MAM
FCB Kinnect appoints Nishant Pratap as group executive creative director (South)
Mumbai: FCB Kinnect, an exciting creatively led integrated agency, has appointed Nishant Pratap as the group executive creative director (South). This move highlights the agency’s dedication to continuously enhancing its capabilities and talent in a full-funnel manner, reinforcing its role as a comprehensive partner to brands.
This strategic appointment is part of FCB Kinnect’s commitment to developing top-tier creative departments, aimed at producing innovative and impactful work across all potential media platforms.
Recently, the agency also appointed Neville Shah as its Chief Creative Officer to transform the agency’s creative culture and exceed global benchmarks.
Driven by a passion for crafting bold, impactful work, Neville brought Nishant on board to lead creative excellence and accelerate the growth of FCB Kinnect’s Bengaluru office.
He moved from Ogilvy India, where he was executive creative director. Nishant has also worked previously with McCann Worldgroup and Lowe Lintas.
With nearly 19 years of experience, he has been pivotal in launching and building renowned brands such as Tata Sky, Britannia’s Treat and GoodDay, TVS Apache, Mumbai Indians, IDFC Bank, Tata Salt, Tanishq, Titan, Taneira, Fastrack, Park Avenue, Cadbury, and The Live Love Laugh Foundation.
His legendary body of work comprises the creation of iconic campaigns such as #HeeraHoTum for Tanishq, #YouDoYou for Fastrack, #FindYourJoy for Titan, and #UnityBar for Cadbury. Additionally, Nishant played a pivotal role in launching India’s first awareness campaign on depression for TLLF, featuring Deepika Padukone.
Nishant’s work for Happy Life Welfare and The Dabbawala Foundation’s ‘Share My Dabba’ campaign has been recognised at the D&AD Awards and the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
Beyond his professional achievements, he is a published poet, and a spoken word performer, and runs a popular YouTube cooking series called GastroPup.
Speaking on his appointment, FCB Kinnect & FCB/SIX India CEO Rohan Mehta said, “I am excited to welcome Nishant to the Kinnect family. His remarkable creative talent and proven track record position us perfectly to deliver impactful and unique solutions. Nishant’s keen eye for detail and deep understanding of branding are exactly what we need to drive creativity as a catalyst for economic growth. I look forward to seeing more innovative and impactful work for our brands in the South.”
FCB Kinnect CCO Neville Shah added, “Nishant is here to help bring our new vision to life. He brings with him a wealth of experience and a warm approach to leadership. Nishant will strengthen our reputation as a creative powerhouse delivering great value for our clients through great ideas. I’m so very excited to have him come aboard.”
FCB Kinnect group executive creative director (South) Nishant Pratap said, “I’ve got butterflies, elephants and lions in my tummy at the prospect of joining FCB Kinnect. There’s a lot of good jujus going around this wonderful place and I can’t wait to add to it and work with a brilliant creative team. Can’t wait to create some magic, joy and glory.”
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.
