HT Media Limited

Hindustan Times House, 18-20, Kasturba Gandhi Marg, New Delhi-110001

www.htmedia.in

HT Media Q2 FY 2009 Revenues up 18% at Rs 3342 million

Q2 FY 2009 Ad Revenues up 18% at Rs 2831 million
Higher newsprint prices subdue EBITDA margins from 20% to 13%

o Launches in Dehradun and Chandigarh further strengthen Hindustan’s

(HH) presence in North India
o Hindustan Times continues to hold No. 1 status in Delhi city.
o New launches of local editions– ‘Hindustan Times’ – in Dehradun, Kanpur
and Jhansi to enhance HT’s & HH’s presence
o Shine.com recruitment portal registrations cross 1 million candidates
o Own printing facility at Meerut expected to commence operations
shortly, enabling further traction in Uttar Pradesh
o Outlook strong – increasing focus on rapid expansion of Hindi -
“Hindustan”, Internet and Mint and increasing salience of Hindustan
Times
o Advertising rates hiked in Quarter 2 FY 2009 – partially offsetting
impact of higher input costs and lower advertising spend by some sectors

New Delhi, 20th October 2008

HT Media Limited today announced its financial results for the quarter and half
year ended September 30, 2008.

Q2 FY2009 performance overview

(All comparisons with Q2 FY2008)
• Revenues increased by 18% to Rs. 3,342 million from Rs. 2,828 million
• Operating profit (EBIDTA) reduced by 21% at Rs. 450 million from Rs. 571
million
• EBIDTA lower due to high news print prices, which have increased around 24%
over the previous year
• PAT decreased to Rs. 163 million from Rs. 319 million
• EPS stood at Re. 0.70
H1 FY2009 performance overview
(All comparisons with H1 FY2008)

• Revenues increased by 18% to Rs. 6614 million from Rs.5,591 million

• Operating profit (EBIDTA) reduced by 3% at Rs. 1195 million from Rs. 1,231
million
• PAT reduced to Rs. 540 million from Rs. 661 million
• EPS stood at Rs. 2.30

Commenting on the performance for Q2 FY2009, Mrs. Shobhana Bhartia,

Chairperson and Editorial Director, HT Media, said:

“I am encouraged by healthy operating performance despite a challenging

macroeconomic environment. We have partially mitigated the impact of higher input
costs through advance buying of newsprint and sourcing from different geographies.
Our recent launches of ‘Hindustan’ in Chandigarh and Dehradun have built strong
momentum and are contributing exceptionally well. The launch of local English
editions in Dehradun, Jhansi and Kanpur will also boost the HT & HH business. Our
revenue growth has been healthy despite continuous investment towards Mint, Radio
and Internet services.

We continue to be in the investment mode in Mint and once the paper gains
operational maturity, should add considerably to both, topline and bottom-line
growth. Our well established brand equity, growing national footprint, growing
regional presence and diversified business portfolio will enable us to increase
revenues and implement many new initiatives that hold promise for the future and
drive growth.”

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Q2 FY2009 Operational progress and highlights

• ‘Hindustan Times’ continues to hold No. 1 status in Delhi city; expands

presence in other geographies.

In Q2 FY2009, ‘Hindustan Times’ continued to hold leadership position by

significantly increasing share of circulation vis-à-vis its closest competitor.
HT Media recently launched ‘Hindustan Times’ in Dehradun, Kanpur and
Jhansi. The Company has been making significant investments in building
brand salience as also boosting its capacity across various geographies,
which would enable it to further strengthen the momentum, gained on
readership and revenues.

• Recent launches building momentum with ‘jodi packages’

Q2 FY2009 saw strong revenue growth in Dehradun and Chandigarh due to

its unique marketing strategy – ‘jodi packages’ which was very well
accepted by the trade, in turn boosting sales

• Meerut & Allahabad printing facilities to commence operations

The Company will inaugurate its printing facilities at Meerut and Allahabad
in the near future. This will enable HT Media achieve operational
efficiencies and implement efficient cost reduction. It is expected to enable
the Company to considerably expand its reach in North India. With this the
Company would have printing facilities in 21 locations including a state-of-
the-art printing facility at Greater Noida.

• Job portal ‘Shine.com’ showing greater acceptability

Shine.com is structured to cater to specific needs of the candidates and

enable them to have greater focus in building their career. Launched
through a wholly owned subsidiary Firefly e-Ventures Limited in May 2008,
it has already registered 1,000,000 users. Shine.com is gaining higher
acceptability due to its technology combined with world class design, match
vs. search ability, privacy and anonymity protection, skill-based short
listing, research section, career advice, instant opportunity alerts thus
making this website unique in India.

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 Outlook

The outlook for FY2009 continues to be robust on the back of strong salience of its
core brands, entry into the business paper and radio segments along with growing
popularity in the internet segment

• The Company’s new launches of Hindustan during the previous quarter

continue to do well. A key thrust area for the Company is on further
entrenching its strong position in the Hindi segment. In line with this
objective the Company plans to establish a strong position for ‘Hindustan’ in
UP, and Uttaranchal

• Mint: The paper is progressively earning a loyal readership base and

continues to hold the No. 2 position in Bengaluru, Delhi and Mumbai. The
Company plans to expand its geographical presence by introducing the
paper in other cities and leverage revenues of Mint through its presence as a
national business daily and a quality product.
• Radio: Fever 104 of HT Music and Entertainment Company Limited, a
subsidiary Company, is a choice of 8.5 million listeners (approx) across
various cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, & Bengaluru. The Company
believes Fever 104 will continue to build strong brand & listener ship going
forward, given the premium brand it has created for itself in a relatively
short span.

• Internet: Backed by successful launch of Shine.com through a subsidiary

Firefly e-Venture Limited in the previous quarter and of the social
networking website desimartini.com in Q3 of FY 2008, the Company plans to
expand and grow its social networking and jobs portals to leverage and
derive value. The Company also plans to build real estate and matrimonial
verticals in this segment.

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 HT Media Limited
Registered Office: Hindustan Times House, 18-20, Kasturba Gandhi Marg, New Delhi - 110001, India
UN-AUDITED STANDALONE FINANCIAL RESULTS FOR QUARTER ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2008
(Rs. in lacs)
Three months ended Six months ended Year ended
Sl. Particulars 30.09.2008 30.09.2007 30.09.2008 30.09.2007 31.03.2008
No. (Unaudited) (Unaudited) (Unaudited) (Unaudited) (Audited)
1 a) Net Sales/Income from Operations 33,070 28,102 65,541 55,436 118,623
b) Other Operating Income 347 175 599 475 1,113
Total Income 33,417 28,277 66,140 55,911 119,736
2 Expenditure
a) (Increase)/Decrease in Stock in Trade and Work in Progress 34 27 (22) 18 35
b) Consumption of Raw Materials 14,597 11,267 26,566 22,135 45,582
c) Employees Cost 4,955 4,233 9,462 8,255 17,558
d) Advertising and Sales Promotion 3,180 1,982 5,832 3,428 9,202
e) Depreciation/Amortisation 1,282 1,096 2,568 2,160 4,467
f) Other Expenditure 6,664 5,732 13,434 11,169 23,952
g) Total 30,712 24,337 57,840 47,165 100,796
Profit from Operations before Other Income, Interest &
3 2,705 3,940 8,300 8,746 18,940
Exceptional Items (1-2)
4 Other Income 516 670 1,081 1,402 2,956
Profit before Interest, Depreciation / Amortisation &
5 4,503 5,706 11,949 12,308 26,363
Exceptional Items (EBITDA) (3+4+2e)
6 Interest (Including Finance charges ) 736 448 1,245 879 1,773
7 Profit after Interest but before Exceptional Items (5-6-2e) 2,485 4,162 8,136 9,269 20,123
8 Exceptional Items - - - - -
9 Profit from Ordinary Activities before Tax (7+8) 2,485 4,162 8,136 9,269 20,123
10 Tax Expense
a) Provision for Tax 757 890 2,538 2,503 5,338
b) Fringe Benefit Tax 100 78 200 156 330
11 Net Profit from Ordinary Activities after Tax (9-10) 1,628 3,194 5,398 6,610 14,455
12 Extraordinary Items (Net of Tax Expenses) - - - - -
13 Net Profit for the period (11-12) 1,628 3,194 5,398 6,610 14,455
14 Paid-up Equity Share Capital (Face value - Rs. 2 per share) 4,685 4,685 4,685 4,685 4,685
15 Reserves excluding Revaluation Reserves - - - - 86,888
16 Basic & Diluted Earning Per Share (in Rs.) 0.70 1.36 2.30 2.82 6.17
(not annualised) (not annualised) (not annualised) (not annualised)
17 Public Shareholding
Number of shares 73,243,945 73,243,945 73,243,945 73,243,945 73,243,945
Percentage of shareholding 31.27% 31.27% 31.27% 31.27% 31.27%

Notes :
1. The above Un-audited standalone results reviewed by the Audit Committee have been approved by the Board of Directors at the meeting held on October 20, 2008.

2. The Company is primarily engaged in the business of Printing and Publication of Newspapers and Periodicals and there are no other reportable segments as per
Accounting Standard 17 on Segment Reporting.
3. Provision for Tax comprises Current Tax Expense and Deferred Tax Charge.
4. During the quarter, the Company has funded its subsidiary company Firefly e-Ventures Limited, for Rs. 600 lacs by way of Equity Share Capital and Rs. 750 lacs by
way of advance against issue of Equity Share Capital. The Company has also given loan of Rs. 800 lacs to a subsidiary company, HT Music and Entertainment
Company Limited.
5. During the Quarter, no Options were granted under the HTML Employee Stock Option Scheme. Further, 83,002 Options and 1,85,129 Options were Forfeited and
Vested respectively, during the said period.
6. Details of number of Investor complaints/queries for the quarter ended on September 30, 2008 : Pending at the beginning - Nil; Received - 20; Disposed of - 20;
Pending at the end - Nil.
7. During the period ended September 30, 2008, the Company has changed its accounting policy w.e.f April 1, 2008 to adjust the foreign exchange fluctuation on
borrowings towards acquisition of fixed assets, against the cost of fixed assets instead of adjusting the same in Profit & Loss Account, as followed during previous
year. This change is in compliance with Schedule VI to the Companies Act, 1956 as per legal advice obtained. Had the treatment of foreign exchange fluctuation been
continued as per The Companies (Accounting Standard) Rules 2006, the profit after tax for the quarter ended on September 30, 2008 would have been lower by Rs.
110 lacs.
8. The Statutory Auditors have conducted "Limited Review" of the financial results for the quarter ended September 30,2008 in terms with clause 41 of the Listing
Agreement and have drawn attention to note no. 7 above.
9. Previous period's figures have been regrouped, wherever considered necessary.

For and on behalf of the Board of Directors

New Delhi Shobhana Bhartia

October 20, 2008 Chairperson & Editorial Director

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About HT Media Limited

HT Media Limited is one of India’s foremost media companies, and home to two
leading newspapers in the country in English and Hindi languages - Hindustan
Times (English daily) and Hindustan (Hindi daily). Hindustan Times was started in
1924 and it has an 80-year history as one of India’s leading newspapers. The
Company also has a business paper ‘Mint’ in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore,
Chandigarh and Pune. The Company’s subsidiary HT Music and Entertainment
Company Limited has four FM radio stations “Fever 104” in Delhi, Mumbai,
Bengaluru and Kolkata. The Company has also made a foray into the Internet
space through its subsidiary Firefly e-Ventures Limited and has acquired a social
networking website DesiMartini.com and also launched a new job portal
www.Shine.com. These are in addition to the existing websites livemint.com and
hindustantimes.com. HT Media along with Bennett Coleman & Co. Limited has
entered into an equal partnership joint venture to publish an English morning
tabloid in Delhi & NCR titled Metro Now. In addition, the Company has entered into
a 51:49 joint venture (JV) with German media group Hubert Burda to leverage HT
Media's expertise in printing and publishing and capture opportunities in the
booming high-end magazine and catalogue printing space in India and the Asia-
Pacific region. HT Media also publishes two Hindi magazines Nandan and
Kadambini.

For further information please contact:

Rajesh Gajree/Rahul Jain Gavin Desa/Ishan Selarka

HT Media Limited Citigate Dewe Rogerson
Tel: +91 124 395 4859 Tel: +91 22 4007 5037/ 4007 5032
Fax: +91 11 2373 8887 Fax: +91 22 2284 4561
Email: rajesh.gajree@hindustantimes.com Email: gavin@cdr-india.com
rahul.jain@hindustantimes.com ishan@cdr-india.com

Certain statements in this document may be forward-looking. Such forward-looking statements are subject to
certain risks and uncertainties like regulatory changes, local political or economic developments, technological
risks, and many other factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by
the relevant forward looking statements. HT Media Limited will not be in any way responsible for any action
taken based on such statements and undertakes no obligation to publicly update these forward-looking
statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.

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 Details to the announcement
Financial overview

• Revenues
• Total Expenditure
• Operating profits
• Finance cost
• PBT
• PAT & EPS

Financial overview

Revenues

Q2 Q2 Shift H1 H1 Shift
Particulars (Rs. Mn) FY2009 FY2008 (%) FY2009 FY2008 (%)

3307 2,810 18% 6554 5,544 18%

Turnover
Interest/Income from
52 67 -22% 108 140 -23%
investments
Other Income
35 18 94% 60 48 25%

• Revenues for Q2 FY2009 increased by 18% to Rs 3307 million compared to Rs.

2,810 million during Q2 FY2008.Revenues for H1 FY2009 increased by 18% to
Rs. 6554 million compared to Rs. 5,544 million in H1 FY2008

• Increased readership across the Hindi geographies enabled improve revenues

• Lower advertising spend especially by the BFSI and reality segments tempered
revenue growth. However, this was offset by Ad rates hike & successful revenue
traction through “jodi packages” offerings.

• Interest income for Q2 FY2009 reduced by 22% to Rs. 52 and for H1 FY2009
reduced by 23% to Rs 108 million. During the period, the Company has drawn
down its investments to fund capacity expansion across various locations.

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• Other income during the quarter under review increased by 94% to Rs. 35
million compared to Rs. 18 million in Q2 FY2008. For H1 FY2009 other income
increased by 25% to Rs. 60 million compared to Rs. 48 million in H1 FY2008

Total Expenditure

Q2 Q2 Shift H1 H1 Shift
Particulars (Rs. Mn) FY2009 FY2008 (%) FY2009 FY2008 (%)

1463 1,129 30% 2654 2,215 20%

Raw material

Employee cost 496 423 15% 946 826 15%

Advt & sales promotion 318 198 61% 583 343 70%

Other expenditure 666 573 16% 1343 1,117 20%

• Raw material cost during the quarter under review increased by 30% to Rs. 1463
million compared to Rs. 1,129 million in Q2 FY2008. For H1 FY2009 raw
material cost increased by 20% to Rs 2654 million

• Newsprint prices were substantially higher on a Y-o-Y basis. Advance sourcing

and building of inventories contributed to better than industry procurement
prices. Further by successfully leveraging its joint venture relationship with
Burda, the Company successfully sourced high quality paper at highly
competitive rates

• Employee cost during Q2 FY2009 increased by 15% to Rs. 496 million compared
to Rs 423 million in Q2 FY2008. For H1 FY2009 employee cost was at Rs. 946
million compared to Rs. 826 million in H1 FY2008

• Advertising and sales promotion expenditure increased by 61% to Rs. 318 million
in Q2 FY2009 compared to Rs. 198 million in Q2 FY2008. For H1 FY2009
advertising and sales promotion expenditure increased by 70% to Rs. 583 million
compared to Rs. 343 million in H1 FY2008. Expenditure was considerably higher
due to increased investment in re-launch of HT City and higher brand visibility of
Hindustan though television commercials.

• For Q2 FY2009 other expenditure increased by 16% to Rs. 666 million compared
to Rs. 573 million in Q2 FY2008. For H1 FY2009 other expenditure increased by
20% to Rs. 1343 million compared to Rs. 1,117 million in H1 FY2008.There has
been an increase in the Company’s administration costs following establishments
of new infrastructure facilities across locations.

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• The Company has during the quarter been able to successfully contain the
impact of Rupee depreciation through judicious use of currency hedges.

Operating profits

Q2 Q2 Shift H1 H1 Shift
Particulars (Rs. Mn) FY2009 FY2008 (%) FY2009 FY2008 (%)

EBIDTA 450 570 -21% 1195 1231 -3%

• EBIDTA for the quarter under review including investment for Mint is Rs. 450
million as reduced by 21% compared to Rs. 570 million during Q2 FY2008

• EBITDA healthy despite brand investments, capacity expansion and setting up of

new infrastructure facilities & continuing investment in subsidiaries.

Finance Cost

Q2 Q2 Shift H1 H1 Shift
Particulars (Rs. Mn) FY2009 FY2008 (%) FY2009 FY2008 (%)

Interest 74 45 64% 125 88 42%

• Interest cost increased by 64% in Q2 FY2009

• For H1 FY2009 interest cost increased by 42% to Rs 125 million compared to Rs.
88 million in H1 FY2008

• The higher interest cost results from high interest rate environment as also
utilization of borrowing facilities to fund expansion in existing and new
businesses.

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Net Profits and EPS

Q2 Q2 Shift H1 H1 Shift
Particulars (Rs. Mn) FY2009 FY2008 (%) FY2009 FY2008 (%)

PAT 163 319 -49% 540 661 -18%

EPS ( not annualized) (in Rs.) 0.70 1.36 -49% 2.30 2.82 -18%

• PAT for Q2 FY2009 was reduced by 49% to Rs. 163 million compared to Rs. 319
million in Q2 FY2008 as a result EPS was at Re.0.70 for Q2 FY2009

• For H1 FY2009 PAT reduced by 18% to Rs.540 million compared to Rs. 661
million in H1 FY2008 resulting in an EPS of Rs. 2.30 for H1 FY2009

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