Deccan Chronicle Holdings Ltd has posted a loss of Rs 4.76 crore for the quarter ended September 30 against a loss of Rs 100 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.
The Hyderabad-based media publishing house has posted a big fall in its income for the September quarter at Rs 81.57 crore against Rs 149.16 crore for the corresponding period last year.
The promoters’ shareholding has come down from 73.93 per cent as of March 31, 2012, to 38.4 per cent as on September 30, 2012, and further to 32.66 per cent as of September 30, 2013, as a result of lenders invoking the pledge of shares made by the promoters as collateral security of the financial assistance provided to the company.
The promoters of DCHL have disputed the invocation of the pledge and appropriation of the value by the lenders, the company informed BSE.
The company stated the revenue and expenditure have come down during the quarter compared with the previous quarters and the corresponding quarters of the previous year because of scaling down of operations of retail business, loss of IPL franchisee and the general economic slowdown in the country, more particularly in Andhra Pradesh.
The company is faced with several suits from lenders, including winding up petitions and investigations.
Auditors’ observations
The auditors C.B. Mouli and Associates, however, raised certain issues that dogged the media group. “It has not accounted for interest, damages, costs and other charges on the borrowings for the quarter. It has not provided for interest and other financial costs amounting to Rs 130 crore on simple interest basis,” they pointed out in the limited review report.
They also said that they were not able to comment on the financial impact of the host of legal issues in the absence of full information and documents from the management.