Cost savings, ad volumes lead to positive turnaround in HT Media’s Q3 FY21 profits

HT Media has reported a turnaround in its profits for the third quarter ended December 31, 2020, with a positive shift of Rs 74 crore in EBITDA and Rs 50 crore in profit after tax (PAT) over the last quarter. EBITDA margin stood at 15% in Q3 FY21.

Efforts on the cost front has led to savings of Rs 185 crore over last year, as the group continued to maintain strong liquidity.

However, Total Revenue saw a decline of 38% at Rs 392 crore in Q3 FY21 over Rs 628 crore reported in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal consequent to COVID-19. There was growth of 30% sequentially, though, due to revival in ad spends across categories.

Commenting on the group’s financial performance, Shobhana Bhartia, Chairperson and Editorial Director, HT Media Ltd & Hindustan Media Ventures Ltd, said, “The third quarter saw continued recovery in economic activity, with demand moving up from the lows seen during the lockdown. As a result of this and the festive season, ad spends saw some uptick during the quarter. We have witnessed sequential improvement in ad revenues across our Print and Radio platforms. The circulation of both our Hindi and English publications has also seen sequential growth. Our cost saving initiatives, and a stable commodity price environment enabled us to return to operational profitability.”

She added, “We expect further improvement in our businesses, as more activities resume and the economy returns to normalcy. As always, our continued focus is on staying relevant for both readers and advertisers alike.”

While Print revenue is yet to fully recover to the pre-COVID levels (YoY), there has been a sharp increase in Ad volumes QoQ, driven by the festive season. HT Media reported strong recovery in circulation copies across publications on QoQ basis. The return to operating profits has been on account of growth in revenue supplemented by continuous cost initiatives.

The group’s flagship English daily, Hindustan Times, saw improvement in ad volumes across national and local advertisers on sequential basis. The daily gained market share despite a challenging environment. Growth was seen in almost all categories over the previous quarter due to festive spends, led by Retail, FMCG, Real Estate, Luxury, and E-Commerce. The paper witnessed softness in ad yields.

Hindustan, the Hindi daily from the group, also saw growth in ad volumes led by festive spends along with election advertising. The paper, too, saw sequential ad revenue growth and higher volume share vis-a-vis last year. Categories such as Automobile, FMCG, Retail and Health & Fitness showed good traction. The paper witnesses softness in ad revenue on YoY basis.

On the other hand, HT Media’s Radio business, comprising Fever FM, Radio One and Nasha FM saw a decline in YoY operating revenues and operating EBITDA as the industry continues to struggle post the COVID-19 pandemic. Continued pressure was seen on ad yields.

The Radio business’ sequential operating revenue saw growth of 78%; while ad volumes are better across stations. The Radio business witnessed sequential improvement in inventory utilisation.