MAM
Ten Sports promotes hockey tournament on ground, on air
MUMBAI: After a lengthy quiet period, Ten Sports is all set to connect with viewers in a big way not just on air but also on ground.
The channel, which has exclusive telecast rights to the hockey’s premiere tournament, the Champions Trophy, is making a big play around the event to be held from 16-24 August in The Netherlands.
Before the tourney itself kicks off however, Ten is hoping to get fans into the groove and will pull at their patriotic heart strings from today onwards.
Coinciding with Independence Day which falls tomorrow, a series of promo’s My heart beats for India sees the players talking about their most emotional moments while playing for the country.
For instance, coach Rajinder Singh reminisces about his Olympic success in 1980, as well as his role in helping India to its only Bronze medal in the Champions Trophy in 1982. At the same time, he believes that as a coach, he might well better that performance at this edition of the event.
The current Indian skipper Dhanraj Pillay recollects great moments against Pakistan. For Dilip Tirkey, a man of few words, the heart breaking loss to Poland in the final group match of the 2000 Olympics remains etched in memory. Goalkeeper Devesh Chauhan talks about his brilliant performance against Pakistan in the semi final of the 2002 Asian Games and his stellar efforts in thwarting the great Sohail Abbas.
Ten Sports’ marketing manager Mohit Mehra said: “Apart from the on-air efforts, we have extended these to an on-ground promotion called Go India Go running in all the major metro’s. High traffic areas will be telecasting the matches on large screens. Specially designed Ten Sports bandanna’s with Go India Go branding will be given away to viewers along with other special offers.”
“The fact that the telecast times for the matches are at prime-time is a big help. Champions Trophy Hockey 2003 has received some excellent support from advertisers with Hero Honda stepping in as the presenting sponsor. Hutch, Toyota, HPCL, Asian Paints and Titan are the associate sponsors,” adds Mehra.
The channel has also coined nicknames for the players. Mehra said, “The objective of all our efforts has been to glamourise the sport and the players. As you know people react to characters and stars and we have tried to build up the hockey players as characters by using some facet of their playing skills. We feel that the nicknames we have used will help more people relate to them. The names really reflect the special quality of the players depending on their role. We feel that this might inspire youngsters to emulate them and have more people taking up the sport.”
For instance Chauhan has been designated “Spiderman” on account of his athleticism and agility to keep out the opposition. The team’s “Terminator” is Deepak Thakur. One of the best finishers in modern hockey once he gets into the “D” his conversion rate of moves into goals is as high. The “Leech” Viren Rasquinha is one of the unsung heroes of the team. His passes from the midfield and man marking skills make him one of the key players in the team. Pillay is the “Wizard”.
The “Speed Demon” Gagan Ajit Singh has the enviable ability to accelerate. Dilip Tirkey is nicknamed “The Rock” as his defence is rock solid. “Dragon” Jugraj Singh’s speciality is the drag flick which is one of most potent penalty corner conversion techniques.
Brands
Ceat FY26 profit rises 68.6 per cent to Rs 812.7 crore
Q4 PAT up 182.5 per cent; revenue grows 15.5 per cent to Rs 15,214.9 crore
MUMBAI: Tyres are rolling faster and so are Ceat’s numbers. Ceat Limited reported a strong performance for FY26, with profit after tax surging 68.6 per cent year-on-year to Rs 812.7 crore, driven by steady revenue growth and improved operating efficiency. For the full year, revenue from operations rose 15.5 per cent to Rs 15,214.9 crore, compared to Rs 13,171.7 crore in FY25. Total income stood at Rs 15,346.4 crore, reflecting both core growth and higher other income.
The March quarter delivered an even sharper uptick. Q4 FY26 revenue grew 18.2 per cent year-on-year to Rs 4,035.9 crore, while profit after tax jumped to Rs 283.6 crore up from Rs 100.4 crore in the same period last year, marking a 182.5 per cent increase.
Operating performance remained firm, with EBITDA margins improving to 14.55 per cent in Q4 from 11.56 per cent a year ago. Net profit margin for the quarter stood at 7.03 per cent, more than doubling from 2.94 per cent in Q4 FY25.
Cost pressures remained visible but manageable. Material costs for the year rose to Rs 9,197.1 crore, while finance costs increased to Rs 359.5 crore, reflecting higher borrowings. However, stronger topline growth and operational efficiencies helped offset these pressures.
On the balance sheet front, net worth expanded to Rs 5,067.0 crore as of March 31, 2026, up from Rs 4,285.8 crore a year earlier. The debt-to-equity ratio stood at 0.59, compared to 0.45 in FY25, indicating a moderate rise in leverage amid expansion and funding activity.
Cash flow from operations remained robust at Rs 1,839.9 crore for FY26, supporting capital expenditure of over Rs 1,076.0 crore towards capacity and asset investments. The company also deployed capital across investments and mutual funds during the year.
In terms of financing, Ceat raised Rs 250 crore through unsecured non-convertible debentures during the year, while Rs 400 crore of such instruments remain outstanding. Additionally, commercial papers worth Rs 500 crore were outstanding but not due for repayment as of March-end.
The numbers suggest a company gaining traction across both growth and profitability metrics, where steady demand, improved margins and disciplined capital allocation are helping CEAT keep its performance firmly on track.
