Brands
Play Games24x7 won’t compromise customer experience for ads
MUMBAI: Ahead of the cricket world cup and IPL season, Play Games24x7 has unveiled its new fantasy sports platform, My11Circle, offering a completely new way of experiencing fantasy cricket.
The platform offers a simple and fun way to experience fantasy sports. Fans can pick and select players from both sides in a match and create a fantasy team of their own. Basis the performance of their selected 11 cricketers, a team owner can win exciting cash prizes. This doubles the fans' engagement and excitement for any cricket match now that every fan can create one’s own fantasy team.
Talking about the marketing strategy behind the game, Play Games24X7 co-founder and CEO Bhavin Pandya shared with Indiantelevisio.com that with cricket season around the corner, it is planning to promote the game heavily. He revealed that the game will be available in an app that will also allow the users to access its previous game, The Rummy Circle. “RummyCircle has a massive user base with more than 200k monthly active players, for these players My11Circle will already be a part of their existing app, so our fantasy game gets a massive headstart because of Rummy,” he said.
He further added, “For new users, we plan to leverage all digital platforms and also ATL mediums like TV, radio, and print.”
However, he is not looking towards brand associations to monetise the platform. He said, “We generate huge traffic on our apps and can monetise that by driving ads revenue by showing ads from other brands, but we believe that it would act as a distraction to the players. Our company believes in providing awesome game playing experience to its customers and we would never do anything which may hamper that.”
Talking about the USP of the game, Bhavin Pandya noted, “Our app boasts the fastest score updates. If you look at the competition, the match score updates on other platforms lag by a few minutes, for which a user needs to switch between multiple apps to view scores and to view the fantasy game standings. We have tried to make our score updates almost real-time, which will ensure the user gets everything on one app.”
Brands
HCLTech delivers Rs 24 dividend as revenue hits Rs 1.3 lakh crore
IT giant delivers solid growth for shareholders with a major payout despite navigating global market shifts.
MUMBAI: HCLTech has clearly found the right code for financial success, proving that its operational strategy is more than just a quick fix for the digital age. The technology titan’s board of directors officially signed off on their year-end deliberations on 21 April 2026, revealing a set of annual results that suggest the company’s growth trajectory remains well-buffered against economic volatility.
The primary highlight for investors is the declaration of an interim dividend of Rs 24 per equity share (on a face value of Rs 2) for the 2026–27 financial year. Shareholders will not have to wait long for the processing of these funds; the record date is set for 25 April 2026, with payments scheduled to be completed by 5 May 2026. This follows a total dividend of Rs 54 per share already distributed during the 2025–26 fiscal year.
The consolidated annual results show a company operating at a high frequency across its global markets. Total revenue surged to Rs 130,144 crore for the year ended 31 March 2026, a significant jump from the Rs 117,055 crore recorded the previous year. Net profit remained robust at Rs 16,652 crore for the full year, despite a slight dip from Rs 17,399 crore seen in 2025. Quarterly performance also reflected steady momentum, with Q4 revenue reaching Rs 33,981 crore and net profit at Rs 4,490 crore, compared to Rs 30,246 crore in revenue during the same period last year.
The company’s diverse service portfolio played a balanced role in this financial performance. IT and Business Services remained the primary engine, contributing Rs 96,094 crore to annual revenue. Engineering and R&D Services showed strong growth, climbing to Rs 22,056 crore for the year, while HCL Software maintained a consistent stream of Rs 11,994 crore.
It was not entirely smooth scrolling, as the company had to account for specific financial hurdles. HCLTech faced a one-time impact of Rs 956 crore due to the New Labour Codes. Additionally, total expenses for the year rose to Rs 108,616 crore. This was largely driven by employee benefits, which reached Rs 74,143 crore, a figure that reflects the ongoing high costs of securing top-tier tech talent in a competitive market.
On the standalone front, the company reported a profit before tax of Rs 10,024 crore for the year. However, the final quarter saw a standalone loss of Rs 900 crore, which the company attributed to a material Bilateral Advance Pricing Agreement (BAPA).
Despite the rise in costs, HCLTech’s financial “cache” remains substantial. Total assets grew to Rs 116,258 crore as of 31 March 2026, compared to Rs 105,544 crore a year earlier. The company’s cash and cash equivalents stood at a healthy Rs 8,195 crore at year-end, providing ample bandwidth for future investments and expansion.
As the global tech landscape continues to shift, HCLTech appears to have the right architecture to maintain its performance, ensuring that for its investors, the future remains highly user-friendly.
