HT Media swings to loss as ad revenue falls

HT Media swung to a quarterly loss on Tuesday, as its print business suffered losses from lower advertiser spending and high newsprint prices.

HT Media, the owner of national daily Hindustan Times, reported a consolidated net loss of 218.9 million rupees ($2.65 million) for the three months ended Dec. 31, compared to a profit of 448.8 million rupees a year earlier.

The New Delhi-based company's total expenses rose 17.8% to 5.18 billion rupees, with the cost of materials consumed jumping 29%.

HT Media, however, said it expects to benefit from easing raw material prices and an improvement in ad spending as the business environment stabilises.

The company, which also owns the Mint newspaper, said its revenue from operations contracted 5.5% to 4.4 billion rupees. HT Media's shares fell as much as 1.3% after the results.