HT Media Limited

Communication Services — Publishing · NSE

₹24.72−₹0.16 (−0.64%)

DalalBaazaar Score

50 / 100

🟡 Moderate

Verdict

CAUTION

Risk

Moderate

Driven by micro-cap size, which brings thin liquidity, falling profits.

In simple words: The business is earning a fairly low return on the money invested in it, though profits are falling even as sales grow. The direction of profits is the main factor to watch.

Decision support, not a buy or sell call.

As of 18 Oct 2026, 8:27 pm

Understanding the Business

Company site ↗

The 60-second version of HT Media Limited — what it does, how it earns, and who it competes with, before any of the numbers below.

What does this company do?

HT Media Limited, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the printing and publication of newspapers and periodicals in India. The company operates through three segments: Printing and Publication of Newspapers & Periodicals, Radio Broadcast & Entertainment, and Digital.

IndustryPublishing

SectorCommunication Services

Employees1,503

Annual revenue₹1,708 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹1,708 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹-3 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹12 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 1,503 employees supports ₹1.14 Cr of revenue a year, the signature of a capital- or asset-led business.

Revenue / employee₹1.14 Cr

Who are its competitors?

The closest listed comparisons in its industry are BHARTI AIRTEL LIMITED, VODAFONE IDEA LIMITED. These are the companies its valuation and returns are measured against elsewhere in this report.

Compared side by side in Peers ↓

What is its competitive advantage?Little sign of one

Returns on capital of 4.2% are at or below what the capital likely costs. That is the financial pattern of a business competing largely on price, where advantage has to come from execution rather than position.

Peer median ROE20.2%

What has been driving growth?

Profit has moved mainly because margins changed, not because the business sold much more. Over 3 years revenue moved +6% while net margin moved -77% relative to itself. What this cannot tell you is which products, customers or geographies did the work — that lives in the segment disclosures of the annual report.

Revenue effect+6%

Margin effect-77%

DalalBaazaar Score

50/ 100

Moderate

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✗ Return on equity is negative
✓ ROE has improved by 9.3 points over the period

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

46/ 100

Average

How good the business is, ignoring the share price entirely.

Valuation

60/ 100

Fair

What you are being asked to pay, ignoring how good the business is.

A reasonable business at a reasonable price — neither the quality nor the valuation stands out in either direction.

Historical Valuation

Current P/E

35.3x

1.3Y Median

300.4x

16 monthly readings · mean 296.2x · range 226.7x–341.6x

Sector Median

21.7x

median of 2 sector peers

🟢Current valuation is approximately 88% below its 1.3y median of 300.4x. Cheaper than its own history, which is worth a reason too: the market may be pricing in something the backward-looking numbers do not show.

⚠️Against its sector it trades 62% above the peer median of 21.7x.

vs. its own history

Cheap

300.4x median over 16 months · -88%

vs. sector peers

Expensive

21.7x median of 2 peers · +62%

vs. generic bands

Expensive

Above 35x

EV/EBITDA

6.1x

PEG

—

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well5

Margins are improving
EBITDA margin is up from -2.8% to 12.4% over 3 years.
Debt is being paid down
Total debt is down 12% over 3 years.
Cash flow has turned positive
Free cash flow moved from negative to positive over 3 years.
Return on equity is rising
ROE has improved from -12.6% to -3.4%.
Return on capital is rising
ROCE has improved from -4.9% to 4.2%.

🔴 What Needs Attention0

Nothing stands out as clearly deteriorating on the years of data available.

Red Flags

3 items require attention · 2 high · 1 watch

🔴Thin interest coverageFinancial
Operating profit covers interest only 1.5x — little room if earnings dip.
🔴The company is lossmakingFinancial
Net profit of -₹54 Cr in the latest reported year.
🟡Interest coverage is deterioratingFinancial
Cover has fallen from 2.6x to 1.5x.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Margin expansion has further to run
EBITDA margin has risen from -2.8% to 12.4%. If that holds, profit compounds faster than sales and today's multiple looks cheaper in hindsight than it does now.
Priced below its own history
The stock trades 88% below its own median multiple. If the business performs as it has and simply re-rates back to normal, that gap is return on its own.
Self-funding with balance-sheet headroom
Positive free cash flow of ₹68 Cr alongside low debt means growth, buybacks or dividends need no outside money — and a downturn can be absorbed rather than refinanced.

🔴 Bear CaseWhat could go wrong?

The debt load needs earnings to hold up
Debt is 3.6x EBITDA. At that level a downturn in earnings turns a manageable balance sheet into a refinancing problem, and lenders get paid before shareholders.
A premium to the sector to defend
It trades 62% above the peer median. That premium needs a reason that persists, or it closes.
Growth barely outpaces inflation
Revenue compounding at 1.8% a year is close to the rate prices rise, so the business is gaining little ground in real terms. That leaves the share price dependent on a re-rating rather than on earnings growth.
Earnings are hard to forecast
Profit has swung sharply from year to year, so any single year — good or bad — is a weak guide to the next. Cyclical earnings deserve lower multiples for that reason.
Size brings its own risk
Micro Cap businesses are thinly traded, so exits are harder in a falling market and single events move the price more than they would for a larger company.

🟡 Key Things to WatchMeasurable tripwires, set against where this company stands today

1EBITDA margin holds above 10%✓ 12.4%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
2Debt / EBITDA falls below 3x✗ 3.6x
Already stretched, so this is a reduction target rather than a level to hold. Around 3x is where lenders typically start attaching conditions.
3Interest cover stays above 3x✗ 1.5x
How much operating profit can fall before interest stops being comfortably covered.
4Revenue growth stays above 4% a year✗ 1.8% CAGR
Latest reported year was 6.1%. The bar is set below the established compounding rate, so ordinary variation does not trip it.
5Free cash flow remains positive✓ ₹68 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.

Investment Checklist

6 / 11 checks passed

✗ Strong return on equity (ROE ≥ 15%)
✗ Strong return on capital employed (ROCE ≥ 15%)
✗ Healthy net margin (≥ 10%)
✓ Generates positive free cash flow
✓ Manageable leverage (Debt/Equity < 1.0)
✓ Adequate short-term liquidity (Current Ratio ≥ 1.0)
✓ Revenue growing year-over-year
✗ Profit growing year-over-year
✓ Not trading at an extreme valuation (P/E < 40x)
✓ Not buying right at the 52-week high
✗ Short-term technical trend isn't bearish

Price history

Quick Metrics

4 good · 4 neutral · 3 weak

Market Cap

₹572 Cr

Micro Cap

Smaller company — thin liquidity and deep drawdowns are normal here

P/E (Trailing)

35.3x

Fair

Fairly valued against the generic band

P/B Ratio

0.35x

Reasonable

Reasonable against the company's book value

EPS (TTM)

₹0.7

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

-3.4%

Weak

Weak capital efficiency

ROCE

4.2%

Weak

Low return on total capital employed

Debt/Equity

0.38x

Low

Conservative leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

6.1%

Modest

Modest growth

Profit Growth (YoY)

-2883.1%

Falling

Profits are shrinking

Dividend Yield

None

No dividend yield reported — usually means no payout, but verify if one was recently initiated

Free Cash Flow

₹68 Cr

Cash generative

Generates cash even after funding its capex

More Metrics

P/E (Forward)

2.2x

Improving

Below the trailing multiple — the street expects earnings to grow into the price

Operating Margin

2.5%

Weak

Thin margins leave little room for error

Net Margin

-0.5%

Weak

Very little revenue reaches the bottom line

Current Ratio

1.11

Adequate

Adequate, but no real cushion

Beta (vs Nifty)

0.32

Defensive

Steadier than the market

52W Range Position

52%

Mid-range

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

23.5 / 25.1

Bearish alignment (short < long)

Price vs SMA 200

Above

Long-term uptrend

RSI (14)

54.9

Neutral momentum

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹1,616 Cr	₹1,657 Cr	₹1,680 Cr	₹1,708 Cr	+1.8%
EBITDA	-₹46 Cr	₹90 Cr	₹239 Cr	₹212 Cr	—
EBITDA Margin	-2.8%	5.5%	14.2%	12.4%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	-₹227 Cr	-₹81 Cr	₹2 Cr	-₹54 Cr	—
EPS	₹-9.83	₹-3.48	₹0.08	₹-2.35	—
ROE	-12.6%	-4.7%	0.1%	-3.4%	—
ROCE	-4.9%	-2.8%	7.7%	4.2%	—
Total Debt	₹869 Cr	₹890 Cr	₹717 Cr	₹766 Cr	-4.1%
Free Cash Flow	-₹74 Cr	-₹95 Cr	₹33 Cr	₹68 Cr	—

🟡 Revenue has been broadly flat over 3 years (1.8% a year).

🟢 EBITDA has turned positive, from -₹46 Cr to ₹212 Cr.

🟢 EBITDA Margin has risen from -2.8% to 12.4% over 3 years (+15.2 pts).

🟢 ROE has risen from -12.6% to -3.4% over 3 years (+9.3 pts).

🟢 ROCE has risen from -4.9% to 4.2% over 3 years (+9.2 pts).

🟢 Total Debt has shrunk at 4.1% a year over 3 years.

🟢 Free Cash Flow has turned positive, from -₹74 Cr to ₹68 Cr.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹3,969 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹1,960 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹50 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

₹99 Cr

Capex

-₹31 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

0.0%

Insider Holding

76.3%

Corporate Actions

Ex-Dividend Date

17 Sept 2019

Peer Comparison

Company	P/E	ROE
BHARTI AIRTEL LIMITED	39.8x	20.2%
VODAFONE IDEA LIMITED	3.6x	—

Recent News

2 positive4 general

HT Media (HTMEDIA) Share/Stock Price Live, NSE

TechGraph, 08 Oct

HT Media Limited (HTMEDIA.NS) Climbs 2.94% to ₹22.79 as Stock Tests Upper Range - Total Put Call

siam.in, 06 Oct

HT Media vs Nifty 50: Share Price Performance Compared

Univest, 28 Sept

HT Media posts ₹43.51 cr profit for June quarter FY2026, revenue up 11%

Business Standard, 05 AugResults

🟢Potentially positiveReported improvement. Check whether it came from volume, price or a one-off item before treating it as a trend.

HTMEDIA Historical Data

Equitypandit, 26 Mar

HT Media shares jump 18% after Q1 profit surges, EBITDA turns positive

CNBC TV18, 05 AugResults

🟢Potentially positiveReported improvement. Check whether it came from volume, price or a one-off item before treating it as a trend.

Watch Items

Cross-check against the company's latest quarterly filing / investor presentation before acting.

DalalBaazaar Thesis

StrongValuation

MiddlingBusiness Quality · Financial Health

WeakGrowth · Profitability · Risk

Points for each in the Score ↑

Unremarkable in both directions

A reasonable business at a reasonable price. Nothing here is alarming and nothing is compelling, which usually means the decision rests on things this data cannot see — the industry's direction, management's intent, and what else is available to you. 2 high-severity red flags sit above this conclusion and should be read first.

3 of 5 tripwires tripped — Debt / EBITDA falls below 3x; Interest cover stays above 3x; Revenue growth stays above 4% a year · see Key things to watch ↑