News Broadcasting
After corporate excellence awards, CNBC zeroes in on auto industry
CNBC India has instituted the equivalent of the Oscars for the Indian automotive industry.
The annual awards will reward excellence in car manufacturing in India and provide vital car buying information to the Indian consumer. The awards ceremony will be held in New Delhi on 14 January 2002. While the awards in the first year will focus on passenger cars, the scope will be widened in the coming years. The awards are being jointly given along with Autocar, the magazine for the auto industry.
A jury of 17 experts with a vast experience in the field of evaluating cars, including car designer Dilip Chhabria, leading auto historian Manvendra Singh, India’s leading female driver Navaz Bhathena, Indian National Rally champion N Leelakrishnan, Autocar editor Hormazd Sorabjee, associate editor Shapur Kotwal and Rajeev Khanna. The jury will be helped in its analysis by Autocar’s database on car performances aggregated from car tests through the year. They will then assess the vehicles and rank them in relation to their rivals. A Car of The Year award is also scheduled to be given away, among the different categories.
CNBC CEO Harish Chawla surmises the importance of the awards thus: “For CNBC, the launch of the auto awards has special significance. Historically, the fortunes of world economies have been closely intertwined with those of the automotive industry. This industry has served as the quintessential barometer of industrial production and consumption – two drivers of economic growth. These awards underline CNBC’s commitment to providing essential business insights and supporting the establishment of standards in leading industrial sectors.”
While the Mercedes Benz C Class, Opel Corsa Swing, Hyundai Sonata and Honda Accord figure among the list of eligibles, stringent criteria have been laid down for the awards. These include – fitness, relevance to Indian market, value for money, design and styling, space, comfort and practicality, engine and performance, and overall safety.
The chosen cars shortlisted for the awards will be driven over thousands of kilometers to evaluate these parameters, CNBC officials say.
News Broadcasting
Network18 Q4 revenue grows 9.7 per cent, EBITDA at Rs 30 crore
PAT improves to Rs 306.6 crore, margins steady amid cost pressures.
MUMBAI: Not all news is breaking, some of it is quietly improving. Network18 Media & Investments Limited appears to be doing just that, tightening losses and stabilising margins even as costs continue to weigh on the business. For FY26, the company reported revenue from operations of Rs 1,955.1 crore, up from Rs 1,896.2 crore in FY25, signalling modest top-line growth in a challenging media environment. Total income stood at Rs 1,978.2 crore, compared to Rs 1,913 crore a year earlier.
Profit after tax came in at Rs 306.6 crore for the year, a sharp turnaround from Rs 3,225.4 crore in FY25, largely reflecting the absence of large exceptional items that had inflated the previous year’s numbers. On a more comparable basis, the company’s operating performance showed signs of gradual stabilisation.
However, the quarterly picture remained under pressure. For the March quarter, Network18 reported a loss of Rs 53.1 crore, narrower than the Rs 98.1 crore loss in the same period last year, but still indicative of ongoing cost challenges.
Expenses continued to track high. Total expenses for FY26 stood at Rs 2,235.7 crore, up from Rs 2,197.8 crore in FY25. Key cost heads included operational expenses of Rs 765.9 crore, employee benefits of Rs 475.9 crore, and marketing, distribution and promotional spends of Rs 427.1 crore, underlining the continued investment required to sustain reach and engagement.
At an operating level, margins remained under strain. Operating margin stood at 2.33 per cent for FY26, marginally higher than 1.77 per cent in FY25, while net profit margin remained negative at -13.02 per cent, though improved from -14.89 per cent.
On the balance sheet, total assets rose to Rs 8,957.6 crore as of 31 March 2026, from Rs 8,317.5 crore a year earlier. Equity strengthened to Rs 4,958.7 crore, while borrowings increased to Rs 3,112.8 crore, reflecting a higher reliance on debt to support operations.
Cash flows told a mixed story. While financing activities generated Rs 83.9 crore, operating cash flow remained negative at Rs -24 crore, highlighting ongoing pressure on core cash generation. Cash and cash equivalents, however, improved to Rs 33.9 crore from Rs 1.8 crore.
The numbers point to a company in transition growing revenues, trimming losses, but still grappling with structural cost pressures. In a sector where scale often comes at a price, Network18 seems to be inching towards balance, one quarter at a time.
