Financials
Insights & rules to media financing highpoints at ATF/AFM
SINGAPORE: There’s nothing that attracts money more than money itself. As in any sphere, finance is of utmost importance in media too. In order to be a successful saleable product, the production plan for emotional, creative content has to be as rational and pragmatic as with any other product in order to attract financing.
Sponsored by Singapore’s Media Development Authority and Investment New Zealand and organised by Reed Exhibitions as part of the ATF/AFM event, the Media Financing Forum held on 29 November at the Shangri-La at Orchard Road Singapore was attended by over 200 delegates comprising a fair sprinkle of financiers.
The panelists shared some insights into attracting the attention of media financiers and gave some thumb rules for producers seeking finance. The conference had two panel discussions:
The topic “Mystery” of Media Financing – Find the Money was moderated by Transpac Media Limited, USA, COO Patrick Murray.The panelists included Transpac Media Limited, USA Chairman Andrew Craissati, Imperial Capital Bank – Entertainment Finance (ICBEF), USA vice president – Portfolio Management Adrian Ward, Mega Media, Singapore managing director Jonathan Foo, RGM Holdings, UK Head of Film Financing Rodney Payne, Park Road Post, New Zealand director Michael Stephens.
The subject “Pitch” – What You Need to Know was also moderated by Patrick Murray and the panelists included Parallax Capital Management (Singapore) director Douglas Abrams, Bigfoot Entertainment (USA) CEO Kacy Andrews, Focus Films (Hong Kong) vice president, Film Productions & Acquisitions Elliot Tong and Ingenious Media PLC, UK director Judith Chan.
One point hammered was the importance of having a business plan and the necessity of ‘skin in the game’. “Financiers like to see how much of ‘own skin’ has the producer put into the project” remarked ICB’s Adrian Ward. “When a producer highlights how profitable investing in his project can be, we expect him to put in some of his own too,” he added.
Other important criteria included association of known salable big names. “A big name or a reputed experienced professional attached to a project will definitely get us interested,” stated Ingenious Media’s Judith Chan.
Equally important was pre-sales and the reputation of the sales agent. “We don’t expect the producer who has the entire production and creation responsibilities to focus on the sales. What we look for is strong sales partners and agents across regions so as to exploit the territories and bring in returns” remarked RGM’s Rodney Payne.
Local hero Jonathan Foo, MD of Singapore based Mega Media shared some wonderful insights. Mega Media recently made a big splash with its $20 million tie up with Cablevision’s Rainbow Media. Mega Media’s hi-def factual programming will now be aired to 11 million homes in the US.
“There are a lot more people looking for money, then those that are offering it,” remarked Foo. “In such a scenario, one has to differentiate oneself and try and attract the finance. And while pitching it is important to remember that things like quality cant be a selling point as that is an expected feature in any case. You need to put some money where your mouth is and have a global plan, especially for producers coming from places like Singapore where there is not a substantial enough local market.”
Amongst the most common glitches that the financiers observed was the lack of a proper and rational business plan in most cases.
The panelists also enlightened the audience on the various kinds of finance available. Institutional funding involved a model where an entity such as bank lent money. The fees are generally upfront for such funding and there is no share in the backend.
Equity or co productions are an emerging trend now and involve investment of finance and resource by multiple partners and are a great way of spreading the risk and increasing the potential market size.
The panelists had a word of caution for those seeking soft money and grants as well as for producers who got in with high net worth individual ‘Emotional’ investors as these sometimes would end up in the producer having to sacrifice creative integrity.
The last line of advice as the day ended was – “Get your skin in and play the game. Make a business plan, try and hitch in big names and get the best sales agents. Completion bonds and a good lawyer add to the whole package.”
MUMBAI: It’s time to brief the markets: Page Industries is showing that even when regulations tighten, it can still keep its footing in the innerwear business. The Bengaluru-based apparel major has reported its financials for the quarter ended 31 December 2025, delivering a performance that remains steady and well put together.
The company’s top line showed plenty of elasticity this quarter. Revenue from operations stretched to Rs 1,38,675.71 lakhs, a healthy jump from the Rs 1,29,085.82 lakhs reported in the preceding quarter. Compared to the same period last year, which stood at Rs 1,31,305.10 lakhs, it’s clear the brand’s grip on the market isn’t loosening. Total income for the quarter, including other finance gains, reached a comfortable Rs 1,39,919.03 lakhs.
However, it wasn’t all smooth silk. The Government of India’s new unified Labour Codes, covering everything from wages to social security, officially kicked in on 21 November 2025. This regulatory shift forced Page Industries to account for a one-time “exceptional item” cost of Rs 3,500.42 lakhs to cover incremental employee benefits and related obligations. Despite this Rs 35-crore legislative snag, the underlying business remained robust. Profit before tax stood at Rs 25,625.35 lakhs after the exceptional hit, and without that one-off cost, the figure would have been a more muscular Rs 29,125.77 lakhs. Net profit for the quarter came in at Rs 18,953.64 lakhs.
Total expenses rose to Rs 1,10,793.26 lakhs, driven largely by raw material consumption of Rs 30,162.65 lakhs and employee benefits of Rs 23,310.66 lakhs. Even so, the company’s operational strength ensured the bottom line remained firmly stitched together.
For shareholders, the news is particularly “fitting.” The Board has declared a third interim dividend for 2025-26 of Rs 125 per equity share. The record date has been set for 11 February 2026, with the payment scheduled on or before 6 March 2026. This follows two previous interim dividends of Rs 150 and Rs 125 declared earlier in the financial year, reinforcing the company’s commitment to sharing the spoils of its success.
Looking at the nine-month stretch ending December 2025, Page Industries has amassed total income of Rs 4,04,090.59 lakhs, with total comprehensive income of Rs 58,231.49 lakhs. While the basic earnings per share for the quarter dipped slightly to Rs 169.93, compared to Rs 183.48 in the same quarter last year, the year-to-date EPS remains a solid Rs 524.57.
Auditors at S.R. Batliboi & Associates LLP have given the results a “limited review” thumbs up, reporting no material misstatements. It seems that, as far as Page Industries is concerned, the business remains as well-constructed as its famous Jockey briefs.
