Saregama will give solid gains

The Indian media and entertainment industry is a sunrise sector for the economy and is making high growth strides. Proving its resilience to the world, the Indian media and entertainment industry is on the cusp of a strong phase of growth, backed by rising consumer demand and improving advertising revenues. The industry has been largely driven by increasing digitisation and higher internet usage over the last decade. Internet has almost become a mainstream media for entertainment for most of the people. The Indian advertising industry is projected to be the second fastest growing advertising market in Asia after China. The Indian media and entertainment sector is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 14% to reach US$37 billion by 2021, outshining the global average of 4.2%. The industry also provides direct and indirect employment to around 4 million people. Over the next few years, radio is expected to grow at a CAGR of 16%, while digital advertising should grow at 30%. The largest segment, India’s television industry is expected to grow at a CAGR of 15%, while print media is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7%. India is one of the highest spending and fastest growing advertising markets globally. The country’s expenditure on advertising is expected to grow at 12% to Rs 68,334 crore by the end of 2018, while mobile advertisement spending is estimated to grow to Rs 10,000 crore. Government of India has supported the media and entertainment industry’s growth by taking various initiatives such as digitising the cable distribution sector to attract greater institutional funding, increasing FDI limit from 74% to 100% in cable and DTH satellite platforms, and granting industry status to the film industry for easy access to institutional finance. Growth is expected in the retail advertisement segment on the back of factors such as several big multinational players entering the food and beverages industry, e-commerce gaining more popularity in the country and domestic companies like Patanjali sweeping the rural market. In the media and entertainment space, Saregama India Ltd has created a niche market for itself. It is the country’s oldest music label, youngest film studio and a multi-language TV content producer. In 1902, Saregama released India’s first ever studio recorded song and has become the largest in perpetuity global owner of both sound recording and publishing copyright of Indian music across 14 different languages. The company over the years has expanded its portfolio to include intellectual property rights of over 4,000 hours of TV content. The company launched
a unique product in 2017 called the Saregama Carvaan, which is a portable digital music player with in-built stereo speakers and comes with 5,000 evergreen Hindi film songs. In less than a year from its launch, the Carvaan has seen unprecedented sales, making it a flagship product for Saregama. The financial results for FY 2017-18 have been the best ever for the company and it expects further upside in revenue and margins going forward. The stock price of Saregama currently quoting at Rs 725 is a good investment buy for one year, with a 30% price appreciation. Investors can accumulate this debt free company for solid gains.