HT Media fell 5.92% to Rs 21.45 after the company reported consolidated net loss of Rs 155.89 crore in Q2 September 2022 as against net profit of Rs 23.23 crore in Q2 September 2021.
On a consolidated basis, net sales rose 11% year-on-year to Rs 409.25 crore in Q2 September 2022, led by growth in print and radio businesses.Pre-tax loss stood at Rs 66.02 crore in Q2 September 2022, compared with pre-tax profit of Rs 34.22 crore in Q2 September 2021. Profitability was impacted on account of higher newsprint prices.
During the quarter, total expenses jumped 26.62% to Rs 514.21 crore. Cost of raw material consumed surged 71.19% to Rs 160.25 crore.
The company has decided to move to new tax regime which has resulted in write-off of unutilised MAT credit of Rs 88.5 crore and reversal of tax credit of Rs 7.5 crore related to previous years.
Net cash from operating activities stood at Rs -216.62 crore in the half year ended 30 September 2022, compared with Rs -146.17 crore in the half year ended 30 September 2021.
In print business, operating revenue grew 10% to Rs 344 crore. Ad revenue improved 9% y-o-y and 12% q-o-q, led by growth in volume for both English and Hindi. Circulation revenue rose 21% y-o-y and 2% q-o-q, led by increase in realisation per copy for both English and Hindi.
In radio business, operating revenue grew 36% to Rs 33 crore. This was led by improvement in rate along with consistent volume.
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Shobhana Bhartia, chairperson and editorial director, "The second quarter of the current fiscal saw a fairly conducive business environment. However, inflationary pressures continued in the form of elevated input costs, arising largely from geopolitical factors.
Our Print business continues to show revenue growth on the back of an increase in both advertising and circulation revenue. Our Radio business is recovering gradually and is showing a substantial topline growth on a y-o-y basis. However, profitability of the Print business was significantly impacted by elevated newsprint rates. We are seeing signs of pressure easing on this front, although the benefit of this will flow only in later quarters.
In the near term, the festive season provides further growth opportunities across business verticals as retail and commercial activity picks up in the ongoing quarter.
Amidst considerable global economic and geopolitical churn, our endeavor remains the same - to be a source of credible news, and engaging content for our growing audience base."
HT Media is a new age content company. Its segments include printing & publishing of newspaper & periodicals, radio broadcast and entertainment & digital.
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