Hindustan Media Ventures Limited — Q4 FY25 earnings call

Call held 20 May 2025

Management summary

Hindustan Media Ventures Limited delivered a strong Q4 and FY25, marked by robust consolidated revenue growth and significant profitability improvements, with Q4 PAT up 88% and FY25 PAT turning positive. The Print business saw substantial margin expansion driven by cost efficiencies and yield management, offsetting flat ad revenues and declining circulation. Digital and Radio segments also posted strong top-line growth, though Radio's margins remained soft and Digital continued to incur reduced losses as it scales.

Highlights

  • Consolidated Q4 Revenue grew 12% and Full Year Revenue grew 7%.

  • Consolidated Q4 PAT grew 88% from INR 30 crores to INR 57 crores, with Full Year PAT turning positive at INR 20 crores.

  • Consolidated Full Year EBITDA grew 58%, reflecting strong operational performance.

  • Print segment Full Year EBITDA grew 67% to INR 121 crores, with approximately 400 basis points of margin expansion, driven by newsprint savings and yield improvement.

  • Digital segment Q4 revenue grew 35% to INR 58 crores and Full Year revenue grew 38% to INR 212 crores, with segment losses reduced from INR 114 crores to INR 102 crores for the full year.

  • The company maintained a strong net cash position in excess of INR 1,000 crores as of March 31, 2025.

Concerns

  • Print ad revenues were flat to marginally declining across both the quarter and the full year.

  • English Print circulation revenue declined 27% in Q4 and 14% for the full year, while Hindi Print circulation revenue declined 7% in Q4 and 9% annually.

  • Radio segment margins remained soft despite significant revenue growth, due to higher costs associated with 'on-ground' events.

  • The Digital segment continues to incur losses, although they have been reduced, as the company invests for future growth.

Key financials

2 periods

Headline

  • FY Revenue Growth
    7%
  • FY PAT
    ₹20 Cr
  • FY EBITDA Growth
    58%
  • Net Cash Position
    ₹1,000 Cr

Q4

  • Revenue Growth
    12%
  • PAT
    ₹57 Cr
    YoY +88%

What they filed

Q1 FY27: revenue up 19.4%, net profit up 410.0% against the same quarter last year.

₹ Cr · quarterly
Line itemQ2 FY25Q3 FY25Q4 FY25Q1 FY26Q2 FY26Q3 FY26Q4 FY26Q1 FY27
Revenue172 197 182 165 197 +15%183 −7%216 +19%197 +19%
EBITDA-14 2 24 9 -10 +29%20 +900%65 +171%28 +211%
Net profit14 18 45 10 10 −29%1 −94%27 −40%51 +410%
How to read this

₹ crore, as filed. The percentage beside a figure is the change against the same quarter a year earlier — never the quarter before, which would make every seasonal business look like it collapses and booms each year.

Segment breakdown

SegmentQ4 RevenueQ4 Revenue GrowthFY RevenueFY Revenue Growth
Print————
Radio₹82 Cr72%₹204 Cr30%
Digital₹58 Cr35%₹212 Cr38%

Capital allocation

high confidence
  • M&A Electric Mobility Company Acquisition · Announced

    Strategic investment in a future-looking business

    Not a cash investment, it is an AFE (Ad-for-Equity) investment, so no cash was deployed.

    Okay, Mehul, I'm going to take your questions in the reverse order. So, the first on the investment, it is not a cash investment, it is an AFE investment, so there is no cash being deployed for that investment. It's just that, it triggered disclosure but there is no cash being deployed in that investment.
  • Liquidity Cash ₹1,000 Cr Net cash position in excess of INR 1,000 crores on the books as of 31st March.
    If you see the net cash position, we have as of 31st March, cash in excess of INR 1,000 cr on the books.

Guidance & targets

Profitability

  • Digital Business (OTTplay) Break-even Profitability · by the end of this year · Medium confidence Break-even
    hopefully by the end of this year, we should be in a break-even situation.

    — Anna Abraham

  • Radio Business Break-even Profitability · near term itself · Medium confidence Break-even or positive
    the hope is that we will bring it back to break even or to positive sooner, in the near term itself.

    — Anna Abraham

Efficiency

  • Digital Business Efficiency Efficiency · next year · Medium confidence Efficient
    And I can absolutely bet that, next year will be efficient.

    — Piyush Gupta

What to watch in Q1 FY26

Digital Business (OTTplay) Break-even

by the end of this year
Current Losses reduced from INR 114 cr to INR 102 cr (FY25)
Target Break-even

Why it matters

This is a key target for the digital segment's profitability and a crucial indicator of the success of the company's digital transformation efforts.

hopefully by the end of this year, we should be in a break-even situation.

Risks & concerns

  • Softness in Print Ad Revenues

    medium

    Ad revenues for the Print segment were flat to marginally declining across the quarter and year, indicating ongoing challenges in the traditional advertising market.

    Management acknowledged

  • Declining Print Circulation Revenues

    medium

    English Print circulation revenue declined 27% in Q4 and 14% for the full year, while Hindi Print circulation revenue declined 7% in Q4 and 9% annually, reflecting a shift away from physical newspaper consumption.

    Management acknowledged

  • Continued Margin Pressure in Radio Segment

    medium

    Despite significant revenue growth, the Radio segment's margins remained soft due to higher costs associated with 'on-ground' events, which have different cost structures than core FCT revenue.

    Management acknowledged

  • Ongoing Losses in Digital Business

    medium

    The Digital segment, while showing strong revenue growth and reduced losses (from INR 114 cr to INR 102 cr for FY25), continues to operate at a loss as the company invests to build and scale new businesses like OTTplay.

    Management acknowledged

Q&A highlights

6 direct, 1 evasive
Digital Business (OTTplay) Break-even & Efficiency Partial
So, we don't, give specific guidance on it, but broadly, as you can see, we have been, growing on a q-o-q basis, and the losses have also, reduced, from what we had reported last year. We expect to keep up the momentum on the growth side, given that, it's still a very nascent business from that perspective and hopefully by the end of this year, we should be in a break-even situation. But it depends, if we scale fast enough, we may invest more on the business as well. So, difficult to predict, but we would be looking to continue the growth momentum.

Analyst pressed for a specific break-even timeline for the loss-making digital segment, and management provided a conditional target for the current fiscal year while emphasizing efficiency improvements.

Asked by Mohit Kumra

Ad-for-Equity (AFE) Investments on Balance Sheet Evasive
I can neither confirm nor deny that.

Analyst sought quantification of AFE investments on the standalone balance sheet, referencing a prior year's figure, but management declined to confirm or deny the specific amount, indicating sensitivity around this metric.

Asked by Mohit Kumra

Print Profitability Drivers Amidst Revenue Decline Direct
Yes, cost has substantially improved because if you remember last year was a year of heightened newsprint pricing and therefore most of the margin expansion is attributed to the savings in newsprint that's come through. Having said that, basis a mix of categories and absolute price increases there has been an overall yield improvement in advertising revenue despite growth not being that strong and therefore that has also contributed to the margins.

Clarified the key drivers of Print's improved operating profit (newsprint savings and yield improvement) despite flat to declining revenues and circulation, providing insight into the segment's resilience.

Asked by Yash R.

Other Income Composition and Treasury Gains Direct
That's largely treasury. We've had a substantial gain in treasury given that there's been favourable yield movement in line of rate actions as well as anticipated actions in the market.

Explained the significant increase in other income, attributing the larger component to treasury gains from favorable yield movements, which is a non-operating income source.

Asked by Yash R.

Digital Revenue Recognition for Subscriptions with Coupons Direct
Net.

Provided a crucial accounting detail for the digital segment, confirming that subscription revenue with coupons is recognized net of the coupon value, which impacts reported top-line figures.

Asked by Mehul Parikh

Radio Segment Profitability and Strategy Direct
We have actually called it out on the investor deck also to say that the increase has been on largely on the account of 'on-ground' events that we have done in this year. Unlike the core FCT revenue, where every increase in revenue falls to the bottom line because of the fixed nature of the business where the cost is mostly on the statutory fees side, when we go into the non-FCT streams of revenue, there is bound to be a related cost also associated with it.

Explained the reason for increased losses in the Radio segment despite revenue growth (higher costs for 'on-ground' events) and outlined the strategy to focus on non-FCT initiatives for future growth.

Asked by Jay Dattani

Investment in Electric Mobility Company Direct
So, the first on the investment, it is not a cash investment, it is an AFE investment, so there is no cash being deployed for that investment. It's just that, it triggered disclosure but there is no cash being deployed in that investment.

Addressed a potential concern about capital allocation into a non-core business by clarifying it was an Ad-for-Equity (AFE) investment, involving no cash outflow.

Asked by Mehul Pathak

Digital Business Investment and Loss Trajectory Direct
If we need to build businesses, businesses are difficult to set up within two years, so therefore, there will be some level of investment that we have to do if we have to make inroads into a new business segment, which is what OTTplay is, and to establish it. What we've been able to demonstrate is that we are scaling up by reducing losses, and we hope to be on that journey but the intent is to build businesses and therefore we will see some more investment before the returns come through in that.

Reiterated the necessity of continued investment in the Digital segment (OTTplay) to build the business, acknowledging that further investment will precede full returns, despite current efforts to reduce losses.

Asked by Mehul Pathak

2 min read 5 chapters

Detailed narrative

Strong Consolidated Performance Driven by Profitability

Hindustan Media Ventures Limited delivered a robust Q4 and full FY25, with consolidated revenue growing 12% in Q4 and 7% for the full year. Profitability saw significant improvement, with Q4 PAT increasing 88% from INR 30 crores to INR 57 crores, and FY25 PAT turning positive at INR 20 crores. The company also reported a 58% growth in full-year EBITDA and maintained a strong net cash position exceeding INR 1,000 crores as of March 31, 2025.

Print Business Profitability Boosted by Cost and Yield Management

Despite muted advertising and declining circulation revenues, the Print segment demonstrated strong profitability. Q4 EBITDA stood at INR 61 crores, contributing to a full-year EBITDA of INR 121 crores, a 67% increase year-over-year, with approximately 400 basis points of margin expansion. This improvement was primarily attributed to significant savings from softer newsprint prices and conscious efforts in advertising yield improvement, which allowed for better pricing even as print volumes declined.

Digital Segment Shows Strong Revenue Traction with Reduced Losses

The Digital business, spearheaded by OTTplay and Shine, continued its strong growth trajectory, with Q4 revenue increasing 35% to INR 58 crores and full-year revenue growing 38% to INR 212 crores. Importantly, segment losses for the full year were reduced from INR 114 crores to INR 102 crores, indicating improved cost control. Management expressed optimism about reaching a break-even situation for the digital business by the end of the current financial year, contingent on continued scaling.

Radio Segment Revenue Growth Amidst Margin Pressure

The Radio segment experienced significant top-line growth, with Q4 revenue up 72% to INR 82 crores and full-year revenue increasing 30% to INR 204 crores. However, margins for the segment remained soft. This was attributed to higher costs associated with 'on-ground' events, which have different cost structures compared to core Fixed Commercial Time (FCT) revenue. The company aims to bring the Radio business back to break-even or positive sooner, focusing on non-FCT initiatives for future growth.

Strategic Ad-for-Equity Investments and Treasury Gains

The company clarified its investment in an electric mobility company was an Ad-for-Equity (AFE) investment, meaning no cash was deployed, highlighting a strategy to participate in new growth areas without direct cash outflow. Additionally, the increase in other income was largely driven by treasury gains, as the company was strategically positioned to benefit from 'favourable yield movement in line of rate actions,' contributing significantly to non-operating income.

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