Minerva Capital Research Solutions

Century Business Media

ListedListed 21 Sep 2026BSE SMENSE: CENTURYOOHCheck allotment
Current price₹ 51.01−31.07% since issue
Listing day0%
Issue price
₹ 74
Issue size
₹ 17.11 Cr.
Min. investment
₹ 1,18,400
Listing price
₹ 74
Subscribed
53.92x
Lot size
1,600 shares
RoNW
37.74%
RoCE
36.65%
PAT margin
12.84%
Promoter stake
73.61%

About

Century Business Media Limited was started in 1999. It works in out-of-home advertising, usually called OOH, which means advertising displayed in public places rather than on television or online. It handles both digital screens and ordinary printed hoardings. Its main areas are airport advertising and railway advertising. At airports it sells advertising space both inside and outside terminal buildings. On the railways it puts up digital and static hoardings at stations and on railway land. The company works mainly in Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and the North Eastern states, and also serves clients across India through a mix of exclusive and non-exclusive media rights. It holds exclusive advertising rights at Patna, Ranchi, Deoghar, Darbhanga and Jorhat airports, non-exclusive rights at Dimapur and Itanagar airports, and marketing rights at Gaya, Agartala and Silchar airports. On the railway side it holds exclusive advertising rights outside station campuses in the East Central Railway zone, covering the Danapur, Dhanbad, Mughalsarai, Samastipur and Sonepur divisions, which together take in 714 railway stations. It also holds advertising rights on platform screen doors at Howrah and Esplanade metro stations, and runs a store and workshop at Sinha Library Road in Patna for storing its material and equipment.

Timeline

  1. Opens
    11 Sep
    done
  2. Closes
    16 Sep
    done
  3. Allotment
    17 Sep
    done
  4. Refunds
    18 Sep
    done
  5. Demat credit
    18 Sep
    done
  6. Listing
    21 Sep
    done

Subscription

How many times each investor group bid for its share, as of 21 Sep 2026, 06:30 PM IST.

How much to apply for

The smallest and largest bids for each kind of investor at the upper price band.

Lots and amounts by investor type
Retail (Min)11,600₹ 1,18,400
Retail (Max)11,600₹ 1,18,400
HNI (Min)23,200₹ 2,36,800

Company overview

Financials

Financials by year
Assets22.3721.2414.97
Total Income36.9132.2722.74
Profit After Tax4.73.681.08
EBITDA7.185.582.07
NET Worth12.477.764.07
Reserves and Surplus6.026.953.26
Total Borrowing5.58.15.78

Strengths

  • Profit has grown more than four times in two years, from Rs 1.08 crore in FY2023 to Rs 3.68 crore in FY2024 and Rs 4.70 crore in FY2025.
  • Sales have grown steadily, from Rs 22.74 crore in FY2023 to Rs 32.27 crore in FY2024 and Rs 36.91 crore in FY2025.
  • EBITDA more than tripled over the same period, from Rs 2.07 crore to Rs 7.18 crore.
  • Return ratios are strong, with RoCE of 36.65% and RoNW of 37.74%, and a PAT margin of 12.84%.
  • Exclusive advertising rights at five airports and across 714 railway stations in the East Central Railway zone are hard for a competitor to take away while the contracts run.
  • The railway reach is very large at 714 stations, which gives advertisers a spread that few regional players can offer.
  • It has a long record of more than 25 years in this business, having started in 1999.
  • Borrowing came down from Rs 8.10 crore in FY2024 to Rs 5.50 crore in FY2025 while net worth rose to Rs 12.47 crore.

Risks

  • The whole business rests on advertising rights that are granted for a period and then come up for renewal. Losing an airport or railway contract removes that revenue outright, and these rights are won through tenders against larger national OOH companies.
  • The P/E and EPS are not stated in the data available to us, so the issue cannot be compared with peers on earnings from here.
  • The financial data is old for an issue opening in September 2026. The latest year given is FY2025, ending 31 March 2025.
  • The business is concentrated in Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and the North East, so it depends on advertising demand in one part of the country.
  • This is a small company, with a net worth of only Rs 12.47 crore as on 31 March 2025.
  • Advertising spending is discretionary. It is among the first budgets companies cut when business conditions weaken.
  • Winning and holding rights needs security deposits paid upfront. Rs 3.10 crore of the issue money goes into deposits for the Patna, Deoghar and Darbhanga airport rights alone.
  • Promoter holding will come down from 100% to 73.61% after the issue.
  • This is an SME issue. One lot is 1,600 shares, which is about Rs 1.18 lakh at the upper band of Rs 74, and SME shares usually trade in low volume after listing.

What the money is for

Objects of the issue
Funding Capital Expenditure towards Purchase of Media Assets2.94
Payment of Security Deposit for advertising rights at Patna, Deoghar and Darbhanga Airport3.1
Repayment of certain borrowing availed by the Company1.5
General Corporate Purpose3

Promoters

  • Shashi Kumar Chaudhary
  • Seema Chaudhary
  • Sangita Dokania
  • Shreya Chaudhary
Promoter holding100%→73.61%before → after the issue · down 26.39 points

Registrar, lead managers and documents

Listing on
BSE SME
Face value
₹ 10 a share
Registrar
KFin Technologies Limited
Lead managers
Hem Securities Ltd.
Basis of allotment
Open

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Our recommendations are research opinions, not investment advice. Read the offer document (RHP) and consult your financial adviser before investing.