QUICK EDIT

Inspired byInnovation

Innovation has been amajor buzz word atHT Media this year.

Keeping in mind thechanging needs andreading behaviour of thenew-age consumer, HTdonned a new look - thatof a discerning reader'scompanion. Creating aseamless bouquet ofinteresting products, thepublication took excitingsteps to reach out toreaders acrossgeographies with contentthat was credible,informative and engaging.From initiating a slew ofreader-friendly initiativesto gaining a strong hold inthe existing readershipdomain, HT has defiedconvention.

The core values of HTnamely, Courage,Responsibility, Empower-ment, Continuous Self-Renewal and People-centricity were infusedwith the spirit ofinnovation and leveragedto great results. Takingreaders beyond the realmof reported facts throughits 'inspired by innovation'mantra, HT is furtherconsolidating its positionas an opinion-shaper.

www.htmedia.in

HT MEDIA LIMITEDCONSOLIDATED REVENUE R 1,815.17 Crore CONSOLIDATED EBITDA R 364.89 Crore CONSOLIDATED NET PROFIT R 180.91 Crore CONSOLIDATED NET WORTH R 1,302.21 Crore

ManagementDiscussion & Analysis >P4

Report on CorporateGovernance >P6

Directors’ Report >P8

FinancialStatements >P9

Listed on Bombay Stock Exchange Limited and National Stock Exchange of India Limited Total 32 pages including 24 pages of Financial Statements

ANNUAL REPORT 2010-11

The information landscapemight be getting demandingby the day but we, at Hindustan

Times, are equally prepared to keeppace with the rapidly changing time.The readers of today have come along way. The 'on-the-move' gen-eration of 21st century India wantinformation that fits well with theirfast moving lifestyle. They thrive oncredible, responsible yet engaginginformation that is also crisp, clearand presented in the most succinctmanner.

At HT, we take our role as an opin-ion maker seriously and so arealways striving to improvise on ourcontent. Presenting an amalgam ofentertaining and serious news, weare constantly evolving our diversemedia mix (mainstream Englishand Hindi daily, Magazine, Radio,

Online, Networking, Mobile,Job Portal etc.) to fare well with theyouth. Capturing the pulse of bothurban and hinterland India, HTspeaks to a wide spectrum of read-ers in a language that creates themaximum impact.

The vibrancy we offer in terms ofdesign, content and the entire lookand feel has been instrumental in us,striking a comfortable rapport withour readers. At the editorial level, wehave pushed our team to get into theminds of our readers and producecontent that effectively conveys whatthey expect, without them seekingalternatives someplace else. Packingin more value, punch through wordsand information, HT Media is everenhancing its brand portfolio andexisting media properties to stay con-nected with its loyal readers.

Amongst the most contemporarymedia conglomerates in India,HT Media offers its readers an impres-sive media mix that engages themwith its intellectual insights. Openingup a world of information, that isboth entertaining and usable, thebrand is proud of its wide array ofportfolio that offers something inter-esting for each of its patrons. We con-tinue to engage with different groupsof readers through a series of well-executed editorial properties that arepresented with strong communi-cation and activation elements.

Unflinching commitment to thehighest journalistic standards, tech-nological innovations and strongfocus on consumer needs has putHindustan Times in the ranks ofthe most revered English newspa-pers. Amongst the most read English

dailies of the country, the brandHindustan Times is published fromDelhi, Chandigarh, Jallandhar,Mumbai, Lucknow, Patna, Ranchi,Jamshedpur and Kolkata, thus dom-inating much of the country.Hindustan Times continues to bethe largest-read English newspaperin the region of Delhi NCR with aver-age issue readership of 22.58 Lacreaders (Source: IRS Q1 2011). Drivenby the commitment to providingnews and information that helpsreaders enhance and enjoy life,Hindustan Times, has in its portfo-lio, relevant special-interest supple-ments that cater to a variety of sub-jects. In Mumbai, Hindustan Timesclimbed to the No. 2 position inFY 11 amongst English broadsheets.

HINDUSTAN TIMES

Credible, responsible & engagingI

ndia is a vast country. For manyof its, upwards of, 1 billion citi-zens, reading a newspaper is not

a reality. High illiteracy rates acrossmany parts of the country as well aslimited access to television have cre-ated an environment where the mosteffective and easily available mediachannel is the venerable radio. Thislongstanding, cheapest form of enter-tainment has made a major come-back in the lives of people. Radio,once again, has emerged as an inte-gral part of the Indian media land-scape; its reach phenomenal, its recallvalue influential. This revival can beattributed to the innovation and qual-ity augmentation introduced intothe segment by private players.

HT Media entered the segmentwith the launch of the Delhi sta-tion, Fever 104 in 2006. It began bycatering to the musical taste of the

capital's youth, but 'Fever 104' soonexpanded its reach to Mumbai,Bengaluru and Kolkata as well.Offering the best playlists of Indianand international hits and initiatinga pioneering programming format,the FM station has been able to cap-ture the imagination of millions oflisteners. By staying true to its prom-ise of quality music, the channel hasbecome a trend-setter with regardto producing listener-oriented pro-grammes and promotions.

Courtesy its vibrant content andexciting programme palette, Fever 104 registered robust growthon its quarterly and annual finan-cial numbers. For the quarter endedMarch 31, 2011, Fever clocked a rev-enue of R26.16 Crore and an annual revenue of R70 Crore;

A new tune of success

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Mint's continued focus ongrowth and innovationhas held it in excellent

stead over the course of FY 2010-11. Mint committed itselfto a stream of initiatives, whichstrengthened its product offeringand also added new streams ofrevenue to the business. An actionpacked year has taken Mint fromnew launches and strategiccollaborations, to leveragingtechnology to increase readerconnect and engagement incutting-edge business issues.

Having established itself as thesecond largest business paper inthe country and the preferredchoice of discerning businesspaper readers; Mint furtherexpanded its national footprintwith the Gujarat launch. Throughthis launch, Mint now reachesout to readers in Ahmedabad,Baroda, Surat, Rajkot andGandhinagar. The effort at Mint isto keep enhancing the productoffering so that it stays relevant tothe changing consumer needsand stays true to the 'clarity'proposition it offers. Towards thisend, Mint launched a new sectionon Markets & Personal Financecalled 'Mint Money'. Through itswell-researched and analysedcontent, Mint Money helps

its readers develop anunderstanding of how variousfinancial products and marketswork for them.

A significant Mint innovation wasthe special iPad application'Mint on the decade'. As Mintreaders are early adopters, theapplication is a critical way toconnect with them. The applicationis feature rich and supports video,dynamic graphics and panoramasamongst other things.

Mint conducts high profileevents, which aim to provideclarity on engaging businessissues through debate among topcorporate leaders and decisionmakers in the country. The eventsbusiness has been a strongcontributor to building the clarityproposition. Last year Mintventured into new formatsand created properties like'Mint Luxury Conclave'.

Mint recently entered a strategiccontent alliance with businessnews channel Bloomberg UTV.Under this tie-up, they will sharecontent with each other on a dailybasis, and undertake various jointeditorial initiatives through theyear. This partnership will helpMint expand its content footprint

'Mint'ingAchievement

MINT

HT Media has been actively atwork strengthening its foun-dations for the last few years.

Throught a combination of sensiblestrategic moves, optimal resourceallocation and considerable hard-work , the Company was able to builda strong base upon which to createits future. The initial results of thiseffort are evident in the success wehave experienced in FY 2011.

The Fiscal Year 2010-11 attestedto a strong, all-round performancefor HT Media with growth across theboard.

The readership of all groupnewspapers, Hindustan Times,Mint and Hindustan, registerednew highs. Hindustan Timesretained the top slot in Delhi NCR bya healthy margin above its closestcompetitor. In Mumbai, it becamethe second largest read newspaper.HT Media group's Hindi newspaper,Hindustan, ushered in a new visionfor Hindi editorial as its noveldirection and design proved to be ahit with the readers and made it thesecond largest read Hindinewspaper in the country in FY 11.Mint consolidated its position as thesecond largest business paper.

Companybenefits fromastute businessdecisions

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FEVER 104

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On the path of growth

Chairperson's Message >P3

ht media

Financially, the Company wasahead of the industry in moreways than one. On a consolidatedbasis, its revenues grew by 25% toreach R1,815 Crore, EBITDA grewby 26% to reach R365 Crore, netprofit grew by 33% to reach R181 Crore. Revenue growth wasdriven by a 22% increase inadvertisement revenue within theprint segment, which reachedR1,395 Crore from R1,141 Crorein the previous fiscal and animpressive 63% increase inrevenue from the Radio &Entertainment segment from R43 Crore in FY 10 to R70 Crorethis year. This robust revenuegrowth has been partially offsetby a significant increase in cost ofraw material, reaching R628 Crorein FY 11 from R476 Crore in theprevious year, due to highercirculation and newsprint prices.

In a significant strategic move, HT Media demerged the Hindi busi-ness into a subsidiary company -Hindustan Media Ventures Limitedw.e.f. December 2009. Thereforenaturally, the standalone results for FY 11 are not comparable with thoseof FY 10. On a standalone basis,revenue stood at R1,256 Crore,EBITDA at R324 Crore, and

net profit at R178 Crore. The Boardof Directors has recommended adividend of 18% amounting toR8.46 Crore (excluding corporatedividend distribution tax ofR1.37 Crore) for shareholders'approval at their ensuing AGM.

HT Media's business outlook

remains promising on account ofconsistent growing readership of itsgroup newspapers, continuousimprovement in advertising yields,a strong balance sheet capable ofsupporting investments in growingbusinesses, net cash of R406 Croreand net fixed assets of R824 Crore,increasingly improving performanceof relatively newer businesses likeHT Mumbai, Radio and Mint, andfinally, the Company's continuinginvestments in the digital space.

It maintained its No.2 position,3rd time in a row with average issuereadership of 6.88 Lac readers as perIRS Q1 2011 results. It has also beenstrengthening its reader-connect andengagement in all the other marketsit is present in.

HT City: Delhi's definitive guideon lifestyle, happenings and enter-tainment; is also a daily supplement.Offering an entertaining look on thelatest happenings from the world ofglamour and movies, Delhi's mosttalked about fashion, eating placesetc., HT City's content is anchoredto connect with the youth. 2010 wasan exciting year for the brand as itwent beyond the boundary of dailyreporting and initiated activities thatmeant more reader involvement.Introducing exciting and engagingactivities, like Delhi's Most StylishAwards, Crystal Awards etc., the sup-plement took a step towards gettingmore involved in the lives of the read-ers and providing them with a plat-form where it was their voice andopinions mattered.

HT Brunch: The weekly Sundaymagazine has everything a readerwould want to spend a lazy day-offreading. Offering interesting cover-age on food, travel, fashion, youth,music, technology, celebrities etc.,the magazine packs in quality read-ing material along with world classproduction values. The magazine,aimed at the well-heeled youth ofthe city, is at par with any interna-tional glossy in terms of look, con-tent and information. In terms ofinnovation, the magazine has had athrilling year with the launch ofBrunch Quarterly's first edition inthe month of January, which receivedan encouraging response and waspraised for being refreshingly differ-ent from other magazines on thestand.

HT Business: Known for its cutting-edge reportage, innovativedesign and intelligent use of info-graphics, HT Business presents themost complex of corporate nitty-grit-ty and jargon in a comprehensiveand interesting way. The latest hap-penings of the business world areexplained through concepts and ideaswhich are more accessible to thereaders. The edition is packed withinterviews and expert views on thehappenings in the world of business.The special edition demonstrateshow innovation, when merged with

superlative design elements, can ele-vate stories and make them engag-ing and eye-catching.

HT Horizons: HT Horizons offersmuch needed guidance and men-torship to students, which is exceed-ingly helpful in the wake of intensi-fying competition. It is a supplementdedicated to serving the needs notonly of the student community, rang-ing from Class 10th to post graduates,but also the parents who are inter-ested in the successful future of theirchild. The supplement is a source ofcomprehensive information regard-ing career options, admission alerts,campus tech talk, mock exams, examtips and hostel life apart from otherrelevant topics.

HT Next: A newspaper exclusive-ly for students in school. Innovationas an essential ingredient is packedin its every edition. Keeping in mindthe needs of our young target read-ers, there is a constant effort to keepthem feeling engaged. Over the pastyear, HT Next has introduced manynew and exciting features. The pop-ular 'Top 5' segment on the front pageof the newspaper, which connectswith our young readers by provid-ing interesting information in an easyto absorb format, added two moresections - 'Top 5 Odd News' and'Top 5 Newsmakers'. The sectionshave been well received by the youthas evidenced by their positive feed-back. Another new feature titled 'MySchool, My Dream' was added to the'Beyond Books' section. Few otherfeatures such as 'Little known coun-tries', 'Tell me why' and 'Cultural

buzz' and a once a month specialfeature with graphics, illustrations,visuals etc., were introduced to makethe supplement more appealing,interesting, educational and insight-ful.

HT Estates: HT Estates as a sup-plement partners with and providesthe readers with information thatallows them to intelligently buy orsell their properties. It offers count-less options regarding the buyingand selling of property. In additionto presenting property retail infor-mation and options, the supple-ment notifies readers about the legalaspects involved with realty trans-actions.

Shine Weekly: Shine Weekly withits unique relationship withShine.com, is the only print careersupplement which offers both onlineand print recruitment under oneumbrella and one brand. ShineWeekly was recently re-launchedwith a brand new look and prom-ise of hundreds of jobs for its read-ers. Shine Weekly also offers valu-able information on overall careerdevelopment, interview tips, HRtrends, hot hiring sectors and manymore useful career-related topics.

HT Live: A supplement that offersits readers a 'peek around the cor-ner'. It highlights the hits and miss-es of infrastructural developmentand lifestyle centered on neighbour-hoods. This offering, full of interest-ing local news and local advertising,helps readers immediately addresstheir requirements.

Credible, responsible & engagingFROM PAGE 1

In its first nine months of com-mercial production, HT Burdahas registered total revenues of

R65 Crore. A significant part of thiscame from exports, which accountedfor nearly 80% of the revenues.HT Burda printed and exported about 132 million copies of high quality cat-alogues for a wide variety of clientsacross the length and breadth of Europe,as a result of which the company earnedforeign exchange to the tune of€9.4 million. HT Burda successfullyestablished some of the best practicesin the industry in areas of pre-press,safety and environment friendlinessand ensured they were incorporatedin the everyday workings of the press.Every employee of HT Burda has beentrained to embrace safety and the com-pany is in the process of obtaining a'green' certificate for compliance toenvironmental issues.

HT Burda is one of the largest com-mercial printing facilities in India.It was the first commercialRotogravure installation in the sub-continent for paper as a substrate.The most unique proposition ofRotogravure technology is embed-ded in the very core of direct ink trans-fer to paper. World over, this tech-nology has been adopted by pub-lishers to produce quality producton lower grammage paper, therebysaving paper.

HT Burda has contributed great-ly towards the Company's goal ofsustainable value creation for itsstakeholders. Not only does it helplower costs and optimize resources,HT Burda has also taken theHT brand beyond national bordersand has positioned it as a seriouscontender in the commercial print-ing market overseas.

witnessing vigorous growth of 93%quarter on quarter and 63% on anannualised basis. The focus throughthe year was on consolidating andincreasing yield in Delhi and Mumbaiwhile Bengaluru and Kolkata sawFever 104 surpass industry growth.With regard to the EBITDA numbers,Fever 104 yet again came out on top.For the quarter ended March 31, 2011EBITDA numbers witnessed a healthygrowth, generating R6.67 Crore withan EBITDA margin of 25.5%. Theannual EBITDA number was record-ed at R12 Crore, a major leap fromR-0.82 Crore registered in 2009-10.The business continues to be cashpositive and generates cash fromoperations internally.

Fever's constant focus on program-ming innovation and listener enter-tainment has resulted in consider-able increase in its audience andtherefore a positive all-round finan-cial performance. Over the course ofthe year it has been responsible forintroducing exciting, path-breakingconcepts to radio, for instance broad-casting the 'Ramayana', a first for theIndian radio industry. The programwas an outstanding success and ledto a breakthrough in listener num-bers, facilitated collaborations withkey corporations and most impor-tantly, took radio as a medium beyondmusic. Fever Ramayana won the bestediting and best sound award at theNew York Radio Awards 2011. Feverwill actively be broadening the reachof this award-winning content throughCDs, mobile downloads and the like.

FY 11 was also the year of diversi-fication as Fever widened its foot-print to cover other areas of massentertainment. Through events suchas musical concerts with artists ofgreat repute like Kailash Kher,Shubha Mudgal, Pankaj Udhas, aswell as shopping festivals and otherinternational gigs, Fever was able togenerate increased brand awareness.

Special mention must be made forthe 'Fever Tree of Wishes' an initia-tive that was met with appreciationfrom all quarters of society and attract-ed the attention of thousands, oneof whom was the Chief Minister ofDelhi. The tree of wishes is a uniqueconcept where wishes were writtenon balloons. The wishes were tiedtogether and the "tree" of balloonswas released into the open sky.

The coming year augurs well forthe radio and entertainment divi-sions of HTML as management isconfident that continued innovationand business diversity will help main-tain and enrich the positive trendsin the radio marketplace.

Successful from the word GoHT BURDA

Union Minister for I&B, Smt. Ambika Soni inaugurating the HT Burda plantin Greater Noida on 2nd March, 2011 in the presence of Smt. Shobhana Bhartia,Chairperson, HT Media and Dr. Hubert Burda, CEO & Promoter ofHubert Burda Media, Germany.

BOARD OF DIRECTORSSmt. Shobhana BhartiaChairperson & Editorial DirectorShri Roger GrevilleShri K.N. MemaniShri Y.C. DeveshwarShri N.K. SinghShri Ajay RelanShri Priyavrat BhartiaWhole-time DirectorShri Shamit Bhartia Whole-time DirectorShri Rajiv VermaWhole-time Director & CEO

CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICERShri Piyush Gupta

COMPANY SECRETARYShri Dinesh Mittal

AUDITORSS.R. Batliboi & Co.

REGISTRAR & SHARE TRANSFER AGENTKarvy Computershare Private LimitedPlot Nos. 17-24, Vithal Rao NagarMadhapur, Hyderabad - 500 086 Tel.: + 91 - 40 - 4465 5000 Fax: + 91 - 40 - 2342 0814Email: einward.ris@karvy.com

REGISTERED OFFICEHindustan Times House18-20, Kasturba Gandhi MargNew Delhi - 110 001, IndiaTel: + 91 - 11 - 6656 1608 Fax: + 91 - 11 - 6656 1445Email: investor@hindustantimes.comWebsite: www.htmedia.in

CORPORATE INFORMATION A new tune of success

On the path of growthFROM PAGE 1

FROM PAGE 1

'Mint'ingAchievementto multiple platforms and reachnew audiences. Mint content istoday available across formats -Print, TV, Web, Mobile andOnground Events. The businessis able to offer these asintegrated offering to both itsreaders and advertisers. To drivestrong engagement with clientsand hence revenue, the businessadopted this approach ofoffering integrated solutions.This solutions approach isalready contributing to thebusiness and will be one of thekey drivers of growth in the nextfew years.

Praise and recognitionhas been forthcoming for theefforts at Mint. Pitch magazinehas rated Mint as the No. 1business newspaper brand forthe second year in a row. Mintwon two awards at the12th Society of Publishers inAsia awards for EditorialExcellence. Monika Halan,Editor, Mint Money has beenselected as one of the16 Yale World Fellows for 2011.

With a comprehensiveproduct offering, strong pillarsof growth in place, clearadvertiser proposition and aneye to innovate - Mint is ready toleap into its second phase ofgrowth that will make it a strongand profitable No. 2 businesspaper.

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PARTICULARS FY 11 FY 10 FY 09 FY 08 FY 07 FY 06KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS (R in Lac)Revenue 1,81,517 1,45,380 1,37,965 1,24,712 1,07,634 84,104EBITDA* 36,489 29,077 10,963 21,376 20,539 13,585Cash Profit 18,470 14,171 3,411 13,884 13,794 9,264Net Profit 18,091 13,591 91 10,133 9,704 3,558Net Worth 1,30,221 96,894 84,854 85,281 76,414 69,154INVESTMENTS (R)Face Value/share 2 2 2 2 2 10Dividend/share 0.36** 0.36 0.30 0.40 0.30 1.20EBITDA/share 15.5 12.4 4.7 9.1 8.8 30.3LIQUIDITY RATIOSCurrent Ratio (times) 1.0 0.9 1.1 1.8 2.0 3.0Debt Equity Ratio (%) 16 32 44 26 22 25Interest Coverage Ratio (times) 11.9 7.5 1.3 8.8 11.3 7.0EFFICIENCY RATIOSInventory Ratio (Days) 78 70 135 75 81 92Debtors Turnover Ratio (Days) 51 61 58 58 50 53FA Turnover Ratio (times) 2.2 1.7 1.8 2.1 2.6 2.2EBITDA (%) 20 20 8 17 19 16RETURNReturn on Equity (%) 14 14 0 12 13 5Return on Capital Employed (%) 12 11 0 9 10 4EPS (R) 7.70 5.78 0.04 4.33 4.14 7.90

*EBITDA is before Exceptional Items**Proposed, subject to shareholders’ approval

HISTORICAL DATA (CONSOLIDATED)

ANNUAL REPORT 2010-11 ° WWW.HTMEDIA.IN02

Dear Shareholders,

The Indian story continues to be one of growth andopportunity. Now $1.7 trillion large, the Indian econo-my continues to expand at a rate which continues tobe in the high single digits. Yet, numbers can't capturethe entire phenomenon that India is. The countryremains a successful and enduring democracy of 1.2 billion people. Socio-economic indicators such asthe literacy rate and life expectancy too continue toimprove. According to the latest Census, the literacyrate in the country is 74%, almost 10 percentage pointshigher than what it was just a decade ago.

The market for most products and services is large,with more people entering the middle-income groupevery year. Rapid urbanization, a high proportion ofyoung people, a growth in the number of the English-speaking working class, and increasing exposure todiverse lifestyles also make the market a sophisticatedand complex one with two underlying themes - optimism and aspiration.

In the last decade, India consolidated its position asthe world's second fastest growing major economy.This decade, it will build on those gains, unlocking thepotential of its people and natural resources.

The macro-economic changes were accompaniedby changing societal norms, attitude and behaviour.Media just doesn't have to chronicle these changes;

it has to cope with them and continue to stay relevantand useful.

The latest economic data that came from the government indicate that the economy expanded by8.5% in 2010-11. Clearly, it has rebounded smartlyafter a modest 6.7% expansion in 2008-09. In 2009-10,it grew by 7.4%. Other emerging economies too grew.Still, some worries remain on account of high interestrates and food price inflation.

The sharp revival of the Indian economy has helpedthe media sector regain momentum. The latestFICCI-KPMG report on the media industry indicatesthat this resurgence has come on account of a stronggrowth in advertising revenue. Advertising spendsgrew by 17% in 2010 to R26,600 Crore and accountedfor 41% of the total revenue of the media industry.

Print continues to be relevant - it accounted foralmost 50% of total advertising revenue in 2010 - and,according to the report, will see an average growth of10% over the next five years in subscription and adver-tising revenue to touch R31,000 Crore.

Your Company has tracked the changing habits andpreferences of readers and advertisers - sometimeseven before the changes happen. Our continuous initiatives to sense the pulse of the audience and

realign our servings accordingly has been instrumen-tal in the rising appeal and popularity of our brands -across the print, radio, online and mobile platforms.Our strategic focus on new media has started showingresults and will intensify as we move ahead.

Your Company completed a corporate restructuringby demerging the Hindi business into a separate enti-ty, Hindustan Media Ventures Limited (HMVL). Thismove was well thought through, keeping in mind theunderlying growth potential of the Hindi business andthe focus required to unlock its true potential. In 2010-11, HMVL successfully concluded an InitialPublic Offering (IPO) of shares, recorded a healthygrowth of 19% in revenue and 'Hindustan' emerged asthe second largest read newspaper across all lan-guages in India in terms of total readership.

Your Company did equally well in 2010-11.'Hindustan Times' continued its dominance in Delhiand the National Capital Region and further strength-ened its No.2 position in Mumbai. The No. 2 businessdaily in the country, 'Mint', continued to build on itsstrengths by its launch in Ahmedabad and Hyderabad.Our radio business returned healthy profits during theyear. Our mobile solutions business gained good rev-enue in the very initial quarters of operations. Ourworld-class printing facility, under the joint venturecompany, HT Burda Media Limited, commencedcommercial operations during the year. And ouronline businesses continued to grow.

Your Company's consolidated revenue reached R1,815 Crore in 2010-11, from R1,454 Crore in 2009-10.Consolidated EBITDA recorded a growth of 26% totouch R365 Crore. Our consolidated net profit wasR181 Crore in 2010-11, an impressive 33% growth overthe previous year's R136 Crore.

I'd like to share with you my view on the Company'sperformance and the road ahead.

In the past decade, we launched Mint, Fever, jobportal Shine.com and student-focused portal HTCampus.com, a mobile solutions business, and theMumbai edition of Hindustan Times; grew Hindustan

into the force it has become; launched a joint venture, HT Burda, to take advantage of opportunities in theprinting space; and listed two companies on the stockexchange. This is an impressive record for a decade'sachievements by any standard.

Going forward, these businesses will serve asmultiple growth engines for your Company. Theimpressive growth in the radio business, and encour-aging signs of revenue opportunities in our online ven-tures has encouraged us to look for opportunities togrow, both organic and inorganic. We are systemati-cally building a diversified media conglomerate, inline with emerging trends and opportunities in thebusiness across the world.

I'd like to thank all our stakeholders - employees,shareholders, readers, advertisers, listeners, lenders,governments and society at large.

And I'd like to invite all of you to accompany us inour quest to create and share sustained value.

Thank You!

Shobhana BhartiaChairperson & Editorial Director

LETTER

ANNUAL REPORT 2010-11

Management Speak03

ht mediawww.htmedia.in

Kindly share with us an operational review onsustained growth of Hindustan Times.Riding on the back of an encouraging

2009-10, a significant objective this yearwas to sustain our growth in key marketsby focusing on young readers, fast-grow-ing geographies and, as always, high-quality editorial content. Over the last fewyears, we have made sustainable growthan unrelenting focus for the Companyacross the board. As a result we have seenconsistent results over the past year.

The revamp of our flagship brand,Hindustan Times, was very well receivedand has helped in strengthening our lead-ership in Delhi and NCR. At the sametime, Hindustan Times has registered sig-nificant growth in Mumbai where it is nowthe No. 2 among English broadsheets. Inthe last round of IRS (Q1 2011), the aver-age issue readership of Hindustan Timesin Delhi NCR was 22.58 Lac (a 3% increaseover the previous round). In Mumbai,Hindustan Times has established itself asthe clear no.2 with a readership of6.88 Lac. More importantly, HindustanTimes has registered a growth in reader-ship in 10 of the last 11 rounds.

We launched revamped HindustanTimes in several key cities of Punjab inorder to significantly improve our reader-ship in the region. Mint was launched inHyderabad in April of this year, expandingits footprint to a key market in the South.

We are also branching out to connectwith readers in ways that are not basedonly upon print media. Hindustan TimesLeadership Summit is now acknowledgedas the premier conclave in the country; inaddition, properties like Campus Callingand HT City Crystal Awards wereenhanced in terms of content and overallexperience to engage with readers on adifferent level.

Fever 104 has truly arrived. This yearhas seen significant improvement in theDelhi listenership of Fever 104. We startedthe year at an 18.8% share (12+ listeners)in Week 1. We hit no.1 in the first week ofMarch and went on to consolidate ourposition successfully in the month of Maywith an average weekly share of 20.2%.Fever 104 has also registered a remarkablerevenue growth of 63% this year. Going

forward, we see immense potential inradio and the broader entertainmentindustry and are working on tapping intothis exciting segment.

FY 11 has shaped up to be a validationand confirmation of the smart businessdecisions we have taken over the last fewyears. It has provided us with a strongfoundation to build upon in the comingfuture.

You have finally managed to make solid inroadsin the western markets through your Mumbaiedition. Where else do you plan to expand withthe presence of your flagship brandHindustan Times?Consolidation is the need of the hour.

We plan to take steps to secure our posi-tion in our key markets.

Delhi NCR is an extremely fast-growingmarket. Its importance cannot be over-stated - given the rapid development inthe state, the growth of the new townshipsof Gurgaon, Noida, Kundli and others andthe setting up of base of a number ofmultinational and national companies,Delhi NCR is becoming a major consump-tion state within the country. The contin-uing growth in readership in Delhi NCRwould have a major impact on revenues.We need to leverage our leadership posi-tion here to build loyalty for the brandamongst a broad section of readers.

In Mumbai, we are on a strong upwardtrajectory and we would like to continuethis trend in readership and revenue.

As I mentioned, we have recently re-launched Hindustan Times in five keycities in Punjab. As part of our strategicplan, we are also revamping our productsin the key upcountry markets of UP,Uttarakhand, MP, Chattisgarh, Bihar,Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Haryana. As anational news organization, our aim is toreach readers beyond the metros.

Our core target group continues to bethe affluent and the young readers. Thisfocus of ours has not undergone anychange and we remain committed to pro-vide high quality and credible content toour readers across various segments.

However, we are now looking at smallersegments within these large groups toreach out with customised offerings. Wehave done several seasonal supplements

and magazines which reach out to morespecific targets.

What were your thoughts on the IRS survey3 and 4 for 2010?The IRS survey is a shining validation of

our customer-centric approach to thebusiness. We have worked at making ouroperating model more customer-centric,with decision-making focused in this area.Customer inclusion and interaction arebecoming a way of life. We have devel-oped a number of properties based direct-ly upon our understanding of our con-sumers. Building a Company where thecustomer is at the centre is a critical deter-minant of success. The IRS Survey has val-idated that we are on the right track.

Overall, Hindustan Times has emergedas the second largest English newspaperin India with 36.9 Lac daily readers. It isalso the fastest growing among all Englishdailies, having added nearly 1 Lac readersover the previous round.

As per the results of the survey,HT Delhi has been ranked the leadingnewspaper in Delhi NCR in the last 4rounds of the IRS. This is an incredibleachievement and showcases the reach ofour publication in Delhi. Additionally,brand HT is registering a strong impact inan important section of the market - it hasa lead of 1.4 Lac readers in SEC A over itscompetitors. In Mumbai, HT continues tobe the fastest growing daily and hasentrenched itself as the undisputed No.2English daily.

This year, our premium business daily,Mint, consolidated its position as the No.2business daily in the country. Accordingto the IRS, Mint had a readership of1.99 Lac, with 80% being exclusive readers.

This unprecedented showing in the IRSis a source of pride for us as an organiza-tion because it confirms our close rela-tionship with our readers.

After capturing the interest of the youth readersand audience, since revamping Hindustan Timestwo years back, what lies in the offing?The last few years have been about

strengthening the foundations of ourbusiness. They have been about creatinga stable architecture at HT Media throughits various businesses supported by func-tions such as Marketing, Finance andHuman Resources. We are building ahouse with strong foundations. One of ourleading goals is satisfied customers, stake-holders and employees.

A major strategy this year was to ener-

gize the HT ethos and culture. The keydecision of developing innovation as acore competency was undertaken by theHT Media leadership team. We are goingto be relentless in our pursuit of embed-ding innovation into the very foundationsof our organization as it is a widely heldview that this century is going to belong tothe companies that are willing to inno-vate. From No TV Day to Reverse Channelfor old newspapers to movie reviews bypeople, there are fantastic, innovativeideas emerging from our teams.Developing our innovation muscle is apriority for us and we are looking toenhance capabilities in this area over thecoming year.

An important area that we have con-sciously looked at is the induction of freshtalent into the Company, especially at theentry level. We are certain that, overtime,the talent within HT Media would increas-ingly become younger and sharper. A pri-mary area for the induction of young tal-ent was in the key function of editorial.

Our focus on the young readers in ourmarkets remains paramount. HT Next,our newspaper for schools, continues todo well. HT Edge, our new offering for theyouth has met with an enthusiasticresponse in Delhi. Hindustan, our Hindidaily, has introduced a slew of interestingand innovative products aimed at theyouth; these include Hindustan Jobs,Jaano English and Movie Magic. In addi-tion, Hindustan has launched a women'ssupplement and magazine - Anokhi - anda personal finance supplement,Hindustan Money. The launch of theseproducts and the introduction of newyouth oriented sections are making ourmainline dailies - Hindustan Times andHindustan - more youthful. Equally, theeditorial content is becoming richer andmore relevant.

We intend to maintain our course onsustainable growth to achieve the longterm goals that we have set for ourselves.We will not get complacent in our successbut continually strive to build upon it toreach new heights of achievement.Through prudent control over our costsand expenses, diligent evaluation andmitigation of risk, adherence to the high-est standards of corporate governance,treating our customers as paramount andworking as a great team, I have not a shad-ow of a doubt that we will be well on ourway to triumph.

RAJIV VERMAOUR STRATEGY WORKS

ceointerview

chairperson'smessageWe have MultipleGrowth Engines

ECONOMYThe financial year 2010-11 proved to be mixed bag forthe global economy. While some mature economies,like the United States and Germany, managed to avoidthe threat of a double dip recession, other smallereconomies were not as fortunate. Portugal, Greece andIreland were forced to confront critical challenges related to sovereign debt, necessitating the enforce-ment of severe austerity measures. The United States,however, was able to increase its quarterly GDP growthto 3%, on an adjusted basis, by Q4 of FY 2011. Moreover,according to the US Labour Department, unemploy-ment fell to 8.7% from 10% over the previous year. Inspiteof decreased unemployment, the enduring upwardpressure on pricing and growth of home sales contin-ue to be a cause for concern. The spotlight has recent-ly been turned on commodity prices, which have shotup exponentially over the past year, especially in thecase of base metals, crude oil and precious metals. Theunabated rise in food prices is of persistent concern.The crisis itself has led to a dramatic deterioration infiscal positions, causing some market worries about fis-cal imbalance in many countries. The global economywas also plagued by geo-political tensions on displayin Greece and Libya which effectively led to a surge incrude oil prices. Subsequently, natural calamities inJapan also resulted in logistics supply setbacks andcould be responsible for checking economic growthin the immediate future.

In sharp contrast to the global economic difficul-ties, the Indian economy has continued on its track ofrecovery over the past year, even though soaring ratesof inflation triggered some alarm. Not unlike China,the other major emerging economy in the region, theReserve Bank of India was compelled to raise inter-est rates in tranches eight times last year in order tokeep inflation under control while still maintaining ahealthy rate of growth. According to quick estimatesreleased by CSO, the GDP of India may have grownby 8.6% during FY 2011. The country continues to ben-efit from the advantages of growing domestic con-sumption, led by favorable demographics, as the aver-age spending per capita also shows increases there-by supporting the country's growth. The Reserve Bankof India estimates the country's GDP will continue togrow at least 8% per annum despite certain mone-tary tightening measures.

The WPI inflation remained in the alarming dou-ble digits for the major part of the year, primarily dueto high food commodity prices. The boost to the econ-omy was aided by a healthy 4% growth in the agricul-tural sector, following a robust monsoon season, aswell as sustained growth in some areas of the servicesector.

INDUSTRY After struggling through a lean patch in 2009 due tothe global slowdown, the media industry showed clearsigns of recovery in 2010. Following the growth in thecountry's GDP, a simultaneous hike was seen indifferent industry sectors and the subsequent increasein advertising expenditure and sales promotion reflect-ed positively in media sector growth as well. In orderto mitigate the slowdown of the previous year, themedia and entertainment industry had undertaken anumber of cost optimization measures as a result ofwhich it not only surpassed revenue growth in 2010over 2009 by 11% (Source: FICCI Frames 2011), butalso improved its profitability. These growth trendsare expected to persist in the coming year since theoverall Media Spend as a percentage of GDP is stillextremely low in India, when compared to other keyglobal markets (Source: IIFL Research). According tothe FICCI-KPMG Report, the media and entertain-ment industry may achieve growth of 13% in 2011 toreach R738 billion, and an overall CAGR of 14% overthe next five years across all segments. The contribu-tion of advertising revenues to the overall revenuesfor the industry is increasing every year and is likelyto touch 42% in 2012, a jump from approximately35-37% in previous years.

According to the FICCI Frames estimates, adver-tisement revenues in the print media segment prom-ise to show a projected growth of around 13% over thenext three years from a much lower CAGR of 8% between2007 and 2010.

Unlike developed countries, it is estimated thatthe future of print media in India is far from bleak. TheFICCI-KPMG study suggests that a higher level of lit-eracy is helping the cause of print media in reachingout to the masses, particularly in Tier II and Tier IIItowns. Print media accounts for approximately 30%i.e. R19,288 Crore of the total M&E revenues. It is expect-ed to grow at a CAGR of 10% reaching R31,010 Crorein 2015.

It may be noticed that over the years, revenues fromEnglish language print media have enjoyed a major-ity share of revenue. Revenue generated from Hindiand regional languages will catch up with English, butwill take a few years to match the annual revenuesanticipated for the English print media segment in thecoming years.

OPERATIONS REVIEWThe financial year 2011 was a landmark year for HT Media. It began with the completion of theCompany's restructuring following the demerger ofits Hindi business undertaking into Hindustan MediaVentures Limited (HMVL) and a subsequent IPO byHMVL. The demerger and IPO were instrumental tothe Company's process of unlocking the value of theHindi publications, and brought about a subsequentautonomic significance to the publications as inde-pendent profit centers.

In FY 2011, HT Media cashed in on growing adver-tising volumes and posted strong growths in revenueand profits following the revival of the economy in India.

Leading from the front with Hindustan TimesHT Media substantially expanded its reach across allbusiness verticals within print media. As per the IndianReadership Survey released by the Media ResearchUsers' Council in April 2011 [IRS Q4 2010],Hindustan Times has consolidated its position as thesecond largest read English newspaper in India, as themarket leader in both Delhi and NCR area, and as astrong No. 2 player in Mumbai, with growth registeredin nine out of the last ten rounds of IRS reporting.Hindustan Times was also re-launched in key townsof Punjab to serve this affluent state even better, andis now within striking distance of leading circulationand readership in most key markets of Punjab andChandigarh. In the readership survey undertaken lastyear, HT Mumbai surpassed the competitor in termsof readership though the lead is marginal at present.We hope to build on our lead to aggressively take onthe competition and to strengthen our leadership inthe commercial capital.

Pan-India Business newspaperIn FY 2011 our business newspaper Mint made strongprogress with its launch in Kolkata and Chennai toestablish strong Pan-India credentials within theR6 billion business newspaper segment. It was alsolaunched in Hyderabad in April 2011. Thanks to thesemoves, it consolidated its position as the 2nd largestread business daily in India, with an over 25% reader-ship share in the key markets of Delhi, Mumbai andBengaluru. Mint's collaboration with 'The Wall StreetJournal' and 'Bloomberg' has given the newspaper theedge in appealing to the sensibilities of a discerningand exceedingly well-educated reader. Our immediatechallenge is increasing readership in all other placesat a similar pace as in Delhi, where Mint remains thereader's choice.

Growing the Hindi segmentThe aggressive investments made into the expansion ofHindustan in previous years were also responsible forHindustan becoming India's second largest Hindi news-paper, according to the Total Readership figures fromIRS Q4 2010. Hindustan's position as a dominant No.1in Bihar and Jharkhand and a strong No.2 in Delhi NCRremains unchallenged; it further accelerated its rapidpace of expansion by a launch in Gorakhpur. We areproud to report that with regard to our Hindi flagshipproduct Hindustan, HMVL was able to register stronggrowth of over 27% in advertisement revenue over theprevious financial year, well above the industry averageof 20% (approx). This proved to be a major contributorin ensuring our overall growth in FY 2011 revenues wasat a healthy 25%.

Impetus on Radio businessHT's foray into the R4 billion radio industry was partof the Company's strategic goal of gaining a toeholdin all segments of the media business. It currently runsa radio channel, Fever 104, in four metro cities-Delhi,Mumbai, Bengaluru and Kolkata. Since breaking evenapproximately a year ago, HT Media's radio businesshas begun to make an impact. The pace at which theradio business grew over the last financial year wasastounding. Even though revenues were a modestR70 Crore, growth was close to 63%. Supported bythese encouraging results the Company will focus onconsolidating and strengthening radio presence inmetropolitan cities before expanding elsewhere.

Meanwhile, the Company continues to look for inor-ganic opportunities in this business, as there arechances that this sector may show signs of consoli-dation in the near future. According to theFICCI-KPMG report, the radio segment in the mediaand entertainment industry is expected to record aCAGR of close to 20% from 2010 to 2015, promising ahealthy future for early entrants into the business.

Mobile Solutions - Capturing opportunityHT Mobile continued its successful run in the year2010-11. The Company ventured into many new areas,where it established itself as a credible player by win-ning clients' trust through innovation andoptimum delivery using advanced technology. Many

new clients were welcomed onboard. Innovative mobileapplications for varied platforms like J2ME, Android,BlackBerry and iPhone were developed and provedto be instant hits. Many campaigns also played a partin scripting this success. HT Mobile is well on its wayto tremendous vertical growth.

Digital foray and Internet businessIn FY 2011, HT Media's subsidiary Firefly e-Ventures,which manages the digital businesses saw significantdevelopment on a number of its projects.

The job portal Shine.com has gained traction in termsof increasing its database from 40 Lac candidates to over65 Lac candidates. Shine continues to be the fastest grow-ing job portal in the Indian market, with page views ofover 18 million per month, and almost 4 million visitsper month, as of March 2011.

HTCampus.com was a new launch for the business,aimed at providing students with the help they needto make informed decisions regarding higher educa-tion. Comprehensive, updated and relevant collegeinformation is in place for over 15,000 institutes acrossthe country. The website has been appreciated for itsintuitive user experience and traffic has already grownto almost 2.5 million page views per month.

Printing - Starting on a strong note During FY 2011, the Company successfully launchedits printing business with its joint venture partnerBurda Druck, Germany in full commercial operations,and hopes to capture on the opportunities emergingin the business in the near future. With the expertise ofBurda and the state-of-the-art printing facilities inGreater Noida, well equipped to meet global require-ments for bulk printing and publishing, HT Burda hasalready experienced international success and is gear-ing up for an action-packed year.

Partnership for Growth - Going strongHT Media's 'Partnership for Growth' initiative, begunin FY 2007-08, enables the Company to enter intostrategic partnerships with potential growth compa-nies. Through these collaborations, HT Media pro-vides a complete media platform to its partners inorder to cater to their advertising and brand-building needs and thereby contributes to their growth.In return, HT Media ensures a committed stream ofrevenue for a longer term and participates in the growthand value created by advertising.

The Company continued to show a strong perform-ance under this initiative even though the externaleconomic environment was not entirely favourable inthe wake of the economic slowdown. The highlightof the year was a well defined focus on the active man-agement of the portfolio of investments. This focusensured that the Company obtained significant returnsthrough planned exits, sale of assets and portfoliorationalization measures. In terms of new partner-ships, the Company executed a number of qualitydeals with prestigious companies across sectors underthis initiative.

The profits earned from the sale of assets under thisinitiative in FY 2010-11 were to the tune of R13.53 Crore, and thus contributed significantly to theCompany's bottom-line. Furthermore, the initiativecontinued to bring in appreciable incremental adver-tising revenue and thereby also contributed to the top-line of the Company.

Deal exits will become increasingly critical asthe investment portfolio of the Company expands.In such a scenario, the strong measures takenby HT Media this year for active portfoliomanagement will serve as an important foundationfor the future.

FINANCIAL PERFORMANCEThe financial performance of HT Media for FY 2011 has been very encouraging and isreflective of the Company's ongoing focuson revenue optimisation, maximisation ofoperating efficiency and belief in nurturingfuture growth engines. The highlights offinancial performance are summarisedbelow:

CONSOLIDATED REVENUESNet Consolidated Revenues registered a growth of 25%,up from R1,454 Crore to R1,815 Crore. The broad fac-tors that contributed to this growth were as follows:

Net increase of R307 Crore in revenues from theprint segment representing a growth of 22%. Thiswas primarily contributed to by the following:• Growth of 22% in Advertising Revenues which

moved from R1,141 Crore in FY 2010 toR1,395 Crore in FY 2011. This growth was attrib-utable to, both, an increase in advertising volumesas the media industry expanded as also pricingaided by a surge in readership scores acrossHT Media's publications.

• HT Burda registered revenues of R62 Crore inthe first year of operations (R7 Crore earned inFY 2009-10) following commissioning of both itsprinting machines in the first quarter ofFY 2010-11.

• Job work and scrap sales grew 80% and 82% respec-tively (contributing to additional revenues ofR17 Crore and R9 Crore respectively) - theformer on account of better utilisation of(higher) printing capacity and the latter, follow-ing an increase in newspaper circulation andconsequent newsprint consumption.

• Circulation revenue remained static over last yearat R183 Crore as an increase in newspaper cir-culation was offset by reductions in cover pricesacross several locations consequent to compet-itive pressures.

Revenues from the Radio & Entertainment seg-ment registered growth of 63%, up from R43 Crorein FY 2010 to R70 Crore in FY 2011, driven by growthin advertising volumes and also from sponsoredevents.

The Internet segment witnessed a growth of 85%in its revenues which expanded from R5.6 Crorein FY 2010 to R10.4 Crore in FY 2011. This increasein revenue was attributable in large part to the suc-cess of the Shine.com portal which has seen a surgein registrations and page views in its second yearof operations.

CONSOLIDATED PROFITSWhile a large part of the growth in profits during the yearis attributable to increasing revenues, there has been aconscious effort to contain costs while, at the same time,make investments in new ventures which require nur-turing in the initial phases. The potential erosion in prof-itability from a hike in newsprint prices combined withadverse foreign currency movements during the year andadditional cost of operation of new ventures (for exam-ple, HT Burda, launch of Hindustan in Gorakhpur andlaunch of Mint in Ahmedabad and Hyderabad) was effec-tively managed through careful planning of inventories,currency hedges, more effective manpower planning andcapacity utilisation. As a consequence, Net ConsolidatedEBITDA witnessed a growth of 26%, up from R289 Crorein FY 2010 to R365 Crore in FY 2011. EBITDA as a per-centage of revenue was maintained at 20%.

A significant reduction in interest cost was achievedduring the year on account of optimised treasury oper-ations. The debt mix and volume have been optimizedin such a manner that despite eight rounds interestrate increase by RBI, the overall interest out-go wasreduced by 20%.

Net Profits rose by 33% from R136 Crore inFY 2010 to R181 Crore in FY 2011. As a percentage ofRevenue, PAT improved from 9% to 10%.

FIXED ASSETSGross Block as at 31st March, 2011 expanded toR1,213 Crore from its previous level of R1,033 Crore asat 31st March, 2010. This increase is primarily attribut-able to commissioning of the printing facilities atHT Burda, launch of printing facilities in Gorakhpur(HMVL) and enhancement of printing capacity in Mohali(HTML) and the Indo-Gangetic belt (HMVL).

The increase in Gross Block corresponds to a reduc-tion in Capital Work-in-Progress from R129 Crore as at31st March, 2010 to R19 Crore as at 31st March, 2011.This is on account of completion of work related to com-missioning of the printing facilities in HT Burda asalso some part of the Indo-Gangetic belt expansionwhereby work had commenced by 31st March, 2010.

Consequent to the above, the Fixed Assets TurnoverRatio has improved from 1.7 times to 2.2 times.

INVESTMENTSInvestments as at 31st March, 2011 increased toR760 Crore, up from R475 Crore as at 31st March, 2010.

www.htmedia.inANNUAL REPORT 2010-11

Management Discussion & Analysis04

ht media(R in Lac)

FY 2011 FY 2010 Growth %

Total revenue 1,81,517 1,45,380 25

Advertisement revenue 1,39,477 1,14,097 22

Circulation revenue 18,277 18,329 0

Revenue from Radio 7,038 4,305 63

EBITDA 36,489 28,933 26

PBT 25,710 18,913 36

PAT** 18,091 13,591 33

EPS (R) 7.70 5.78 33

Total expenditure 1,45,028 1,16,447 25

Raw material cost 62,794 47,607 32

Personnel cost 30,090 25,198 19

Spend on Sales & Marketing 13,533 11,588 17

**After minority share of Profit/Loss

An operator adjusting the Console (control panel) of Regioman printing machine

ht mediaANNUAL REPORT 2010-11 ° WWW.HTMEDIA.IN

05MANAGEMENT DISCUSSION & ANALYSIS

This increase is primarily attributable to additionalinvestments in Mutual Funds and Fixed Maturity Planswith cash generated from operations as also from tem-porary deployment of IPO proceeds from HMVL, ear-lier during the year.

INVENTORIESInventories as at 31st March, 2011 increased margin-ally from R120 Crore to R146 Crore. Some part of thisincrease is attributable to the start-up of HT Burdaoperations during the year. However, the InventoryTurnover Ratio has improved from 12.11 times to12.47 times.

SUNDRY DEBTORSSundry Debtors increased from R242 Crore (61days)as at 31st March, 2010 to R252 Crore (51days) as at31st March, 2011. This increase is a consequence ofthe start-up of HT Burda's operations. Excluding debtorsrelated to HT Burda, Sundry Debtors have remainedstatic despite higher revenues, demonstrating thatdebtor collections have been very robust during theyear.

LOANSLoans decreased from R402 Crore as at31st March, 2010 to R312 Crore as at 31st March, 2011.The proceeds from the HMVL IPO were utilised torepay loans availed during the initial period of trans-fer of operations of the Hindi business from HTML toHMVL in FY 2010. This has also contributed to thelower interest expense for the year.

INNOVATIVE INITIATIVESOur Company persisted with its strategy of pursuingan innovation led model. This strategy resulted in anumber of enterprise level innovations as well as day-to-day innovations which took place in FY 2011.

A novel innovation that was embarked upon in FY 2011 was the creation of a 'No TV Day' in theMumbai market. This campaign encouraged citizensof Mumbai to say no to watching television on the29th January, 2011 and instead connect with their cityand fellow citizens. The strategy met with resoundingsuccess, and we hope to build upon this property in thefuture.

Another successful innovation that was undertakenat our Hindi newspaper was called 'Hindustan Money'.This initiative is joint venture between HMVL and Mintwhere Mint is the exclusive content provider. Onceagain, 'Hindustan Money' received a very positiveresponse from readers in the Hindi heartland.

In addition to the various initiatives, we constantlystrive to create a good mix of exclusive news stories,in-depth features, analytical pieces, news-you-can-use,and international content in our business newspaper'Mint'. Furthermore, this last year has marked the begin-ning of a concerted effort to make digital platforms animportant point of connect with readers.

On the Hindi publication front, the goal is to createa truly local paper with appropriate coverage of nation-al and international events as well. The different editions of 'Hindustan' make proximity the primary factor when determining the news to be published. Themajor driving force behind coverage is local news andevents.

RISK MANAGEMENT & INTERNAL CONTROLThe Company has a robust Internal Audit Programwherein all locations along with their different func-tions are audited once a year to obtain a 360° view of

the business. Special emphasis on adequacy of InternalControls is backed by the Company's risk - basedinternal audit approach which ensures:

accurate financial reporting and adherence to exist-ing policies and procedurescompliance with legal and statutory obligations thorough vouching for transactions encompass-ing all the areas of operationsreview of all functions and departments for theirefficiency and effectiveness

Internal audits are thoroughly discussed for all theidentified risks and their action plans, at both thelocation and corporate levels which in turn leads toeffective and efficient mitigation plans with definite timelines. Subsequent audits further confirm the com-pliance of the previous action plans to ensure effectivetreatment of the identified risks.

Key findings are periodically discussed at theManagement Committee meetings for their oversightand necessary deliberations. The Audit Committee peri-odically reviews the internal audit reports and initi-ates corrective action as and when necessary.

During the year, based on the internal audit obser-vations, several processes were mapped, policies andguidelines were formulated to further streamline andstrengthen the processes. Special attention was paid tostrengthen the IT Security platform and create aware-ness across the organization regarding the followingof IT best practices.

This approach has led to higher level of risk con-sciousness in the system and in turn has helped theCompany achieve higher standards of corporate gov-ernance.

CONNECTING WITH THE YOUTH HT Media, as a group, has made the youth of India apriority, be it school children reading a newspaper forthe first time or a student trying to get into universi-ty. 'HT Next', the school newspaper, has seen signifi-cant investment in the past year with initiatives suchas the 'Wall of Books' and the Annual HT School Quizin Delhi, all of which deepened HT's relationship withschools, students and their teachers. Hindustanincreased its investment into 'Pratibha Samman',which offers an annual scholarship to students.Hindustan Times in Mumbai adopted the idea as welland launched a HT Scholarship program which saw13,000 applicants, vying for 500 scholarships of

R50,000 each. It was the biggest School Scholarshipprogram in the country.

In Delhi, youth engagement went a step further withthe launch of India's first dedicated youth daily - 'HT Edge', a newspaper that was designed specifical-ly for and with inputs from the youth. The mainstayof this paper is content contributed by a speciallyformed Youth Editorial Board that works in collabo-ration with HT Editorial.

In addition, 'HT Campus.com' is a new initiative welaunched with the dual goal of carrying out businessobjectives as well as providing students with the helpthey need in making informed decisions about theireducational future. Innovative new features to sup-port students are being continually added, includingTest Preparation Modules and a revolutionary newconcept of Common Application Forms expected todrive significant growth for the website in the future.

HUMAN RESOURCES INITIATIVESHT Media places great import on the well-being anddevelopment of its people. As of 31st March, 2011, themanpower strength of HTML was 2,708. It is vital forthe Human Resources function to develop innovativemethods to engage with and partner in the growth ofeach of those employees.

Training was a major initiative on HR's agenda thisyear. Our Annual Training Calendar is rigorously fol-lowed in terms of both behaviour and skill develop-ment programs. Certain Supervisory DevelopmentPrograms are mandatory and are part of the joining for-malities, ensuring that HT's leadership approach isunderstood and followed across the board. Editorialtrainings in editing, reporting and design are conduct-ed in-house by experienced senior journalists and adapt-ed to suit the nature of publications or other businessinterests of HTML.

The Company's five guiding values are deeply ingrainedin the organization and are instilled in all employees,from new recruits to the Leadership Team. It is our orga-nizational philosophy that employee engagement comesfrom challenging tasks, appreciation, celebration ofsuccess and competitive remuneration. Measuring per-formance against these criteria makes it objective andtransparent and therefore reward becomes fair andnon-ambiguous.

The Performance Management Process is strong andstandardized in its implementation. There are three

main segments in the PMP - Self Appraisal, DevelopmentalFeedback and Rating Discussion. These segmentsaddress the employee's growth journey with HT Mediaand are closely reviewed by department heads. Feedbacksurveys are carried out for employees at the Leadershiplevels along with skill enhancement trainings in orderto build team work and management capacities.

Finally, the quarterly Star Awards function is acorporate reward mechanism in which star perform-ers are identified and significantly rewarded. The cul-ture of the organization is that of promoting transparen-cy and adopting a progressive, people-centric approachto the functioning of the Company.

OUTLOOKHT Media will look to consolidating and building upona year of encouraging results and forging ahead in thecoming years towards our goal of rising amongst thecountry's leading media conglomerates while adapt-ing to our reader's changing needs and lifestyles.

We remain upbeat about sustaining a high growthrate in advertisement revenue in both English andHindi publications. These will be achieved in light ofa major revival in advertisement spending in varioussectors. The Company plans to promote its business-es, in particularly the ones that have been signifi-cantly impacted by the hike in domestic consump-tion, and attract the attention of an increased num-ber of young readers in the coming years.

Our strategy to focus on high growth areas of clas-sifieds, DAVP, automobiles, FMCG, education and realestate is likely to be sustainable as these areas con-tribute the maximum in terms of advertising revenues.

We remain committed to improving yields and vol-umes of the Mumbai edition, which has already gainedthe second spot in readership. The Mumbai editionhas been showing revenue growth of close to 30%, wellabove the average 20% for our English publications.

With regard to our radio business, the target is to con-solidate our No. 1 position in Delhi and strengthen ourposition in Mumbai, Kolkata and Bengaluru. The indus-try projections for radio indicate robust growth in thecoming year. With the introduction of Fever Entertainment,we now have additional product offerings in the marketas well as an improved perception as a thought-leaderin the industry.

With the growth of internet penetration in the coun-try, HT's digital business continues its journey of con-solidating its position as a major player in the industry.HT's digital offerings, Shine.com and HTCampus.comare on aggressive growth paths and aim to become theleading platforms in their segment in the coming years.Riding on the strength of our innovative propositionsand a keen understanding of the rapidly changing needsof digital consumers, we believe we are in an excellentposition to leverage the increasing popularity of inter-net across the country.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENTCertain statements in this Annual Report may beforward-looking statements. Such forward-looking state-ments are subject to certain risks anduncertainties like regulatory changes, local political oreconomic developments, technological risks, and manyother factors that could cause our actual results to differmaterially from those contemplated by the relevant for-ward looking statements. HT Media Limitedwill not, in any way, be responsible for any action takenbased on such statements and undertakes noobligation to publicly update these forward-looking state-ments to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.

FY 2010-11 proved to be a land-mark year for Hindustan. In thelatter half of the year the Indian

Readership Survey (IRS) results forQ4 2010 confirmed the daily hadraced ahead of its competition toemerge as the second largest readnewspaper across all languages inthe country. Post the demerger,Hindustan Media Ventures Limited(HMVL) has continued to focus onstrengthening its regional footprintand moving towards faster growth.As a result of which, Hindustan, theflagship brand of the company,attained significant success and con-solidated its leadership position.

The brand underwent a massivemakeover in the beginning of 2008.The overarching result of this shiftwas an introduction of innovationin all aspects of the marketing mix,change in product philosophy, designoverhaul, an aggressive wave of brandpromotion, extensive on-ground acti-vation and critically, a massive expan-sion in its footprint in the states ofUP and Uttarakhand. Consequently,Hindustan instantaneously capturedthe hearts and minds of young read-ers in India, ensuring the publica-tion's continued growth inreadership, which has reached to3.66 Crore readers (Total ReadershipIRS Q1 2011). From the hinterlandsof India to its urban landscapes, thedaily, with its credible, informativeand engaging content mix, reassert-ed its position as an eminent sourceof news for its readers.

As a responsible publication,Hindustan takes its role of an opin-ion shaper seriously and is constant-ly striving to enhance the standardsof journalistic quality it has set foritself. It is thanks to this ethos, thatin round after round of the IRS,Hindustan regularly comes out ontop. Over the last three yearsHindustan has grown from 4 to 15editions, 13 Lac to 21 Lac circulationand from 85.51 Lac (IRS R2 2007)daily readers to 118.1 Lac(IRS Q1 2011) readers.

The year 2010-11 was a significantyear for HMVL in many other waysas well. Apart from its flagship brand,Hindustan, doing tremendously well,the Company also launched its maid-en IPO. Unlocking the value of theHindi print business, the IPO raisedR270 Crore.

During the course of the year,Hindustan continued on its forwardmarch in its expansion plans andlaunched a new edition inGorakhpur covering an important

gap in its UP coverage. With thislaunch, Hindustan is now presentin all but two districts of UP.Additionally, the company alsomodernised its printing facilities atvarious locations in Bihar andJharkhand to better cater to a rap-idly growing economic zone. Theyear saw another refresh of brandHindustan with content overhaulof the Hindustan paper and a com-plete makeover of the supplementportfolio. With a stimulating bou-quet like Jaano English, Anokhi,Hindustan Jobs and Nayi Dishayein,Hindustan, has taken anothergiant leap towards delighting itsreaders.

Owing to initiatives such as these,HMVL's turnover grew by 19% withadvertising revenue showing animpressive increase of 27%. Aidedby this improved turnover, HMVLgrew its EBITDA by over 12%. Overall,HMVL had a successful year andlooks to the future with a lot of opti-mism.

A new chapter for Hindustan H

T Mumbai, the Mumbaibased edition of HindustanTimes, started FY 2010-11

by crossing a new landmark andestablishing itself as the No. 2English broadsheet in the city.Readership grew to over 6 Lac andregistered an impressive jump of22% since the previous year.The edition has grown in ten ofthe last eleven Indian ReadershipSurvey (IRS) rounds and has main-tained its consistent growth story.The IRS 2010 demonstrated thatwhen compared to its closestcompetitor, the publication helda lead of over 41,000 readers interms of Average Issue Readership(AIR).

The growth in readership hascome courtesy HT Mumbai's year-round efforts at connecting toreaders with useful, informativeand innovative content. Throughtheir unique initiatives the teamwas able to address the interestsof readers belonging to variousdemographic groups and com-munities. Every week a wide rangeof topics, from education, lifestyle,social responsibility to the envi-ronment, were tackled in the pub-lication. An active dialogue withreaders was maintained by invit-ing them to share their views andopinions on various topics. Socialnetworking sites, like Facebookand Twitter, played an importantrole in attracting interest tothese issues and were used

strategically to increase readerengagement.

HT continuously strives to be athought leader rather than just anews distribution organization. Thiswas especially evident in the wayHT Mumbai broached issues thatwere relevant to the residents of thecity and encouraged them to getinvolved and raise their voice onsubjects that mattered to them. Aninitiative under the umbrella of'Mumbai First' was the largest pub-lic dialogue held in Mumbai.Reporters met over 11,000 citizensof Mumbai and collected vastamounts of data on issues like health,civic infrastructure and educationand were able to identify the 'weaklinks' responsible for hinderingdevelopment at the grassroots level.Once again, the response was adirect validation of HT Mumbai'sconnect with the Mumbai reader.This exercise in collaboration withthe citizens of Mumbai culminat-ed in a citizen's charter which washanded over to the MaharashtraGovernment.

Various initiatives were alsoundertaken to engage our youngerreaders. Editorial campaignslike 'Top schools of Mumbai','Campus Calling' -a counselingprogramme for students,'Hot Careers in Mumbai' all receivedan extremely positive response fromour readers. A new weekly column- 'Campus Cocktail' brought to read-ers the latest trends popular around

campuses and was a hit with thetarget readers.

This year HT Mumbai veryactively and aggressively endeav-oured to garner increased audi-ence interest through various read-er-centric initiatives and pro-grammes. The strength of the printmedium was smartly and signif-icantly leveraged to reach out toa greater number of people. As aresult, the publication not onlygained readership but alsoemerged as a concerned andresponsible player in the medialandscape. Various causes like'SOS! Save Our Open Spaces','BMC Prune Overgreen TreesSoon' and 'No TV Day', whichwere given the shape of a mean-ingful mass campaign during thefiscal year, stand testimony to thepublication's position as a com-mitted and responsible partner.A special 8 page memorial trib-ute was produced to mark the2nd anniversary of the attacks of26/11. Each edition of the news-paper carried with it a candle tocommemorate the tragedy andexpress HT's solidarity with thecitizens of the city.

2010-11 has been a year of greatinnovation and initiatives atHT Mumbai. In the coming years,the publication hopes to roll outmany more reader-friendly ini-tiatives, which will ensure highreadership numbers and contin-ually engaged readers.

HT MUMBAI

Innovation Mumbai-styleHINDUSTAN

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