MAM
Binoy Prabhakar signs off from Hindustan Times Digital
NEW DELHI: Binoy Prabhakar has stepped down as chief content officer at Hindustan Times Digital, drawing the curtain on a nearly three-year stint leading the digital operations of the 100-year-old publisher.
In a note marking his final day on Tuesday, Prabhakar said it had been an “absolute honour” to helm the newsroom and that he was “immensely proud” of the work delivered alongside his colleagues.
Prabhakar joined Hindustan Times in April 2023, tasked with sharpening its digital strategy at a time when legacy publishers are racing to reinvent storytelling, products and revenue models for online audiences.
An entrepreneurial editor by training and temperament, Prabhakar brings over 24 years of newsroom experience across some of India’s most influential business and mainstream news brands. Before Hindustan Times, he served as editor at Moneycontrol from 2020 to 2023 and earlier led CNBCTV18.com. He also held the role of deputy executive editor for special projects at Network18.
His longest tenure was at The Economic Times, where he spent nearly 12 years in roles including senior editor and deputy editor of The Economic Times Magazine. Earlier in his career, he worked with The Indian Express, The Times of India and Hindustan Times in reporting, editing and copy desk roles.
In 2017, Prabhakar was a fellow at the Tow-Knight Center for Entrepreneurial Journalism in New York, a programme focused on building sustainable, innovation-led journalism.
Known for blending newsroom rigour with product thinking, Prabhakar has consistently championed new storytelling formats, digital-first journalism and innovative business solutions.
As Hindustan Times Digital looks to its next chapter, one of India’s most seasoned digital editors signs off, leaving behind a newsroom shaped for speed, scale and survival in a brutally competitive media economy.
Brands
Jio Financial Services posts Rs 1,560 crore FY26 profit
Revenue rises to Rs 3,513 crore as investments and lending scale up.
MUMBAI: If money makes the world go round, Jio Financial Services Limited is quietly spinning a much bigger wheel. The Reliance-backed financial arm reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 1,560.9 crore for FY26, slightly lower than Rs 1,612.6 crore in FY25, even as revenue growth gathered pace.
Total revenue from operations rose sharply to Rs 3,513.3 crore in FY26 from Rs 2,042.9 crore a year earlier, driven largely by a surge in interest income, which more than doubled to Rs 1,901.9 crore from Rs 852.5 crore. Fee and commission income also saw a significant jump to Rs 597 crore, compared to Rs 155.2 crore in FY25, reflecting expanding financial services activity.
For the March quarter, profit stood at Rs 272.2 crore, broadly flat compared to Rs 269 crore in the same period last year. Quarterly revenue from operations climbed to Rs 1,018.5 crore, up from Rs 493.2 crore year-on-year, signalling steady momentum in core income streams.
Expenses, however, moved in tandem with growth. Total costs nearly quadrupled to Rs 1,982.9 crore in FY26 from Rs 524.8 crore in FY25, with finance costs alone rising to Rs 745.1 crore from just Rs 7.7 crore a year earlier, reflecting increased borrowing and scale of operations. Employee expenses also grew to Rs 387.3 crore, while other expenses expanded to Rs 755 crore.
Profit before tax stood at Rs 1,911.7 crore for the year, slightly below Rs 1,946.9 crore in FY25. After accounting for a total tax outgo of Rs 350.8 crore, the company reported its final net profit figure.
Beyond the income statement, the balance sheet tells a story of rapid expansion. Total assets surged to Rs 1,63,497 crore as of March 31, 2026, up from Rs 1,33,510 crore a year earlier. Investments alone stood at Rs 1,33,088.7 crore, underscoring the company’s strong focus on treasury and financial asset growth.
However, the year also saw sharp volatility in other comprehensive income, which swung to a loss of Rs 16,028.3 crore, largely driven by fair value changes in equity instruments. This dragged total comprehensive income for FY26 to a negative Rs 15,756.1 crore, compared to a positive Rs 14,870 crore in FY25.
On the capital front, the company’s paid-up equity share capital remained steady at Rs 6,353.1 crore, with other equity rising to Rs 1,27,500.5 crore.
The numbers reflect a business in transition scaling rapidly across lending, investments and fee-based services, but also navigating the volatility that comes with mark-to-market movements in financial assets. In other words, while the top line is accelerating, the fine print still carries a few swings.
