BENGALURU: Publisher of Hindi newspaper Hindustan, Hindi socio cultural magazine Kadambini and children’s Hindi magazine Nandan, Hindustan Media Ventures Limited (HMVL - not to be confused with HT Media Limited of Hindustan Times, Mint and Fever FM fame) reported 12.2 per cent increase in Total Income from Operations (TIO) in FY-2015 to Rs 818.58 crore as compared to the Rs 729.72 crore in FY-2014. TIO in Q4-2014 (quarter ended 31 March, 2015, current quarter) at Rs 199.3 crore grew 8.4 per cent from Rs 183.88 crore in Q4-2014, but declined 3.7 per cent from Rs 206.87 crore in the immediate trailing quarter.

Note: 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10 million = 1 crore

HMVL reported a 26.7 per cent hike in profit after tax (PAT) in FY-2015 at Rs 140.86 crore as compared to the Rs 111.121 crore in FY-2014. PAT in Q4-2015 improved 43.1 per cent to Rs 38.94 crore as compared to the Rs 27.21 crore in Q4-2014 and improved 6.5 per cent as compared to the Rs 36.58 crore in the immediate trailing quarter.

Advertising and circulation revenues:

The company’s advertising revenue in FY-2015 grew 12.5 per cent to Rs 596.50 crore as compared to the Rs 530 crore in the previous year. Ad revenue in Q4-2015 at Rs 146.6 crore was 10.3 per cent more than the Rs 132.9 crore in the corresponding year ago quarter, but declined 3.7 per cent as compared to the Rs 152.2 crore in Q3-2015.

Circulation revenue in FY-2015 at Rs 200.70 crore improved 12.6 per cent from Rs 178.20 crore in FY-2014. Q4-2015 circulation revenue was 11.6 per cent higher at Rs 50.80 when compared to the Rs 45.5 crore in Q4-2014, but declined by 0.4 per cent as compared to the Rs 51 crore in Q3-2015.

Let us look at the other numbers reported by HMVL:

The company’s total expenditure (TE) in FY-2015 at Rs 676.41 crore was up 12.7 per cent from Rs 600.04 crore in FY-2014. TE in Q4-2015 at Rs 163.3 crore was five per cent more than the Rs 155.58 crore in Q4-2014, but 5.6 per cent lower than the Rs 172.91 crore in Q3-2014.

A major component of HMVL’s TE is cost of raw materials (RM). In FY-2015, HMVL’s RM cost at Rs 337.40 crore was 12.3 per cent more than the Rs 300.44 crore in FY-2014. RM cost in Q4-2014 at Rs 79.14 crore was two per cent lower than the Rs 80.76 crore in the corresponding year ago quarter but 8.7 per cent lower than the Rs 86.69 crore in Q3-2015.

The company’s employee benefit expense (employee cost) in FY-2015 at Rs 108.6 crore was 23.4 per cent more than the Rs 86.55 crore in FY-2014. In Q4-2015, employee cost at Rs 26.52 crore was 22.1 per cent more than the Rs 21.72 crore in Q4-2014, but 3.5 per cent lower than the Rs 26.52 crore in Q3-2015.

Company Speak

HMVL chairperson Shobana Bhartia said, “We are pleased to report that 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. The year also saw us cement our number two position in Uttar Pradesh and Delhi, even as we retained our leadership positions in Uttarakhand, Bihar and Jharkhand by a wide margin. Our robust performance, coupled with expected improvement in the macroeconomic 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.”