HT Media's digital biz cuts losses, Q4 revenue up 30% YoY & 15% sequentially

Media and publishing group HT Media recorded Rs 13.4 crore in revenues from the digital segment for the quarter ended March 31, 2012. This marks 30 per cent growth over the fourth quarter in previous fiscal and 15 per cent growth sequentially over the preceding quarter ended December 31, 2011. The company's digital business among includes job portal Shine.com, which competes with the likes of naukri.com among others and HTCampus.com.

The company also cut losses from its digital business. Segment loss from digital business was pegged at Rs 8.12 crore from Rs 10.25 crore in the same period last year and Rs 9.34 crore in the three months ended December 31, 2011.

The digital media unit was the only business of the company not reporting any deterioration in profitability last quarter.

HT Media disclosed that last quarter it pumped in Rs 4.2 crore in HT Digital Media Holdings Ltd through compulsorily convertible debentures (it had put in Rs 9 crore in Q3). It has also put in Rs 1.1 crore in equity shares of HT Education and Rs 20 crore as inter corporate deposit in Firefly e-ventures Ltd. The firm is in the process of demerging Shine.com from Firefly e-ventures Ltd and transferring that business to the parent company.

Meanwhile, the company as a whole reported total revenues of Rs 494 crore, up 6 per cent over the year ago period but down 6 per cent sequentially. HT Media's net profit, however, more than halved for the fourth quarter to Rs 21.9 crore as all business units other than digital media saw pressure on margins.

While radio & broadcast segment slipped deeper into losses, printing & publishing business which is the sole profit making unit of the company saw segment profit shrink 40 per cent both sequentially and over the same period in FY'11.

HT Media scrip rose 3 per cent to close at Rs 115.95 a share on the BSE on Friday.