1. Newsprint prices "have peaked and should plateau" from Q1 FY27 Pending - At the Q1 FY27 call, management stated newsprint prices (\~$650-700/MT) "have peaked and should plateau at this level before they start coming down", flagged as a "best estimate". Q1 FY27 prices sat at \~$650-700/MT, the highest peak since post-COVID, and Q2 FY27 was guided to "a slightly higher newsprint price vis-a-vis Q1".
2. Print operating margins maintained if newsprint and dollar stable On track - At the Q1 FY27 call, management said if newsprint and the dollar do not worsen further, "we should be able to maintain our margins on the Print business on the operating side very clearly", endorsing \~13% Print EBITDA margin as a fair modelling assumption. Q1 FY27 Print operating EBITDA margin was 13% "despite high commodity rates".
3. Retire 30-50% of debt once preferential capital comes in Pending - At the Q1 FY27 call, management committed that once the preferential capital comes in, "At least 30% to 50% of the debt will be retired", accretive to EPS, interest coverage and credit rating. The Board approved the preferential issue in July 2026, subject to approvals, at HT Media and Digicontent rather than HMVL; no debt retirement disclosed yet.
4. No further closure losses from discontinued operations from Q4 FY26 On track - At the Q4 FY26 call, management stated "The simple answer is no" to further closure losses, with only statutory items able to impact financials. In Q1 FY27, discontinued-operation losses "have come down substantially", PAT improved to ₹47 cr at 9% margin, and no new closure losses were disclosed.
5. OTTplay to do ₹200-250 cr business per year at \~10 lakh users Missed - At the Q3 FY25 call, management "absolutely agreed" that OTTplay at \~10 lakh users and \~₹200 ARPU in a couple of years should do ₹200-250 cr of business per year. FY25 OTTplay turnover was ₹59.86 cr, and the business was discontinued effective 31st March 2026.
6. Print business "will definitely not lose money this year" in FY25 Delivered - At the Q1 FY25 call, CFO Piyush Gupta committed "we will definitely not lose money this year. I mean at a cash level I am talking". Print posted positive operating EBITDA every quarter - ₹19 cr in Q2, ₹42 cr in Q3, ₹61 cr in Q4 - totalling ₹121 cr at 9% margin for FY25.
7. HT Labs new-business revenue in "another couple of quarters" Delivered - At the Q1 FY23 call, CFO Piyush Gupta said new-age digital businesses were incubation-stage with revenue taking "another couple of quarters"; at Q4 FY23 he said FY24 is the year monetization starts. OTTplay commercially launched by Q4 FY23, and FY24 Digital revenue grew 16% to ₹154 cr.
8. Digicontent loan settled by end of calendar year via cash and extension Partial - At the Q1 FY23 call, CFO Piyush Gupta said Digicontent's loan, due "at the end of the calendar year", would be settled "between a combination of cash generation… as well as some amount of extension" - "we do not see a problem". By Q2 FY25 the loan remained substantial, partially retired via HTDS buybacks, with no full settlement disclosed.
9. OTTplay break-even "hopefully by the end of this year" (FY26) Missed - At the Q4 FY25 call, management expected OTTplay to reach break-even "hopefully by the end of this year", qualified that faster scaling could need more investment. OTTplay was discontinued effective 31st March 2026, management citing unit economics that did not work despite multiple levers, with no break-even achieved.
10. OTTplay investment to at least halve in FY25 versus FY24 Partial - At the Q4 FY24 call, CFO Piyush Gupta said OTTplay investment would come down "drastically", with "the investment we did last year to be half this year, at least". FY25 Digital segment EBITDA loss narrowed only from ₹113 cr to ₹101 cr (\~11%), far short of halving, though Q3 FY25 OTTplay expenses were 65% lower y-o-y.
11. OTTplay revenue monetization starts in FY24 Delivered - At the Q4 FY23 call, management said FY24 is the year revenue monetization starts for incubated businesses including OTTplay, with results visible "in this year"; profitability was later pushed to "another four to six quarters" and then FY26. FY24 Digital revenue grew 16% to ₹154 cr led by OTTplay, scaling to ₹212 cr in FY25 before discontinuation in March 2026.
12. Radio back to pre-COVID profitability - FY24 a "stupendous year" Missed - At the Q4 FY23 call, CFO Piyush Gupta said "Next year we will again have a stupendous year, and a profitable year on our Radio segment", and at Q1 FY24 guided a return to FY19-20 profitability or 80-90% of it. FY24 Radio EBITDA was ₹13 cr at 8% margin, but turned to -₹6 cr in FY25 and -₹22 cr in FY26 despite six loss-making frequencies surrendered.
13. Print advertising yields back to pre-COVID levels via FY24 programme Delivered - At the Q4 FY23 call, management outlined a "big yield-improvement program" for FY24 to return to pre-COVID yields, then 20-25% short in Delhi and Bombay; by Q2 FY24 the goal softened to "a certain index of the pre-COVID yield" market by market. By Q4 FY26 ad growth was driven "substantially" by yields across Hindi and English, continuing into Q1 FY27.
14. Print "come out of the red" within the next couple of quarters Delivered - At the Q2 FY23 call, CFO Piyush Gupta said "in the next couple of quarters, we would come out of the red" on falling newsprint costs, reaffirming "Yes, for sure" at Q3 FY23; he later guided 10-12% EBITDA margin as sustainable. Q1 FY24 EBITDA turned positive at ₹27 cr (6% margin), and margins expanded to 15% on ₹298 cr EBITDA in FY26.
15. Newsprint to fall 10-15% from \~₹60,000/MT in FY24 Delivered - At the Q4 FY23 call, CFO Piyush Gupta guided newsprint prices, then \~₹60,000/MT, down "about 10% to 15% from here on" over the next year, with Q1 FY24 consumption cost down "about 7%-8%" from \~₹64,000/MT. Q4 FY24 newsprint averaged \~₹50,000/MT, \~15% y-o-y lower, and Q1 FY25 sat at \~₹48,000/ton.