CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE

Dear Shareholders, I believe, a positive Zidd is the most significant attribute that determines success. At DBCL, Zidd is our clarion call; the resilience, the determination, the strength to change and be at the helm of change. Our Zidd has driven us to become India’s largest Newspaper Group. To celebrate this spirit of Zidd, we launched our corporate campaign – ‘Zidd Karo, Duniya Badlo’ on 27th March, 2016 which elucidates how positive persistence can change the world around us.

Over the years, our Zidd to provide value to our readers and stakeholders has led us to propel circulation, expand our presence to newer geographies, provide an enriching reading experience, and strengthen operations thereby making our business profitable.

Dainik Bhaskar is India’s largest circulated daily (Source: ABC JD’15) and the 4th largest newspaper in the world (Source: WAN IFRA World Press Trends 2015). DBCL has a AAA rating by CARE (One of India’s leading credit rating agency) during March ’16. This reflects the Company’s leadership position, the lowest financial risk profile and highly efficient operational strengths. The Group was also awarded with 64 national and international awards under various categories.

During FY16, the Indian economy continued to restore its macroeconomic stability with pro-reform policy initiatives, low interest rates, decline in fiscal deficit and moderate inflation. The country is growing as a consumer economy and both urban as well as rural markets offer a humongous growth potential. As per FICCI KPMG – 2016, the major factor that has driven the growth of Hindi and vernacular print publication is the high GDP growth rate of Hindi speaking states as against the national growth rates. Rising aspirations, growing disposable income and supportive government policies have helped create an overall macro picture of positivity.

Growing income levels and transforming demographics have spurred the spending power in Tier-II

and Tier-III cities of India. Besides, rising literacy levels is intensifying the quest for knowledge, thereby helping media gain prominence in every pocket of India. Advertising spend as a percentage of GDP for India is comparatively very low than the other developed countries, providing an opportunity for the media industry in India to grow. At DBCL, we are leveraging this growing opportunity with rigour.

Though the scenario is favourable for the Indian media industry, there are challenges to be tackled. Moderate growth and high inflation could impact the advertising revenues of companies like us, thereby affecting our overall growth. The digital platforms are gaining appeal and consumption of news on this medium is gaining ground rapidly. We are operating in a highly competitive environment that is subject to innovations, changes and varying levels of resources available to each player for their businesses.

However, at DBCL, we are geared to combat these challenges by adopting a three-pronged strategy focussing aggressively on editorial, circulation and Advertising Yield. This is a testament of our Zidd to sustain leadership position in this challenging environment.

We consign to a strong editorial strategy in our newspaper. Our Zidd is to help

14 ANNUAL REPORT 2015-16

AT AROUND MORE THAN USD 1 BN, DBCL HAS THE HIGHEST MARKET CAP AMONGST LISTED PRINT MEDIA COMPANIES IN INDIA.

DAINIK BHASKAR IS INDIA’S LARGEST CIRCULATED DAILY AND THE 4TH LARGEST NEWSPAPER IN THE WORLD. THE GROUP WAS ALSO AWARDED WITH 64 NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL AWARDS UNDER VARIOUS CATEGORIES.

Chairman’s Message

enhance the knowledge of our readers by offering a wholesome product relevant to various target groups. ‘Kendra Mein Pathak’ (Reader at the Core) is our unwavering commitment and guiding editorial philosophy. In line with this editorial policy, we have undertaken several unique initiatives like ‘No Negative Monday’ and ‘Content Jacket on Sunday’. ‘No Negative Monday’ is one of the most awarded campaigns with 21 awards.

During the year, the circulation revenue grew by 16% to ` 4,356 Mn for FY 2015-16 as compared to ` 3,755 Mn for FY 2014-15. During the last 5 years, the circulation revenues have doubled from ` 2,144 Mn in FY 2010-11 to ` 4,356 Mn in FY 2015-16, which is largely driven by yield growth.

Our reader-engagement drives like ‘Jeeto 10 Crore’, ‘Magazine in Education’ and ‘Junior Editor’ helped us increase our readership base. Our high-quality content and enriched product continue to create strong affinity with readers, leading to growth in circulation, despite increase in newspaper cover price.

Monetisation of our brand strength was a crucial agenda undertaken in FY16. We emphasised on ‘Right Price’. Our aggressive direct selling techniques enabled our sales teams to drive the agenda efficiently. Our comparative circulation strength vis-a-vis competition gave us an opportunity to improve advertising yields. We identified yield improvement centres in each state and drove this through monitoring and control. We focused on driving knowledge-led agendas for readers as well as advertisers which helped us build brand loyalty and deeper relationships in the marketplace.

We continued to maintain a strong focus on ensuring efficiencies on the operating side. We reduced newsprint consumption, developed more sources for ink and plates for competitive pricing, consolidated our vendor base to cater to different geographical needs of respective units.

Our growth strategy has focused on expanding the ‘Dainik Bhaskar’ brand in new regions; markets that demonstrate higher economic potential and growth rate than India’s GDP. During FY 2013-14, we forayed into Bihar and within a year, we have emerged as a strong player enjoying reader appreciation. Dainik Bhaskar now has presence in Patna, Bhagalpur, Gaya and Muzaffarpur in Bihar. Our strong hold in Bihar coupled with our editions in Jharkhand offer complete ‘Bihar and Jharkhand’ geography to an advertiser.

We recently launched DB Post, English daily, in Bhopal. This was a natural extension of our leadership in the region and a strategy to leverage an untapped local segment.

We also strengthened our radio business and acquired 13 new radio frequencies in the Phase III auctions, totalling to overall 30 stations. Today, 94.3 MY FM is the fastest growing radio network in India.

We envisioned that Hindi had a huge opportunity when it came to making a mark on the digital platform and went against the popular notion that digital was a medium best served in English. DB Digital is driven by the philosophy to be a content differentiator offering a real–time bouquet of hyper-localised news. This Zidd has led to dainikbhaskar.com to emerge as the No. 1 Hindi news website and No. 2 website across all news websites in India. DB Digital portals reached 1.2 bn page views and 34 mn unique visitors in March ‘16 along with more than 6 mn app downloads.

WE SIGNED AN AGREEMENT WITH DALE CARNEGIE UNIVERSITY TO TRAIN ~3000+ JOURNALISTS ENSURING OUR RESOURCES ARE ALIGNED WITH THE EDITORIAL PHILOSOPHY AND GUIDELINES.

DURING THE LAST 5 YEARS, THE CIRCULATION REVENUES HAVE DOUBLED FROM ` 2,144 MN IN FY 2010-11 TO ` 4,356 MN IN FY 2015-16, WHICH IS LARGELY DRIVEN BY YIELD GROWTH.

MY FM ACQUIRED 13 NEW RADIO FREQUENCIES IN THE PHASE III AUCTIONS, TOTALLING TO OVERALL 30 STATIONS.

At DBCL, people are the driving force behind the success of our strategic initiatives. It’s the commitment, skill-set and innovative approach of the people, helping us move forward with resilience. We imbibed a significant focus on capability development and career progression for our employees. We also introduced some trendsetting policies for our employees such as Shubh Laxmi, Saubhagyawati Bhav, Sparsh, Special Leaves, Parents and In-laws Mediclaim Policy and Ek Din Bhaskar Mein.

Going forward, we will further strengthen our content strategy and deepen penetration in our markets. Besides print, we will continue to invest in our presence across radio and digital platforms, which are a core part of our overall growth strategy. With the rising demand for Indian language-specific content, we are well poised to leverage our competitive advantage and demonstrate stronger performance in the coming year.

At DBCL, we are committed to drive a positive change in the society through our extensive presence. We addressed some of the persistent challenges in the areas of education, environment and community development through our CSR initiatives.

I would like to convey my gratitude to all our employees and business associates for their contribution towards the Company’s success. I also take this opportunity to thank all stakeholders for their co-operation and support. Going forward, as we continue to progress in line with Zidd Karo, Duniya Badlo philosophy, I look forward to working together to create high stakeholder value across all aspects of our business and social commitments.

With warm regards,

Ramesh Chandra Agarwal

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DB DIGITAL PORTALS REACHED 1.2 BN PAGE VIEWS AND 34 MN UNIQUE VISITORS IN MARCH ‘16 ALONG WITH MORE THAN 6 MN APP DOWNLOADS. (Source: Google Analytics)