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HT Media’s print fades but tunes into a digital pitch for profit revival

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MUMBAI: Ink may be running low, but HT Media is still turning the page on its fortunes. The publisher of Hindustan Times and Mint reported a consolidated loss of Rs 434 lakh for the quarter ended September 2025 narrowing from Rs 1,137 lakh in the previous quarter, even as the media house battles tepid ad spends and rising input costs.

Revenue from operations rose nearly seven per cent year on year to Rs 45,150 lakh in Q2 FY26, driven by a modest uptick in print and digital advertising. Total income, including other income of Rs 4,768 lakh, stood at Rs 49,918 lakh against Rs 47,928 lakh in the same quarter last year.

Expenses remained sticky at Rs 49,592 lakh, with employee costs of Rs 11,317 lakh and raw material expenses touching Rs 10,778 lakh. Finance costs stood at Rs 1,545 lakh while depreciation and amortisation came in at Rs 2,487 lakh. The group’s other expenses, covering distribution and marketing, were Rs 23,420 lakh.

At the operating level, HT Media posted an EBITDA of Rs 4,358 lakh compared to Rs 3,273 lakh a year ago showing that while ad markets remain tight, operational efficiencies are starting to show results.

For the half year ended September 2025, revenue stood at Rs 86,365 lakh, up from Rs 80,226 lakh last year, but total expenses climbed to Rs 97,554 lakh. The company posted a consolidated net loss of Rs 1,571 lakh for the half year, compared to Rs 3,392 lakh in the year-ago period.

The print and publishing segment continued to contribute the lion’s share of revenue, followed by radio and digital. The radio business, under Fever FM, faced continued pressure from muted advertising demand, while the digital vertical saw steady traction amid growing online readership.

HT Media’s total assets as of September 2025 stood at Rs 4,00,761 lakh, slightly up from Rs 3,93,289 lakh in March. The company’s equity base was Rs 2,03,666 lakh, including a non-controlling interest of Rs 38,460 lakh. Borrowings stood at Rs 68,760 lakh, reflecting the company’s cautious approach to leverage.

The silver lining? A total comprehensive loss of just Rs 64 lakh for the quarter, signalling that the group’s cost control measures and portfolio diversification are beginning to stabilise its balance sheet.

For a company that’s seen ink fade in print but pixels glow online, HT Media’s story this quarter reads less like a headline loss and more like a subplot in a longer comeback narrative.

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Delhivery chairman Deepak Kapoor, independent director Saugata Gupta quit board

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Gurugram: Delhivery’s boardroom is being reset. Deepak Kapoor, chairman and independent director, has resigned with effect from April 1 as part of a planned board reconstitution, the logistics company said in an exchange filing. Saugata Gupta, managing director and chief executive of FMCG major Marico and an independent director on Delhivery’s board, has also stepped down.

Kapoor exits after an eight-year stint that included steering the company through its 2022 stock-market debut, a period that saw Delhivery transform from a venture-backed upstart into one of India’s most visible logistics platforms. Gupta, who joined the board in 2021, departs alongside him, marking a simultaneous clearing of two senior independent seats.

“Deepak and Saugata have been instrumental in our process of recognising the need for and enabling the reconstitution of the board of directors in line with our ambitious next phase of growth,” said Sahil Barua, managing director and chief executive, Delhivery. The statement frames the exits less as departures and more as deliberate succession, a boardroom shuffle timed to the company’s evolving scale and strategy.

The resignations arrive amid broader governance recalibration. In 2025, Delhivery appointed Emcure Pharmaceuticals whole-time director Namita Thapar, PB Fintech founder and chairman Yashish Dahiya, and IIM Bangalore faculty member Padmini Srinivasan as independent directors, signalling a tilt towards consumer, fintech and academic expertise at the board level.

Kapoor’s tenure spanned Delhivery’s most defining years, rapid network expansion, public listing and the push towards profitability in a bruising logistics market. Gupta’s presence brought FMCG and brand-scale perspective during a period when ecommerce volumes and last-mile delivery economics were being rewritten.

The twin exits, effective from the new financial year, underscore a familiar corporate rhythm: founders consolidate, veterans rotate out, and fresh voices are ushered in to script the next chapter. In India’s hyper-competitive logistics race, even the boardroom does not stand still.

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Meta appoints Anuvrat Rao as APAC head of commerce partnerships

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SINGAPORE: Anuvrat Rao has taken charge as APAC  head of commerce and signals partnerships at Meta, steering monetisation deals across Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp from Singapore. The former Google executive, known for launching Google Assistant, PWAs, AMP and Firebase across Asia-Pacific, steps into the role after a high-growth stint as chief business officer at Locofy.ai.

At Locofy.ai, Rao helped convert a three-year free beta into a paid engine, clocking 1,000 subscribers and 15 enterprise clients within ten days of launch in September 2024. The low-code startup, backed by Accel and top tech founders, is famed for turning designs into production-ready code using proprietary large design models.

Before that, Rao founded generative AI venture 1Bstories, which was acquired by creative AI platform Laetro in mid-2024, where he briefly served as managing director for APAC. Alongside operating roles, he has been an active investor and advisor since 2020, backing startups such as BotMD, Muxy, Creator plus, Intellect, Sealed and CricFlex through a creator-economy-led thesis.

Rao spent over eight years at Google, holding senior partnership roles across search, assistant, chrome, web and YouTube in APAC, and earlier cut his teeth in strategy consulting at OC&C in London and investment finance at W. P. Carey in Europe and the US.

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Brnd.me enters Europe as haircare brands power global expansion

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Bengaluru:  Brnd.me, the global consumer brands company formerly known as Mensa Brands, has entered the European market following strong momentum across the Middle East, the United States and Canada.

The company has launched across the UK, Germany, France and Spain, with plans to expand into Italy, the Netherlands and Poland over the next year. The push is being led by its haircare and aromatherapy brands, Botanic Hearth and Majestic Pure, marking Brnd.me’s first structured expansion into Europe.

The European beauty market represents a total addressable opportunity of over $4 billion across haircare and aromatherapy, supported by high digital adoption and demand for accessible, performance-led products.

Brnd.me’s hair care and aromatherapy business currently operates at an annual run rate of around $6 million, with Botanic Hearth and Majestic Pure delivering roughly 10 per cent month-on-month growth, driven by expansion and rising repeat demand.

To support regional growth, the company has appointed a general manager based in Germany and is evaluating investments in warehousing and local team expansion.

Early traction has been strong. Within weeks of launch, Botanic Hearth’s rosemary hair oil ranked among the top five hair oils in Germany, signalling strong consumer pull in a competitive market.

Brnd.me founder and chief executive officer Ananth Narayanan, said Europe represents the next phase of the company’s international strategy. He added that the European business is expected to scale to a $10 million annual run rate by the end of 2026, with long-term ambitions to reach $60 million over the next six years.

The company’s Europe strategy centres on digital-first distribution, repeat demand and TikTok-led discovery, alongside direct-to-consumer expansion to strengthen brand equity and margins.

The move also aligns with growing EU–India trade engagement, supporting long-term sourcing and cross-border supply chains.

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