1. At a Glance – The Newspaper That Prints Profits… Sometimes
Welcome to the strange world of Hindustan Media Ventures Ltd — where the company literally prints newspapers, but profits seem to be printed only on selective days like IPL Sundays.
Here’s the headline nobody wants to publish:
Revenue is stable-ish at ₹212 Cr for Q3 FY26
Operating margins are basically negative (yes, negative printing margins… ironic)
EPS crashed from ₹6.16 (Mar 2025 quarter) to ₹0.12 now
But the stock still trades at a dirt-cheap P/E of 5.75
And the biggest plot twist?
The company owns investments worth ₹1,211 Cr — which is MORE than its entire market cap of ₹471 Cr.
So what is this exactly?
A hidden asset play? A dying newspaper business? Or a classic Indian “cheap for a reason” case?
Add to this:
OTT business shutting new subscriptions
Continuous management exits and reappointments
Heavy dependence on “other income”
And suddenly this looks less like a boring media company and more like a Saas-Bahu serial where everyone keeps resigning and returning.
So the real question is:
Are you buying a media business… or just a pile of financial investments wrapped inside a printing press?
2. Introduction – From Newspaper King to Digital Confusion
Back in the day, owning a newspaper was like owning IPL broadcasting rights.
You had:
Monopoly-ish distribution
Sticky readership
Advertising goldmine
And Hindustan Media Ventures Ltd was right there — dominating Hindi markets like Bihar, UP, and Uttarakhand.
It is:
No.1 in Bihar & Uttarakhand
No.2 in UP
3rd largest newspaper in India
Sounds powerful, right?
But then came:
Smartphones
Jio data revolution
Instagram reels replacing editorials
And suddenly:
People stopped reading newspapers and started reading WhatsApp forwards from their uncle.
Even ICRA basically said:
Print circulation declining
Digital shift accelerating
Margins under pressure
Now management is trying to juggle:
Print (cash cow… but shrinking)
Digital (growing… but loss-making)
Radio (basically struggling)
It’s like running:
A profitable kirana store
A loss-making startup
And a dying DVD rental business — all at once
So the question becomes:
Is this transformation… or just slow-motion decline?
3. Business Model – WTF Do They Even Do?
Let’s simplify this like explaining to a chaiwala investor.
HMVL earns money from:
1. Newspaper Sales (~23%)
Selling physical newspapers.
Yes, actual paper. Ink. Delivery boys.
2. Advertisement Revenue (~60%)
This is the real money.
Companies pay to show ads in:
Hindustan newspaper
Website (LiveHindustan.com)
3. Other Income (~7%)
This is where things get spicy:
Investments
Interest income
Financial gains
And spoiler:
This “other income” is often what saves profits.
4. Digital (OTTplay, etc.)
This is supposed to be the future.
But reality:
Growing revenue
Still loss-making
5. Random Investments
Company keeps investing in:
Food startups (Zappfresh)
Software companies
Agri ventures
At this point, even management might be like:
“Bro, what exactly are we building?”
So what’s the core business?
A declining print business funding a loss-making digital dream, while investment income keeps the lights on.
Tell me honestly:
Would you call this a focused strategy… or corporate multitasking gone wrong?
