MUMBAI: A slowdown in revenue growth has crimped TV Today Network's net profit in FY'09. For a company conscious of shoring up profitability at the cost of expansion for turnover growth, a 23 per cent fall is surely a setback.

While the company's revenue grew at a steady clip over the last few years, it was unable to sustain the momentum in FY'09. Used to over 20 per cent growth over the last few years, TV Today posted a revenue growth of just 9 per cent in FY'09 amid a slump in the advertising spend among companies.

Total income stood at Rs 2.74 billion in FY'09, compared to Rs 2.51 billion a year ago. Expenses grew at the same rate as the last few years, from Rs 1.68 billion in FY'08 to Rs 2.05 billion in FY'09.

The chart below shows the company's performance over the last few years.

31-Mar-09

31-Mar-08

31-Mar-07

31-Mar-06

Total Income (Rs millions)

2,741.98

2,514.20

2,024.40

1,678.90

YOY growth%

9.06

24.19

20.58

Expenditure (Rs millions)

2,059.02

1,685.10

1,372.00

1,075.20

YOY growth%

22.19

22.82

27.60

Net Profit (Rs millions)

335.5

435.5

310.9

277.7

YOY growth%

-23.0

40.1

12.0

An average performance by TV Today in the last two quarters of FY'09, as compared to the corresponding quarters of FY'08, has helped worsen matters.

The graph below shows the total income of the company across all quarters of FY'08 and FY'09. The dip in revenue towards the end of the year is evident from this.

The drop in profit is indicated in the graph below.

TV Today had incidentally lowered its expenses in the last quarter, perhaps in anticipation of tough times. The expenditure over the quarters is shown below.

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Expenditure

551.69

588.9

579.24

531.8

TV Today has kept its expansion plans on hold, waiting for better market conditions. Till then, it will have to weather the rough weather.