HT MEDIA Q1 STANDALONE NET PROFIT UP AT ₹39 CRORE

HT Media Ltd (HTML), the publisher of the Hindustan Times and Mint newspapers, on Friday said standalone net profit rose 2.1% to ₹39.3 crore rose for the three months ended June 30, 2016, compared to ₹38.4 crore in the same month of the previous fiscal, mainly due to higher EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) being offset by higher amortisation and interest costs with respect to new radio stations. The company posted a 25% increase in revenue from the digital segment to ₹38.2 crore during the quarter, against ₹30.6 crore in the same quarter last year.

“The first quarter of this year started on a cautious note with tepid topline growth. Macroeconomic concerns translated into restricted spends by large advertisers and affected our English Print business more than Hindi Print, while our other businesses continued to do well,” said Shobhana Bhartia, chairperson and editorial director, HT Media.

The company reported a 35.2% increase in revenue to ₹33.2 crore in the first quarter of the current fiscal, from ₹24.5 crore in same quarter last year, driven by new radio station launches. “Our new radio stations, Radio Nasha 107.2 in Delhi and 91.9 in Mumbai are now operational and receiving rave reviews, while our digital business continues to grow and reduce losses,” Bhartia said.

However, the company reported a 9.49% decline in consolidated net profit to ₹22.41 crore during the quarter, against the year-ago period.

“We remain optimistic that sentiment will improve in the second half of the year, on the back of a good monsoon and implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission’s recommendations. With infrastructure already in place, we are well placed to leverage our inherent strengths to realise the benefits of an uptick in the economy,” Bhartia added.