Radio City returned to profit as costs fell 20% in Q2FY27

Radio City returned to an operating profit of Rs 6.15 crore in the second quarter of financial year 2027 (Q2FY27), from a Rs 5.49 crore operating loss in Q2FY26, as revenue rose 8% to Rs 40.96 crore and expenses fell 20% to Rs 34.81 crore. The shift lifted operating margin to 15.00% from negative 14.51%.

How did Radio City return to operating profit in Q2FY27?

Radio City returned to operating profitability because a Rs 3.12 crore year-on-year revenue increase was accompanied by an Rs 8.52 crore reduction in expenses. Operating revenue rose from Rs 37.84 crore in Q2FY26 to Rs 40.96 crore in Q2FY27, while expenses declined from Rs 43.33 crore to Rs 34.81 crore. This changed the prior-year operating loss into an operating profit of Rs 6.15 crore.

Management attributed the profitability improvement to strategic cost-rationalisation initiatives and operational-efficiency measures. Radio City's operating margin increased by 29.51 percentage points, moving from negative 14.51% in Q2FY26 to 15.00% in Q2FY27. The business had also reported an operating profit in Q1FY27, when it generated Rs 44.54 crore of revenue and Rs 8.92 crore of operating profit.

What changed in Radio City's revenue and cost base?

Radio City's operating revenue grew 8% year on year in Q2FY27 despite the entire festive season shifting to Q3FY27, according to management. Revenue of Rs 40.96 crore was Rs 3.12 crore higher than Q2FY26 revenue of Rs 37.84 crore, but Rs 3.58 crore below Q1FY27 revenue of Rs 44.54 crore. The business therefore recorded annual revenue growth while its revenue moderated sequentially.

Expenses were Rs 34.81 crore in Q2FY27, compared with Rs 43.33 crore a year earlier and Rs 35.62 crore in Q1FY27. The operating-performance page rounds the quarterly expense figures to Rs 35 crore and Rs 43 crore and describes the annual reduction as 20%. The detailed figures show that the Rs 8.52 crore fall in expenses exceeded the Rs 3.12 crore increase in revenue during the year-on-year operating-profit swing.

Below the operating line, Radio City reported Rs 7.47 crore of other income, Rs 4.06 crore of depreciation and amortisation, and Rs 0.62 crore of interest expense in Q2FY27. Profit before tax was Rs 8.94 crore, compared with a Rs 8.76 crore loss before tax in Q2FY26. Profit after tax was Rs 6.68 crore, reversing a Rs 6.88 crore loss in the earlier quarter.

How did Radio City compare with the group's other businesses?

Radio City was one of two businesses in the operating-margin breakdown to improve from an operating loss to an operating profit year on year in Q2FY27. Digital (Print) moved to an operating profit of Rs 1.16 crore from a Rs 2.90 crore loss, while Radio City moved to Rs 6.15 crore from a Rs 5.49 crore loss. Dainik Jagran, by comparison, reported operating profit of Rs 50.17 crore, down from Rs 68.87 crore.

Radio City's 15.00% operating margin was below Dainik Jagran's 16.09% in Q2FY27, but above Digital (Print)'s 4.33% and Outdoor and Event's 2.70%. Other Publications recorded a negative operating margin of 3.87%. Management linked lower profitability in the print business to higher newsprint prices amid supply-chain disruptions, while Radio City cited cost rationalisation and operational efficiency.

The group reported consolidated operating revenue of Rs 493.44 crore in Q2FY27, up 6% from Rs 467.36 crore in Q2FY26, but operating profit fell 14% to Rs 57.32 crore. Consolidated operating margin declined to 11.62% from 14.25%. Radio City's improvement therefore occurred during a quarter in which group-level operating profitability declined.

What did Radio City's market-share measures show?

Radio City held a 19% market share in Q2FY27, based on Aircheck data covering 15 markets. Its share of the top 25 radio spenders increased to 21.5% from 16.3%, a gain of 5.2 percentage points. Management said the higher share demonstrated deeper strategic partnerships with those advertisers.

The increase in the top-25 spender share coincided with Radio City's 8% year-on-year operating-revenue growth, despite management's disclosure that the festive season moved fully to Q3FY27. The presentation does not provide a city-level revenue split, advertising pricing data or the absolute spending of the top 25 advertisers. It therefore identifies a higher measured share but does not quantify its contribution to the Rs 3.12 crore revenue increase.

Radio City's profit after tax of Rs 6.68 crore in Q2FY27 was below the Rs 9.22 crore reported in Q1FY27, alongside the sequential revenue decline from Rs 44.54 crore to Rs 40.96 crore. It remained profitable at both operating and net levels, unlike Q2FY26, when Radio City recorded an operating loss of Rs 5.49 crore and a profit-after-tax loss of Rs 6.88 crore.

Conclusion

Radio City's Q2FY27 result combined 8% year-on-year revenue growth with a 20% reduction in expenses, reversing a Rs 5.49 crore operating loss into a Rs 6.15 crore profit. Its 15.00% operating margin, 19% market share and 21.5% share of the top 25 radio spenders show that the cost programme and advertiser-account measures coincided with the quarterly turnaround.

The next disclosed factor to watch is the festive season, which management said shifted entirely to Q3FY27. That quarter will indicate whether Radio City can translate the seasonal timing into revenue growth while maintaining cost discipline after operating profit declined sequentially from Rs 8.92 crore in Q1FY27 to Rs 6.15 crore in Q2FY27.