Hindustan Media

- No fresh information or announcements were provided regarding new fundraising through debt or equity during the call. - The company acknowledged holding substantial cash on books but did not indicate plans for raising or deploying new funds. - Previous attempts to unlock value in digital assets (e.g., Digicontent Limited) requiring shareholder support are being reconsidered, but no immediate fundraising is planned. - The focus remains on investing cash internally, such as in OTTplay under HMVL, aiming at long-term sustainable value rather than immediate capital raising. - Management emphasized prudent cash management during the pandemic and did not signal plans for new fundraising in the near term.

- The company is currently investing in OTTplay, an OTT aggregator platform under Hindustan Media Ventures Limited (HMVL). - OTTplay aims to aggregate multiple OTT players into a single login, offering access to content from 15-20 OTT platforms for a fraction of the price. - The focus is on Tier 2 and Tier 3 towns, targeting the NCCS B and NCCS C market segments. - The investment is part of a strategy to create long-term sustainable value for shareholders. - No additional fresh information on new capex or capital investments beyond OTTplay was provided during the call. - The company remains cautiously optimistic about scaling up their radio stations from 15 to 22, subject to financial viability and government/regulatory interventions. - No immediate plans were disclosed for cash deployment beyond current strategic investments.

- The company expects revenue growth to be reasonably buoyant from late September-October 2023 (festive season) through the election period in 2024. - Advertising volumes have returned to pre-pandemic levels, supporting optimistic sales outlook. - Pricing improvement programs started recently are expected to enhance margins and revenue gradually over the next few quarters. - Election revenues anticipated to boost sales further in FY24. - Digital and radio segments are showing signs of recovery with new value-added services and market positioning efforts ongoing. - Print circulation revenue is growing due to better realization per copy. - Overall, growth is expected to build steadily over the next 3-4 quarters, driven by market recoveries, pricing improvements, commodity cost declines, and election-related demand.

- The company is hopeful of improvement in margins, EBITDA margins, and bottom line going forward (Page 18). - Raw material (newsprint and pulp) prices have been declining for 3-4 months; this is expected to expand gross margins in FY24 (Page 6). - Inventory days are typically 3-4 months; impact of falling commodity prices will gradually reflect more in coming quarters, likely improving margins (Page 16). - Pricing remains a key lever—an aggressive pricing program was started about 2 months before the call; as volumes have recovered to pre-pandemic levels, pricing improvements should help margins grow over the balance of the calendar year (Pages 6 and 16). - Election-year advertising revenues and festive season demand are expected to improve revenue outlook, supporting topline growth in print (Page 6). - Operating leverage is expected to improve with better pricing and raw material costs, aiming to return to high single-digit EBITDA margins (Pages 6 and 16). - Digital segment losses increased due to investments in new businesses, but focus on profitable growth remains (Page 5).

The transcript provided does not mention any details regarding the current or expected order book or pending orders for Hindustan Media Ventures Limited. The discussion primarily focuses on financial results, business segments (Print, Radio, Digital), pricing, inventory, margins, and strategic outlook. There is no reference to order book status or pending orders in the Q&A or presentation content.