Hindustan Media Ventures Q4 profit up 43% to Rs 39 cr

Hindustan Media Ventures Ltd (HMVL) today posted 43 per cent jump in standalone net profit at Rs 38.94 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2015 on higher sales.
The company had reported net profit of Rs 27.21 crore in the January-March quarter of the previous fiscal, 2013-14, HMVL said in a filing to the BSE.
Net sales rose by over 10 per cent to Rs 199.30 crore during the fourth quarter of 2014-15, from 180.69 crore in the year-ago period.
HMVL Chairperson Shobhana Bhartia said: "We grew faster than the industry in terms of both revenue and profits. We did this despite an increase in our structural costs and a difficult operating environment."

During 2014-15, HMVL cemented number two position in Uttar Pradesh and Delhi, even as it retained leadership positions in Uttarakhand, Bihar and Jharkhand by a wide margin, she added.
On outlook for the company, Bhartia said: "Our robust performance, coupled with expected improvement in the macro- economic environment, gives us confidence that we will continue to outperform the market in the coming year.

"Our established brand, increasing readership and a healthy balance sheet provide us with a strong grounding for the future."
For the entire fiscal 2014-15, HMVL's net profit increased by 26.66 per cent to Rs 140.86 crore as against Rs 111.21 crore in the previous fiscal.

The company's net sales rose by over 12 per cent to Rs 805.74 crore from Rs 718.08 crore in the said period.
In a separate filing, HMVL said the board has recommended a dividend of Rs 1.20 per equity share of Rs 10 each for the financial year ended March 31, 2015.
The company publishes Hindustan newspaper and Nandan and Kadambini magazines.
HMVL's stock rose 6.43 per cent to close at Rs 236.60 per scrip on the BSE today.