MAM
Castrol signs Brett Lee as brand ambassador
BANGALORE: Castrol India today announced the signing of Australian pace bowler Brett Lee as its global brand ambassador for two years.
The speedster’s band ‘White Shoe Theory‘ also launched Castrol’s signature tune for the Castrol Index through a live performance. The ‘White Shoe Theory‘ band comprises the duo of Mick Vawdon and Brett Lee.
The Castrol Signature tune will be played live in all the stadiums where Castrol Index will be shown live during the International Cricket Council (ICC) one day international World Cup 2011 cricket matches that are to commence in the Indian sub-continent on the 19th of this month.
Said Castrol India Vice President Marketing Giriraj Bagri, ”Brett’s signing on as brand ambassador completes our team of high performance cricket brand ambassadors which includes Sachin Tendulkar, the leading ICC ranked all-rounder Shakib Al Hassan and now Brett Lee.”
Initially, Castrol plans to use Lee on digital platforms such as mobile and internet, informed Bagri while speaking with www.indiantelevision.com on the sidelines of the press conference for the above announcements.
“We will be gradually unveiling in a phased manner the different ways that we will be using Brett Lee for brand building. This could include allowing download of the Castrol Index tune by Brett Lee’s band from websites such as youtube.com,” revealed Bagri who also said that the Castrol Index would be present on www.cricket.yahoo.com.
Lee also announced Ashok Kumar from Delhi as the first winner of the ‘Castrol World Cup ka Hero’ consumer promotion.
Castrol recently tied up with the ICC as its official performance partner for the next five years. The Castrol Index is a system to measure performance of players and teams in the context of winning. A one-day international (ODI) version of the Castrol Index was launched in October 2009 ahead of the Champions Trophy.
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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.
