NDTV Q4 results: Adani firm posts 97.5% decline in net profit at Rs 59 lakh on weak ad demand

Gautam Adani-owned New Delhi Television Ltd (NDTV) on Monday reported 97.5% fall in net profit (attribute to owners) at Rs 59 lakh for the quarter ending March 31, 2023 due to weak advertising demand. It reported net profit of Rs 24.16 crore in the year-ago period. 

The media firm's revenue from operations declined 35.5% to Rs 67 crore in Q4FY23 as against Rs 104 crore in the year-ago period due to a "slowdown in global advertisement spend", the media company said.

On Friday, NDTV's scrip on BSE closed 4.7% higher at Rs 190.

Ports-to-power conglomerate Adani Group holds an about 64.7% stake in NDTV through RRPR Holding and Vishvapradhan Commercial after a contentious battle last year.

Last year, Adani Group gained full control of NDTV after it acquired most of founders' (Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy) stake at a premium of almost 17% over the rate it paid to minority shareholders of the firm.

Adani Group first acquired Vishvapradhan Commercial Private Limited, a little-known company that had given Rs 403 crore of an interest-free loan to RRPR Holdings in 2009-10 in exchange for warrants that allowed it to buy a stake in the newsgroup at any time. 

Total expenses rose 5.9%, driven by production and services costs.

NDTV and other Adani Group-owned companies have seen their share prices take a beating since US short-seller Hindenburg Research on January 24 raised concerns about the conglomerate's debt levels and use of tax havens. Adani Group has denied the allegations.

Shares of NDTV have fallen about 33% since then, while the Nifty Media index has declined 9.69% during the same period.

Last month, rival TV18 Broadcast Ltd, owned by Reliance Industries Ltd, also reported a slump in quarterly profit, citing lower-than-expected advertising revenue.