than the traditional media for more than one reason, new media has drawn users to itself by generally offering free contents and selling ad space at apparently compelling low cost at the expense of television and print with television being the biggest sufferer. However, cost rationalisation, without compromising quality, and agility in adjusting business model to prevailing environment, have significantly benefited the industry particularly traditional media which helped them in rewarding the stakeholders even during tough times such as pandemic. The industry has to keep pursuing this approach.

Technological innovations such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality (AR/VR), and blockchain are reshaping content creation, distribution, and consumption experiences. Personalised recommendations, interactive content, and immersive experiences are enhancing viewer engagement and driving user retention on digital platforms. M&E companies should embrace and adapt this transformation faster than ever before.

The major challenge being faced by the industry is subdued consumption directly impacting advertisement revenues. It is hoped that with inflation under control, infrastructure spending by government, increased disposable income due to tax reliefs and good monsoon, consumption will improve from 2025-26 on sustainable basis.

Print Media Industry

The print media continues to be a preferred medium for the audiences for whom trustworthiness is priority and is therefore used by most of the advertisers for brand and product launches. The government remains the leading advertiser in print.

The revenues of print media were almost flat primarily due to subdued consumption. As against stable revenues of the print, the other major traditional media TV revenues including subscription fell by 4.5% in 2024. Despite being rated highly on credibility and door to door distribution facility, circulation continues to be lower than pre-pandemic level primarily because of lack of push from publishers for increase in circulation on one hand and increases in cover price taken due to inadequate ad revenues by some of the large publishers on the other hand. However, publishers must not lose sight of importance of circulation numbers which advertisers look for.

The key USP of Indian newspapers is its door-to-door distribution capability but with the rise of e-commerce and q-commerce, traditional distributors are attracted to those delivery platforms rather than newspapers, as they have better timings and offer higher remuneration. Consequently, the number of people willing to distribute newspapers is reducing, which could be a significant cause for concern for the print segment and need to be addressed sooner than later.

Profitability of print segment was adversely affected in recent years due to high newsprint costs attributed partly to exceptional circumstances like disruption in supply chain for one reason or the other and partly to high inflation and continued stress on revenue caused by low consumption. The newsprint prices have since softened which offers opportunity to increase circulation in those areas which can help increase advertisement revenues either through better rates or through increased advertisement volumes or mix of both.

Despite the increase in digital news usage, there is a large base of loyal readers of newspaper which maintains its position to be the most trustworthy source of news and information.

Readers seeking credible content are willing to pay increased cover prices, which reflects the strength of the medium. These readers matter more to advertisers than price-sensitive readers.

According to the Pitch Madison Advertising Outlook Report 2025, auto, FMCG, education, retail, and real estate, in continuation of previous year, contributed up to 50% to print advertising expenditure in 2024, with auto leading the pack at 14% which is expected to continue to lead. BFSI, HH durables, e-commerce, corporate and clothing, fashion & jewellery were other major contributors. The share of print in overall advertising expenditure remained intact at 19%, the highest globally. Hindi publications garnered 36% of volumes, slightly down from 37% in 2023, followed by English at 28%, and other regional languages jointly at 36%.

Strategic cost optimisation measures have led print media to deliver strong operating profits and cash from operations in spite of flat to nominal growth in revenues. Publishers recognise that increasing cover prices is essential to meet the unforeseen challenges like pandemics and exorbitant increases in newsprint prices while reducing dependence on advertisement revenue which is largely dependent on factors beyond the control of the industry. Digital news consumption will continue to rise, but for credible content, consumers will continue to choose print. Credible content has to be provided by print and digital has to supplement delivery/distribution. If both recognise their respective roles in this content creation and distribution chain, both will benefit from the synergy. The digital arm of print media houses has so far not been able to scale up their digital operations to a level where they can reap the benefit from digital boom.

Looking ahead, the print industry is expected to have stability in performance in next some years, supported by a loyal readership base. Moderate newsprint prices may improve profit allowing news companies to invest mindfully in increasing circulation wherever required. Print led event revenues are becoming an important revenue stream and will also contribute to revenue growth. Industry should increase focus on consistent and timely home delivery, engaging younger demographics, diversifying revenue streams and enhancing data analytic capabilities to provide quality content.

In conclusion, amidst digital disruptions and changing consumer habits, the print industrys role as a reliable source of news, information, and entertainment is now much more vital than ever before and publishers must realise this and act accordingly.

Radio Industry

The radio industry underwent significant adaptation of changed environment after the pandemic, continuously reinventing itself and exploring new revenue streams. However, the loss of revenue during pandemic is not yet recovered. Industry has been striving to recover the loss at the earliest and adding new radio led revenue streams. The integration of digital offerings at the back of strength of radio was particularly an effective innovation. Building on the trends of earlier years, radio companies intensified their focus on ROI-driven opportunities for clients, leading to the continual addition of new clients. In calendar year 2024, the radio industry generated revenue of Rs.2500 Crores, recording a growth of 9% in value and a 3% in ad volumes. The growth was driven by retail and local advertising as well as new revenue streams. Contribution of non-FCT was about 20% in total revenues.(Source: FICCI -E&Y Report).

Currently, India has over 1,400 operational radio stations, including around 500 community radio stations. According to the June 2024 TRAI report, there are 388 operational private FM radio channels in 113 cities, operated by 36 private FM radio operators. Local Advertisers are increasingly viewing radio as a cost-effective medium to deliver their message to the listeners Accordingly, those, who are mainly dependent on local instead of national advertisers for their revenues in line with the global trend, have fared better than those who have traditionally been dependent on national advertisers.

Radio remains a powerful communication platform, leveraging its unique ability to connect with a broad audience and facilitate human interactions, even in the digital era. With evolving media consumption habits among Indian audiences triggered by easy and affordable availability of technology, radio industry too must make optimum use of technologies such as AI to improve consumer experience, become more efficient, save cost and have an edge over the competitors Use of RJ-led influencer marketing is becoming a significant revenue contributor. Collaborations between radio influencers and brands, coupled with radios increasing role in content creation and communication, will help brands unlock their true potential.

In terms of advertising, services, auto and retail were the top three categories, comprising 50% of total radio advertising volumes. Non-FCT revenues accounted for an average of 20% to 30% of total revenues earned by major radio companies. Initiatives such as creating event IPs, brand activations, building communities, international music streaming, content production, digital marketing, and influencer marketing were among the top contributors to non-FCT revenues (Source: TAM AdEX).

TRAIs recommendations to allow FM radio operators to broadcast news and current affairs programmes, limited to 10 minutes per clock hour and the proposed removal of linkage of annual license fee from non-refundable one-time entry fees, as well as the extension of existing FM license periods by three years if accepted by the government, are expected to significantly enhance the performance of the FM radio business. Further, TRAI has also released a consultation paper on developing a Digital Radio Broadcast Policy for private radio broadcasters. This initiative aims to shift radio broadcasting in India from analogue to digital. All India Radio (AIR) has already digitized many of its analogue Medium Wave (MW) and Short Wave (SW) transmitters and conducted digital trials in the FM band, but private radio broadcasters are yet to commence FM band digitization. The shift to digital radio broadcasting offers several advantages, including the ability to broadcast multiple channels on a single frequency, superior audio quality, and the potential for value added services. This transition promises new opportunities for radio broadcasters and better listening experience for audiences.

Globally, in countries like the USA, the radio industrys size is approximately $13 billion, while in India, it stands around $0.3 billion, highlighting the tremendous growth potential available in India for the medium.

Digital media

Digital media continues to grow at the highest rate, though pace of growth has been tapering year after year due to increasing base. Its revenues grew by 17% in CY2024 as against 20% in previous year. The growth is primarily in search and social media. Search and social media aggregated over 60% of total digital media revenues. Online news category remained at 3% of total digital media revenues and the operators are still struggling to figure out profitable and scalable business model.

Digital media currently accounts for over 50% of total advertisement revenues. Indias robust digital infrastructure has taken its reach to 1.20 billion telecom subscriptions, 945 million internet subscriptions, and 562 million smartphones (Source: FICCI-E&Y Report). Traditional media companies have also expedited the digital transformation of their news operations, enhancing their readiness to tackle disruptive contingencies.

Despite the significant digital news consumer base of 463 million which is 49% of total internet users, monetisation remains insignificant which is cause of concern. Nearly 90% access news on mobile phones. News companies have increasingly focused on regional languages to target a broader demographic and boost engagement, with news aggregators contributing to a significant app-based audience and traditional news companies attracting a high web-based audience.

As stated above, commensurate monetisation continues to be a challenge. The news and current affairs vertical of Digital Media currently generates merely Rs.21 billion in ad revenue out of total digital ad revenue of Rs.700 billion and around Rs.3 billion in subscriptions out of total digital subscriptions of over Rs.100 billion. The vast majority of digital news consumption now happens in regional languages, highlighting the untapped potential for regional news portals to monetise content. It is expected that the monetisation of digital news, currently minimal, will become more meaningful in the future, similar to advanced economies.

In a youthful country like India, formation of habit to consume content digitally is now done. Next step is to nudge consumers to pay for the content, without which sustainability of business cannot be achieved. Operators must prioritise quality and credibility instead of quantity of contents. Adoption of 5G by 270 million subscribers which is 23% of total subscribers in a short span of 2 years augurs well for the industry as it aims at improving consumer experience.

Consumers are spending more time on social media and video platforms driving the high growth of advertising spends on digital media. In CY2024, telecom, e-commerce, pharma and FMCG accounted for over 50% of their total ad spends and BFSI, real estate, consumer durables, automotive and M&E sectors spent over 30% of their total ad spends on digital. However, the concentration of revenue in a few categories poses risks to sustained high growth in the long term and therefore the industry must constantly work to reduce its dependence on a few categories by having increase in share of other categories in total pie.

The digital media sector is projected to grow at a CAGR of 11% over the next three years, to cross Rs.1 trillion in 2026, and will grow to Rs.1.1 trillion by 2027, according to the E&Y-FICCI report.

Out-of-home (OOH)

Out-of-home (OOH) media resurged from the setback experienced during the pandemic and has been registering improved performance year after year since then. There is growth in demand for premium transit media and digital OOH media. Revenues of OOH media grew 10% in 2024. Digital OOH grew 78% and contributed 12% of total segment revenues, up from 7% in 2023. Transit and digital formats are growing and both together will take over other outdoor formats which too will continue to grow. Factors like urbanisation and rising affluence are also propelling this segment forward.

In CY 2024, OOH media had revenues of Rs.59 billion recording a growth of 10% over previous year and exceeded by over 16% of CY 2019 revenue levels. This is one of the few mediums in traditional media basket which surpassed the pre-pandemic 2019 revenue level. The revenues generated by untracked unorganised OOH media such as wall paintings, billboards, ambient media, storefronts, proxy advertising, etc. are not included in the aforesaid value which if added will increase its size meaningfully. Key categories like real estate, organized retail, consumer services, FMCG, BFSI, government, education, auto other premium categories continued their spending on OOH assets. The top five categories namely real estate, organised retail, consumer services, FMCG and financial services contributed 67% of OOH spending and 91% of growth.

As a highly visible medium, OOH media is preferred to reach large mobile audiences. In India, OOH media companies have also been able to leverage advances in digital technology to reach even greater numbers of people. Digital signage can display targeted messages on screens located in busy public spaces, allowing advertisers to tailor their messages to specific audiences.

With the increasing demand from advertisers, OOH media companies are constantly innovating to provide new and more effective solutions to meet the needs of their customers. This includes the use of automated tracking systems, which allows advertisers to monitor the effectiveness of their campaigns in real-time and make such adjustments as are necessary. In addition to serving traditional advertisers, OOH media companies in India are also exploring new avenues for growth. For instance, mobile display networks enable advertisers to display ads on private vehicles, allowing them to reach people on the move. Industry, however, continues to face challenges from unorganised sector in various forms which impedes the growth of organised sector especially in local markets. With more and more formalisation of economy, stringent adherence to outdoor display regulations and transparency in tenders, the challenges are likely to be mitigated gradually but surely in times to come.

Going forward, the OOH media sector is poised for stable growth, with revenues expected to reach Rs.79 billion by CY 2027 growing at a CAGR of over 10%.

Event & Activation

Event and Activation, after recovering from the pandemic period setback, continued to perform outstandingly and the organised live events segment grew 15% in 2024 to reach Rs.101 billion on the back of significant growth in ticketed events, government spending, B2B events and weddings. Other than organised live events conducted by pure event companies, the unorganized/unaddressable events segment is estimated to have generated mammoth revenues of more than Rs.1000 billion. Growing interest in events led by other segments of the M&E sector like print, radio and television is helping it grow still faster.

The industry is experiencing high growth as brands are looking to engage with consumers in a more meaningful way and they find experiential marketing a cost effective tool for the same. Brand activation campaigns provide one on one interaction with the brand and first-hand experience including look and feel of product. This is unique proposition which no other segment offers and establishes connect with the audiences. It also provides valuable insights into what the audience thinks about the brand which enables brand owner to take corrective action. Never seen before interest of youth in live events, drawing national and international performers, and their willingness to pay any price for ticket of the event of choice is providing further impetus to growth.

It is expected that the live events segment will grow at a CAGR of 18% over the next three years and reach Rs.167 billion by 2027.

The event and activation industry is witnessing a shift towards more immersive and interactive experiences, driven by advancements in technology and consumer preferences. Virtual and augmented reality, interactive displays, and gamification are increasingly being integrated into brand activation campaigns to enhance engagement and create memorable experiences for consumers. The industry is poised to grow in mid to high double digit for many years.

The Company, its Subsidiaries and Associates (collectively referred to as Group)

The Group comprises the Company, its two subsidiaries, and three associates. The wholly-owned subsidiary, Midday Infomedia Limited ("MIL" / "Midday"), is a publisher of the English daily Mid-day, Gujarati daily Mid-day Gujarati, and Indias largest read Urdu daily, The Inquilab. MIL also publishes Sunday Mid-day and a weekly Urdu tabloid, Taleemi. Its operations are primarily in Mumbai. The other subsidiary, Music Broadcast Limited ("MBL" / "Radio City"), is listed on the National Stock Exchange of India Limited and BSE Limited and operates FM radio under the brand name Radio City from 39 stations across 12 states. The Companys Associates, namely X-Pert Publicity Private Limited ("X-Pert") and Leet OOH Media Private Limited ("Leet"), are in the outdoor business and are not significant in relation to the Groups operations. Another associate, MMI Online Limited ("MMI"), manages and markets the Groups digital offerings, owns and manages its popular web portal Onlymyhealth.com, and operates a fact-checking website Vishwas.com. MMI, too, is not significant in relation to the Groups size of business, but its association is significant owing to its key role in our digital business.

The Group could not perform as per expectation during the year and revenues as well as profits on consolidated as well as standalone basis was lower than the previous year primarily due to prevailing unfavourable market conditions for its core business. Companys business activities are majorly in traditional media, which thrives on discretionary consumer spending which was generally subdued. Moreover, the previous year had benefit of general election as well as the

state elections held in some of the large states. If such election benefit as accrued in the previous year is not considered, then the revenues during the current year grew nominally. However, Outdoor and Event businesses performed satisfactorily during the year. Outdoor had substantial growth in revenues as well as profits. Radio business also had some growth in revenues but had substantially lower profit primarily due to higher operating expenses in expectation of generating higher growth in revenues of non-FCT and digital businesses, Digital had lower revenues and much higher loss than the previous year due to substantial increase in expenses incurred to further strengthen the digital presence and to sustain the competitive position and reap the benefits in future from expanded user base and offerings. Further, Digital too was benefited by general election in the previous year.

Outdoor, Event and Digital posted more than pre-pandemic revenues but print and radio businesses are still behind and will take a few more years to reach or surpass pre-pandemic levels. The profitability of the print business is impaired by high newsprint prices and stress on advertisement revenues due to low consumption in general. However, the newsprint prices have come down to a lower level from peak prices in 2022-23 and is expected to remain stable in near term.

Special attention is drawn to Outdoor and Event & Activation businesses, which are currently small in size in relation to the Company, but they are going to become material in times to come. On a higher base of the previous year, the revenues of Outdoor and Event businesses grew by 27% and 8%, respectively. Both these businesses are constantly increasing their share in the total pie and creating value for the stakeholders. Both these businesses are self-dependent for funds required for meeting increased working capital requirements due to increased scale of operations. We are hopeful that they would continue to remain self-funded for the growth unless there is an opportunity for larger investments.

Circulation revenue decreased by 6% over the previous year primarily due to lower circulation. Circulation as well as circulation revenue were lower than the pre-pandemic times which is in line with industry trend. However, Dainik Jagran continues to maintain its strong market position.

Advertisement revenue (print including digital) de-grew by 5.4% from the previous year. Advertisement volumes more or less decreased in line with de-growth in advertisement revenue.

The Group continues to strengthen its digital presence. Our digital business is maintaining a strong position, and news and current affairs properties of the Company under its arm Jagran New Media (JNM) continue to be rated amongst the top 10 in the news and information category with around 79 million unique visitors. Within the Hindi news and information category, Jagran.com got a reach of 36 million total unique visitors. (Source: Comscore Mar25). Like the newspaper, regional language is considered a long-term growth driver even for Digital. Our focus on Hindi and regional languages places us in an advantageous position owing to our age- old understanding of consumer behaviour in these markets. Further, a data-based strategy to identify liking-wise segments of the audience, providing quality content to each relevant segment and improving users experience by investing in technology will remain our core strength and help in

capitalising huge untapped potential. JNM consolidated its video presence by clocking around 112 million video views (Source: YT analytics, Mar25). To further enhance audience engagement on Dainik Jagrans social media, several new initiatives were rolled out viz. integration of Al-generated images in daily news coverage, visually rich infographics for in-depth stories, and revamped social media templates for a refreshed brand presence. Additionally, interactive elements like polls for sports coverage and Facebook Live integrations were introduced to strengthen real-time viewer interaction.

JNMs monetisation strategy is around advertisement inventory revenue, syndication revenue, production house, branded content, events, content to commerce, and subscription revenue, though collectively these are not yet commensurate with reach, investment and efforts.

Operating loss of the digital business was about Rs.3 crores as against operating profit of Rs.4 crores recorded in the previous year which is as a result of lower revenues by 4% and higher operating expenses by 12%.

MBLs revenues grew slightly by 2.6% but operating profit and net profit de-grew substantially by 62% and 600% respectively mainly due to manifold higher provisions for bad and doubtful debts of Rs.15 crores as against Rs.3 crores in previous year on account of net impairment losses on financial assets as well as first time impairment of non-current assets (property, plant & equipment, right to use assets and intangible assets) of around Rs.35 crores as against no such impairment in previous year. The profits were also impacted by increase in operating expenses by 13.5% on YoY basis and lower than expected revenues. It continues to recover its revenue lost in pandemic times but was still around 73% of 2019 revenues.

The growth of 2.6% in the operating revenue of MBL has been driven on the strength of an increased focus on integrating radio with digital, credible RJ influencers, content syndication strategies and solution oriented offerings that include ground level activation too. RJs are growing as influencers on social media, with some of them having a large followers base. MBL is focusing on capitalising on this opportunity and achieved some success. The share of digital revenue in total radio revenues has increased to 10.8% from 8.2% in the previous year, registering a growth of 35.8%. As per E&Y FICCI Report, 29% of the radio revenues will be non-FCT revenues by 2027.

MBLs focus on smaller markets, besides integration of its digital offerings, non-FCT opportunities have all been instrumental in improving business growth. In terms of advertisement volume, it is near to pre-pandemic volume but the average advertisement rates continue to be low in comparison.

MBLs Balance Sheet continues to remain strong with comfortable liquidity to timely discharge its obligations of redemption of preference shares worth approximately Rs.120 crores in January 2026.

Another Subsidiary MIL possesses legacy brands which continue to command loyalty. It registered nominal operating profit as against around Rs. 4 Crores recorded in the previous year primarily due to de-growth in revenues by around 3% due to the prevalence of unfavourable market conditions for the industry during the year and also due to Rs.50 lakhs impact of GST assessments of previous years. The advertisement revenue of MIL was almost flat in spite of de-growth of 30% in

its digital ad revenue whereas circulation revenue de-grew by over 6%. MIL will continue to pursue the cost control measures and innovative marketing initiatives besides continued focus on digital offerings of content and its monetisation. MIL also extends its extensive social media presence by leveraging the power of social media influencers including the ones from our newsrooms to further the reach of our brand and content.

Two associates, X-Pert and Leet are in outdoor business. X-Pert had operating revenues of Rs.194.25 lakhs higher by 188%, operating loss of Rs.4.41 lakhs as against operating profit of 35.06 lakhs and net profit of Rs.2.79 lakhs lower by 94% over the previous year. Leet had operating revenues of Rs.39.33 lakhs higher by 9%, operating profit of Rs.16.33 lakhs lower by 7% and net profit of Rs.56.73 lakhs lower by 5% over the previous year. Both the companies have positive net worth and sufficient liquidity to manage their operations.

MMI manages the digital offerings of the Company efficiently in addition to managing its fact-checking website www. vishvasnews.com and health portal Onlymyhealth.com. Vishvasnews.com celebrated International Fact-Checking Day 2025 by hosting a virtual meet that brought together IFCN signatories, MCA members, journalists, researchers, and academics. With a keynote by Angie Drobnic Holan, Director, IFCN, the event focused on fostering global collaboration to strengthen fact-checking and uphold democratic values. MMI registered an operating loss of around Rs.6 crores during the year as against operating loss of around Rs.4 crores reported in the previous year. The loss increased due to increased expenses as stated above

The Groups balance sheet continues to remain strong with strong liquidity of more than Rs.1000 crores with debt of around Rs.100 crores. CRISIL has reaffirmed its credit rating AA+ Stable for long and medium term, and A1+ for short term in respect of the Company, AA(-)/stable for long term in respect of MIL and AA Stable for long term and A1+ Stable for short term in respect of MBL.

Awards and Recognitions

The Company is a recipient of awards and recognition by various national and international bodies, and is proud to report that recognising the Groups leadership position and commitment in different businesses, various distinguished bodies have bestowed 135 Awards upon the Group during the year.

Brand	Award	No. of Awards
Dainik Jagran	Global Media Awards, INMA	5
	Abby One Show Awards	4
	Asian Media Awards, WAN-IFRA	1
	Dainik Jagran Total	10
Radio City	ACEF Global Customer Engagement Awards 2023	20
	E4M Golden Mikes - Radio & Audio Awards 2023	16
	India Audio Summit	12
	Streaming Awards	4
	New York Awards	5
	ACEF	19
	Radio City Total	76

 

Brand	Award	No. of Awards
Dainik Jagran	Maddys Awards	1
Inext	E4M Maverick Award 2024	1
	Dainik Jagran Inext Total	2
Midday	AIPS Sports Media Awards	1
	All India Photography Competition	4
	National Level News Photo Contest	3
	Midday Total	8
Jagran	BW Applause Awards	3
Solutions	Jagran Solutions Total	3
Jagran New	AFAQS! Media Brands Awards	1
Media	2024
	e4m DigiOne Awards 2023	5
	e4m Health & Wellness Awards 2024	3
	Google News Initiative Summit 2024.	1
	GlobalFact Awards	1
	e4m ICMA Awards 2024	2
	e4m Redcarpet Awards 2024	6
	Afaqs! Brand Storyz Awards 2024	6
	Inkspell DOD Awards 2024	4
	WAN-IFRA! Digital Media Awards South Asia 2024	1
	Jagran New Media Total	30
Jagran	ICQC (International Colour Quality	1
Production	Club)
	Jagran Production Team Total	1
Jagran IT	CSO100 Awards	1
Team	TekQ Technology Leaders Award	1
	CIO POWER LIST 2023	1
	Best in Future of Industry Ecosystems	1
	Dataquest Digital Leader Award	1
	Jagran IT Team Total	5
JPL Total		135

MAJOR RISKS AND CONCERNS:

The management regularly reviews business, operational, functional, and reporting risks and has implemented strategies and controls to mitigate these risks. Risks are identified and managed as an ongoing process. The management continues to work towards making optimal use of technology to strengthen controls and minimise or eliminate human intervention in various processes, thus mitigating operational and reporting risks.

As of the current date, the management identifies the following risks:

Geopolitical disturbances:

As discussed in the section titled "Indian Economy," war and war like situations in global environment along with trade war triggered by US threat to resort to reciprocal levies may elevate inflation, which will adversely impact sentiment and reduce the purchasing power of consumers. Consequently, the entire Media & Entertainment (M&E) industry may be adversely impacted and the Group may not meet its targeted revenues and profits in fiscal 2025-26.

Management Response

The Group is mindful of the prevailing situation and continues to monitor it closely to make any required changes in strategy. It maintains control over costs and takes proactive measures within its control. The Group successfully navigated through the unprecedented COVID crisis by demonstrating agility in adapting to the necessary changes in an uncertain environment. It showcased resilience to adversities, thanks to its flexibility, adaptability, committed workforce, legacy brands, business size, practices, and strategies. These factors give us confidence that the Group will mitigate impact of newly developed challenges.

Please also refer to the sections Indian Economy, Media & Entertainment Industry, and Print Industry of this chapter.

Inter-se disputes amongst the Promoters/Promoter Group:

The ongoing inter-se disputes among the Promoters/Promoter Group continuing since July 2023 which has also caused vacancy in MD office since 01.10.2023, are adversely impacting the performance of company and may worsen it further.

Management Response

To protect its interest and interest of minority shareholders, the Companys Board decided to file an application before NCLT praying for appointment of administrator or professional CEO in the interim even before expiry of term of the then MD. The said application is still pending for adjudication, though NCLT, through its interim order, directed that all major decisions should be collectively taken by the board of directors in accordance with the Companies Act, 2013 and the Articles of Association, as a special arrangement in the absence of the MD. The Company has been acting in compliance with the said order of the Honble NCLT. The Companys board is monitoring the progress and has been trying to impress upon the promoters to settle the dispute at the earliest but so far no success has been achieved.

We agree that due to this prolonged ongoing dispute and uncertainty with regard to leadership, the company is not able to function optimally, though there is no threat to its businesses (some of which are performing outstandingly) and the company is able to maintain its market position.

Once dispute is settled, we expect company to return to its growth path and recover the value which is currently subdued.

Over dependence on advertisement revenue:

The Group derives about 60% of its total revenue from advertisement (print including digital). Shortfall in expected growth in revenue for any reason will disproportionately reduce the growth in profits or result in lower profits as advertisement revenue has high operating leverage.

Management Response

This risk applies to the entire advertisement based industry, but given our leadership position, any shortfall and its impact on financial health will be relatively less, as evidenced by the numbers reported since the outbreak of the pandemic. In fact, even during the peak of the pandemic, the Group reported profits. Moreover, tax reliefs and lower tax rates as announced in current years budget and new pay commission for government employees will provide more disposable income which should also boost discretionary spending and consumption, which in turn should result in more advertising spend.

However, there is no room for complacency, and the management continues to work even more closely with clients to build partnerships that have helped and will immensely help in times like these. It was due to this approach that the Group could attract a new pool of advertisers and partly compensate for the loss of revenues from certain existing advertisers who were forced by circumstances to cut their advertisement budgets. We have seen new categories such as Retail Guru, Medical Guru, EduSolv etc. evolving and becoming significant contributors to total revenues, a trend likely to continue. Revenues from print-led activities have also increased year after year, contributing significantly to advertisement revenue.

The management also continuously evaluates the possibility of increasing the cover price, particularly at times when advertisement revenue is under pressure. In any case, saving costs without compromising quality has become a priority for us. With a reduced cost base and continued control over fixed costs we are better positioned to minimise the impact of any shortfall in expected advertisement revenue.

Circulation of newspaper continues to be behind the pre- covid levels, which is not helping to increase advertisement revenue significantly:

After the Covid-19 pandemic, circulation slid down substantially and is still behind the pre-Covid level. This does not bode well for increasing advertisement revenue significantly.

Management Response

Since the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic, the focus was to increase the cover price suitably as newsprint prices were very high due to disruption in the supply chain, and growth in advertisement revenue was not as expected due to the sluggish consumption. However, increase in cover price decreased circulation beyond expectations for all publishers. Further, there was no push to increase circulation as newsprint prices were very high. The newsprint prices, in continuation of previous year, have further come down and stay at a reasonable level, which provides enough room to push for increasing the circulation. Besides above, change in reading habit too has caused fall specially in large cities.

Newsprint price fluctuation:

Newsprint, as the primary raw material, represents a significant portion of overall expenses. Any material upward movement in newsprint prices impairs profitability significantly.

Management Response

The increase in newsprint prices impacts us similarly as it impacts any other commodity-dependent industry. Our strategy is four fold to mitigate this impact: (i) increasing the cover price of the newspaper to pass on the burden of the increase to consumers without losing our market position, (ii) adjusting the mix of newsprint consumed, (iii) reducing consumption by optimising pages per copy and iv)not increasing circulation in areas that do not matter to advertisers.

Having said that, the newsprint price has substantially softened from the peak price of near USD 1000 per tonne seen a few years ago to the current price of around USD 500 - 550 per tonne and is expected to remain stable in near future, which will be helpful in maintaining stability in performance.

Competition:

Indias print market is highly fragmented, with stiff competition challenging the profit-earning capacity of print companies. Similarly, other media platforms, specially digital, are also posing a threat.

Management Response

The management believes that print media has its own inherent advantages, such as credibility, local content, easy and affordable accessibility, etc. The circulation of fake news on other platforms has reemphasised the need for newspapers in the society and each demography. There is still a very low per capita spend on media consumption compared to global standards, and therefore, we believe that all media platforms have the potential to grow, though growth rates will vary depending on the penetration and maturity of each platform. This was amply demonstrated during and post-pandemic when all media platforms, including those believed to have faded, bounced back with vengeance and continue to sustain growth to reach pre-pandemic revenue levels in some cases. This has cemented our belief that no medium is redundant and consumers require each of them, although we all must be more efficient and consumer-friendly than ever before.

Dainik Jagran is the largest-read newspaper and has maintained its market leadership position since 2003 without interruption. The strong market position, popularity of the brand reach, and richness of content placed us at advantageous position than most of our peers.

Digital:

If the Group is unable to maintain its position and scale up its operations, it may not be able to attract planned revenue. Additionally, the declining unique visitors in the news and information category over the previous year, attributed to META moving away from NEWS and Google Algorithm Change - To Increase Content Quality & Accountability, as well as Cookie Deprecation, may adversely impact revenue generation. Furthermore, it may face fierce competition for revenue from both local and international giants like Google and Facebook, which have a lions share in the digital pie. Moreover, significant dependence on advertisement revenue from networks owned by global giants and the inability to price the content may render the business model unsustainable.

Management Response

The Groups digital strategy is to remain focussed on consumer satisfaction and provide them content of their liking . The digital impetus provided by the government is driving higher growth in tier-I and tier-II towns and rural India, giving the Group an edge over competitors and making the Groups digital offerings relevant for consumers as well as giants like Google, which procure content from players like us. The Groups feat on the ground and vast network enable it to produce a huge amount of original and credible local content, which is unique and not available to others, including these giants who are gradually agreeing to pay for content from the print industry. Jagran digital properties continue to rank amongst the top 10 (Source: Comscore Mar25) in the country in the news and information category despite stiff competition. The Groups endeavour to monetise content continues and it has brought some of its offerings under subscription but monetisation of content continues to be challenge .Accordingly, profitable growth is likely to take much longer than originally envisaged.

The Group has diversified from news to segments such as health, women, education, entertainment, and fact-checking in all three formats: text, audio, and video. With content, data, and technology at the core of the strategy, we continuously work to improve growth. Our strong partnerships with Google, Meta, JIO & Amazon will further strengthen our content discovery, distribution, and syndication arm. We leverage the power of social media influencers, including those from our newsrooms, to further the reach of our brand and content.

Internal control systems and their adequacy

Adequate internal controls have been implemented across all areas of operations. The roles and responsibilities of all managerial positions are established, monitored, and controlled regularly. All transactions are authorised, timely recorded, and reported truly and fairly.

To ensure adherence to the laid-down systems, in addition to internal reporting and monitoring, the Company has established a formal Internal Audit System commensurate with the size and nature of the business. Internal audits are conducted by one of the big four accounting firms, who periodically submit their reports to the audit committee. They also provide suggestions to the management for improvements in internal control, including IT systems, cost optimisation, and efficiency improvement. They are mandated to ensure compliances and report any non-compliances to the audit committee. Furthermore, they verify compliance with various applicable provisions of the law.

The Group is fully committed to continually strengthening its systems and processes wherever possible to achieve the highest degree of transparency, efficiency, and accuracy in reporting, monitoring, and decision-making. This commitment has been evident during the year also as part of an ongoing exercise.

The repeated recognition year after year by professional bodies of its capabilities in enterprise technology is a testament to the Companys focus on embracing and strengthening technology to enhance its controls and processes, ensuring optimum efficiency and transparency. This technological readiness has positioned the Company to meet unforeseen challenges.

Segment performance

The Company did not have any reportable segment other than print in accordance with the requirements of IndAS-108 - Rs.Operating Segment Reporting, notified under the Companies (Indian Accounting Standard) Rules, 2015.

Financial performance

The figures have been rounded off to nearest lakh of rupees.

(A) The Company (Standalone)

Profit and Loss:

REVENUE ANALYSIS

			(in lakhs- rounded off to nearest lakh)
	2024-25	Percentage (In relation to Revenue from Operations)	2023-24	Percentage (In relation to Revenue from Operations)
Revenue from Operations	158,984	100.00	164,067	100.00

Revenue from operations:

Advertisement revenue accounted for 74.2% (previous year 74.1%) and Circulation revenue 23.6% (previous year 23.6%) of the total print and digital revenue, digital being an integral part of the print business. Advertisement revenue de-grew by 5.6% and circulation revenue de-grew by 5.8%. Digital also degrew by 10.7%. Outdoor and Event businesses reported growth of 27% and 8% respectively. Overall de-growth in operating revenue was 3.1%.

For the view on industry and future expectations, please refer to the section Rs.Indian Economy, Rs.Indian Media & Entertainment (M&E) Industry, Rs.Print Industry and Risks and Concerns.

EXPENDITURE AND PROFIT ANALYSIS

	2024-25	Percentage (In relation to Revenue from Operations)	2023-24	Percentage (In relation to Revenue from Operations)
Cost of Raw Materials consumed	40,685	25.59%	47,024	28.66%
Employee Benefits	32,999	20.76%	31,023	18.91%
Expenditure towards CSR activities	629	0.40%	575	0.35%
Net impairment losses on financial assets	2,230	1.40%	2,346	1.43%
Other Expenses	54,815	34.48%	50,106	30.54%
Total	131,358	82.62%	131,074	79.89%
Operating Profit	27,626	17.38%	32,993	20.11%
Less: Depreciation and Amortisation	5,273	3.32%	5,332	3.25%
Less: Finance Costs	886	0.56%	1,628	0.99%
Add: Other Income	7,677	4.83%	6,507	3.97%
Less: Impairment of non-current assets	360	0.23%	-	-
Profit Before Tax (PBT)	28,784	18.10%	32,540	19.83%
Less: Taxation	7,672	4.83%	8,088	4.93%
Profit After Tax (PAT)	21,112	13.28%	24,452	14.90%

Cost of Raw Materials consumed

Cost of Raw Materials decreased by 13.5% primarily due to further softening of newsprint prices over the previous year. Raw Material comprises newsprint and ink.

Employee Benefit

Employee cost increased by 6.4% in spite of annual increments of 6-7% granted to employees as a result of continued exercise to optimise efficiency.

Expenditure towards CSR activities

Expenditure towards CSR activities increased by around 9% because 2% of three years average profit increased due to higher average profits in last three years. Please refer to the Board Report for the details.

Net impairment losses on financial assets

Provision for government debts was a major contributory in net impairment losses on financial assets as recovery in government generally takes longer time. Net impairment losses on financial assets decreased by around 5% primarily due to better collection resulting into lower provisions for bad and doubtful debts and lower write offs of old receivables as per the Companys policy.

The company continues to have legal recourse available to it to recover the written off amounts and continues to pursue the recovery, though outcome is below expectations.

Impairment of non- current assets

Impairment in investment of subsidiary company Midday has been accounted for during the year considering the continuing losses and decrease in value of investment made by the Company.

Other Expenses

Other expenses represent production, direct expenses relating to businesses other than print, administrative, selling and marketing expenses. Some of these like, direct expenses relating to other businesses viz. outdoor, event /activation and digital are variable, some like power and fuel and stores are semi variable and remaining expenses like promotion/ publicity, freight on newspaper distribution, communication cost and repairs are largely fixed in nature and do not change with the change in scale of operation unless the change in scale is material. Fixed expenses include expenses which are controllable in nature.

Management closely monitors these expenses and constantly endeavours to rationalise and even cut these expenses, if the circumstances warrant. However, while applying austerity measures, care is taken that long term business interest is not compromised.

Other expenses increased by over 9% primarily due to increase in direct expenses of Digital, Outdoor and Event businesses in line with the increase in scale of operations, increase in expenses of building and other repairing due to higher repairs, increase in promotion and publicity expenses due to higher promotional activities and increase in print led activity expenses due to increase in scale of print led activities which generated gross margin of about 20 - 25%.

Increase in direct expenses of Digital, Outdoor and Event business including activity expenses alone has contributed 7% increase in total increase of 9%.

We are continuously vigilant in controlling the costs without compromising with efficiency and business needs.

Operating Profit:

Operating profit decreased by over 16% due to lower government ad revenue because in previous year there were benefits of general election and state elections in some large states. Otherwise also, there was subdued business environment and other factors as discussed hereinabove.

Depreciation and Amortisation:

Depreciation is provided as per Companys policies as detailed in the financial statements. On most of the assets, depreciation is provided as per the written down value method, as against the straight line method adopted by the peers as the company believes this method represents a realistic pattern of consumption of these assets over their useful life. As a result, the depreciation charge to profit and loss remains significantly higher in the initial years but goes down with the passage of time and helps in difficult times such as these.

There is decrease of about 1% partly due to WDV method of depreciation and partly because there was no major capital expenditure incurred during the year.

Tax expenses decreased by about 5% as compared to the previous year as a result of decrease in profit before tax by over 11%.

Finance Cost has decreased by over 45% mainly due to full and final redemption of remaining NCDs of Rs.75 crores at the beginning of the year out of the total NCDs of Rs.250 crores which were issued in April 2020 to create liquidity buffer to meet any contingent fund requirement emerging from pandemic. Interest and finance charges on lease liabilities also decreased substantially. This cost mainly includes the interest expense incurred on the interest and finance charges on lease liabilities and interest expense on security deposits/others.

Other Income:

Other income increased by about 18% mainly due to increase in interest income on fixed deposits and increase in net gain on financial assets mandatorily measured at fair value through profit or loss. This primarily comprises treasury income, miscellaneous income and profit on sale of assets.

Profit after Tax

Profit after Tax decreased by 14% as a result of above.

(ii) Balance Sheet

		(Rs. Lakh)
	2024-25	2023-24
Total Equity	170,273	160,318
Total Non-current Liabilities	16,582	15,618
Total Current Liabilities	35,948	45,543
Total Equity and Liabilities:	222,803	221,479
Total Non-current Assets	103,532	126,284
Total Current Assets	119,271	95,195
Total Assets:	222,803	221,479

In order to improve return on capital, the Groups strategy is two fold. It strives to continually improve profits as well as return on assets on the one hand and on the other hand it returns the surplus cash to the shareholders without compromising business needs .

Total Equity comprises of Equity Capital, Reserves, Retained earnings and Equity component i.e. the contribution from the promoter company in form of interest rate concession on the non-convertible debentures subscribed by it in the past. Retained Earnings have changed due to the profit for the year.

Total Non-current Liabilities represent leave encashment obligations, gratuity, lease liabilities and deferred tax liabilities. Lease liabilities represent future rent payable in respect of long term rented properties occupied for offices etc. Lease liability increased nominally due to higher running leased properties. Liability for employees benefit obligations increased due to higher leave obligations. Deferred tax liability increased due to higher difference between book income and tax income.

These liabilities increased as a result of above.

Total Current Liabilities represent short term borrowings, trade payables, other current liabilities including current tax liability, employee benefit obligations, lease liabilities and financial liabilities. Trade payables and other liabilities mainly represent the liability for material, unpaid expenses, interest accrued but not due and security deposits from newspaper agents and statutory liabilities, such as deduction of provident fund from the employees and TDS. The Company has been regular in depositing statutory dues as well as paying its other liabilities on due dates.

These liabilities decreased mainly due to full and final redemption of remaining NCDs of Rs.75 crores at the beginning of the year out of the total NCDs of Rs.250 crores as explained herein above and also due to increase in advance from customers. Higher other current liabilities are due to higher advance from customers. Higher other financial liabilities are due to employees benefits payable.

Total Non-current Assets comprise fixed assets, Goodwill, Right of use assets, investments with maturity exceeding one year, investment in subsidiaries and associates, investment properties, security deposits and other current assets realisable / expected to be realised after one year. Total value of these assets was lower than last year as investments maturing within a year were transferred to current assets. In the current year, there was no significant addition to fixed assets.

‘Right-of-use assets represents the present value of rented properties accounted for in accordance with Ind AS 116 applicable with effect from 1^st April 2020. The present value is discounted value of rent payable till expiry of lease taking into consideration the interim increases if any. Please refer to the discussions on lease liabilities as well.

Total Current Assets represent investments with maturity of less than one year, trade receivables, financial assets including insurance claim receivable, unbilled revenue and inventories besides short term advances, current assets and cash and bank balances. Total value of these assets was higher than the last year. Inventories increased due to higher stock of newsprint as the price has come down to a reasonable level. Increase in current investment was primarily due to shifting of investments maturing within a year from non-current to current assets and also investment of surplus funds for short term. Decrease in trade receivable and other current assets is due to improved recovery of receivables. Decrease in bank balances is due to investment in other than bank FDRs, maturing within a period of one year. Increase in other financial assets was due to higher unbilled revenue in case of advertisement and outdoor revenues.

Increased efforts and focus on recovery helped recover significant amount of old debts resulting in lower provisions for bad and doubtful debts and trade receivables. Payments from government specially state governments and their departments continue to be delayed.

(B) CONSOLIDATED (i) Profit and Loss:

	(in lakhs- rounded off to nearest lakh)
	2024-25	Percentage (In relation to Revenue from Operations)	2023-24	Percentage (In relation to Revenue from Operations)
Revenue from Operations	188,813	100.00%	193,391	100.00%
Operating Cost	159,750	84.61%	156,596	80.97%
Operating Profit	29,063	15.39%	36,795	19.03%
Less: Depreciation and Amortisation	10,783	5.71%	11,136	5.76%
Less: Finance Costs	2,145	1.14%	2,759	1.43%
Add: Other Income	10,532	5.58%	9,004	4.66%
Add: Share of net profit of associates accounted for using the equity method	29	0.02%	46	0.02%
Less: Impairment of non-current assets in subsidiaries	13,035	6.90%	9,662	5.00%
Profit Before Tax	13,661	7.24%	22,288	11.52%
Less: Taxation	4,268	2.26%	5,796	3.00%
Profit After Tax (PAT)	9,393	4.98%	16,492	8.53%
Add: Share of Minority Interests in Profits / (Losses)	3,702	1.96%	1,879	0.97%
Less: Other comprehensive income	317	0.17%	284	0.15%
Total Comprehensive Income to Owners	12,778	6.77%	18,087	9.35%

(ii) Balance Sheet

	( in lakhs rounded off to nearest lakh)
	2024-25	2023-24
Total Equity	207,448	209,255
Total Non-current Liabilities	14,630	24,262
Total Current Liabilities	51,338	51,570
Total Equity and Liabilities:	273,416	285,087
Total Non-current Assets	124,030	167,499
Total Current Assets	149,386	117,588
Total Assets:	273,416	285,087

(iii) Consolidated cash flow statement

The summary of cash flows is as follows:

	(in lakhs rounded off to nearest lakh)
	2024-25	2023-24
(A) Net Cash Surplus/(Deficit) from operating activities	22,394	29,687
(B) Net Cash Surplus / (Deficit) from investing activities	(1,374)	2,849
(C) Net Cash Surplus/(Deficit) from financing activities	(22,197)	(30,719)
(D) Net Surplus/(Deficit) (other than surplus generated from operating activities) (B) + (C)	(23,571)	(27,870)
(E) Net Increase/(Decrease) in cash and cash equivalent (A) + (D)	(1,177)	1,817

Net cash surplus from operating activities was lower than the previous year by over 24% in line with decrease in profits. Company has utilized Rs.7500 lakhs in repayment of NCDs.

Please refer to the section titled as "the Company, its Subsidiaries and Associates" of this Chapter that lists out the entities that have been considered while compiling the consolidated financial statements and define the relationship of each entity with the Company.

In this Section, percentages have been rounded off to nearest number.

Consolidated Profit and Loss

1) The contribution of subsidiaries Music Broadcast Limited and Midday Infomedia Limited in revenue, operating profit, profit before tax and profit after tax of the Group was as follows:-

	Music Broadcast Ltd. (%)		Midday Infomedia Ltd. (%)
	2024-25	2023-24	2024-25	2023-24
(i) Revenue	13	12	3	3
(ii) Operating profit	4	9	0.1	1
(iii) Profit before tax	(-)30	6	(-)1.1	0.5
(iv) Profit after tax	(-)36	4	(-)1.8	0.4

Note: The above figures are without eliminating intra group transaction which is insignificant and will not materially change the same.

2) Please refer to section titled "the Company, its Subsidiaries and Associates" for the discussions on performance of subsidiaries and associates.

Consolidated Balance Sheet

1. Decrease in Total Equity is on account of decrease in non-controlling interest and retained earnings during the year.

2. Total Non-current Liabilities decreased mainly due to shifting of liability for redemption premium to be paid on NCPRS issued by MBL to current liabilities. Lease liability increased due to higher running leased properties. Liability for employees benefit obligations increased due to higher leave obligations.

3. Total Current Liabilities are almost flat inspite of increase in borrowing due to shifting of liability for redemption premium to be paid on NCPRS issued by MBL from non-current liabilities which have been partially compensated by full and final repayment of remaining portion of the NCDs as discussed above and also decrease in trade payables. Advance from customers and CSR expense payable increased during the year.

4. Total Non-current Assets have decreased because investments maturing within a year were transferred to current assets. In the current year, there was no significant addition to fixed assets.

Total Non-current Assets also include goodwill of Rs.33809 lakhs which has arisen mainly on consolidation and relates to the acquisition of Naidunia print business in the year 2011-12 and radio business in the year 2015-16. In addition to goodwill, there are other intangible assets as well. These intangible assets are computer software, brand, migration fees relating to radio business and part of consideration paid for acquisition of radio business that has been allocated to radio licences while consolidating the accounts. These intangible assets are being amortised on the basis of their useful lives.

5. Total Current Assets have increased primarily due to increase in current investments and inventories in spite of decrease in trade receivables, bank balances and other current assets.

Consolidated Cash Flow Statement

In continuation of the previous year, there was healthy cash generation from operations in spite of lower profits primarily due to continued efforts to bring in efficiency in working capital management. The Company is generating cash profits and has liquidity of over Rs.1200 crores including unutilized working capital limit as at 31^st March 2025 which is sufficient to pursue organic and inorganic growth opportunities and meet contingency, if any.

Calculation of Ratios of Standalone financials for the year ending March 31, 2025

Standalone:

S. no. Ratios	March 31, 2025	March 31, 2024	Reason for variation of more than 25%
	Ratio	Ratio
1. Debtors turnover ratio	4.31	4.38	-
2. Inventory turnover	8.47	7.52	-
3. Interest coverage ratio	30.78	20.26	Current year ratio is higher due to lower interest
4. Current ratio	3.32	2.09	Current year ratio is higher due to decrease in current liabilities
5. Debt-Equity ratio	0	0.04	Current year ratio is lower due to decrease in borrowing on account of redemption of NCDs
6. Operating Profit Margin%	17.38	20.11	-
7. Net Profit Margin %	12.67	14.34	-
8. Return on net worth %	12.40	15.25	-

Calculation of Ratios of Consolidated financials for the year ending March 31, 2025

Consolidated:

S. no. Ratios	March 31, 2025	March 31, 2024
	Ratio	Ratio	Reason for variation of more than 25%
1. Debtors turnover ratio	4.04	4.11	-
2. Inventory turnover	8.28	7.16	-
3. Interest coverage ratio	13.56	13.35	-
4. Current ratio	2.91	2.28	Current year ratio is higher due to increase in current assets during the year
5.. Debt-Equity ratio	0.06	0.09	Current year ratio is lower due to decrease in borrowing on account of redemption of NCDs
6. Operating Profit Margin %	15.41	19.05	Current year margin% is lower due to higher net impairment losses on financial assets in subsidiary MBL and lower revenues
7. Net Profit Margin %	4.71	8.15	Current year margin% is lower due to higher net impairment losses on financial assets in subsidiary MBL as well as higher impairment of non-current assets in subsidiaries and lower revenues
8. Return on net worth %	4.53	7.88	Current year return on net worth% is lower due to lower profits as a result of above.

Material development in Human Resources

Relationship with employees was cordial. Their contribution and commitment is commendable.

The Group continuously works to provide work environment that encourages free expression of opinion, decision making and responsible execution of the task and is committed to do so even in future.

There were 4852 permanent employees in the Company as on March 31, 2025 as against 4780 as on March 31, 2024.