GECs
Balaji to invest Rs 200 cr in ALT, launch in Jan ’17
MUMBAI: Balaji Telfilms’ new venture, ALT Digital, which was earlier planned to be launched in October, has been pushed to January 2017. At present, Balaji is not actively involved with programme production. In future, it plans to launch eight shows. January–March cycle is a good time for ALT launch, the management of Ekta Kapoor’s company feels.
Balaji Telefilms raised Rs 150 crore through preferential allotment of equity shares at Rs 140 each to select global investors such as Atyant Capital India Fund – I, Vanderbilt University, GHI LTP Ltd, GHI HSP Ltd and GHI ERP Ltd. The amount has already been capitalised. So far, Balaji spent Rs 10 crore, but the real expense would start from January when it would deliver content, Balaji Telefilms group CEO Sameer Nair said while speaking to CNBC-TV18.
The total outlay for ALT would be about Rs 200 crore in which Balaji would invest Rs 65 crore, Nair said.
Nair said it was looking to expanding in various regions in India. Balaji Telefilms will look to air new shows on Sony, Sun TV and Doordarshan. It had been doing shows across the channels, and it was the absolute leader in the TV business. It does not have a show on Sony, and that was an opportunity, Nair said. They were also producing shows for Colors. Balaji was also looking at the DD slot policy, he said, adding that they would be bidding for a few slots there. In main GEC business, Balaji was doing good, he said.
After reporting a loss of Rs 28 crore as compared to profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 3.92 crore for the corresponding year-ago quarter, Balaji is planning to launch 8-10 shows by FY17-end. Both, television and film segment released a weak set of numbers at Balaji this financial year. Nair said that the new shows have a much lower margin.
Nair said that they look at TV and films numbers separately, and if one sees the TV business year on year, it actually grew on a half-yearly basis. There were new shows that would come on board, so as one could compare it with last year when they had six shows, and they were going to do 10 shows.
Balaji released Great Grand Masti and collections were significantly affected due to piracy of the movie ahead of its theatrical release. When it came to film business, of course there had been a disappointment and, the current quarter saw the full impact of unfortunate incidents that happened with Balaji; Grand Masti ‘leaked’ 21 days before the theatrical release. Therefore, Grand Mastii and Flying Jat didn’t do well which reflected in the current quarter, Nair said.
About the TV business, Nair said that television business worked on a revolving quarter. There was a reduced margin in the quarter when a show was launched. So, it was ideal to analysed the TV business on annual basis.
Balaji’s plan was to get next releases of movies in the next fiscal year, he said, adding that its film business would likely book profit in FY18. On an annual basis, because Balaji was opening at 20-25 per cent, the gross margin would go up by 35 per cent, Nair said. On an annual basis, he said, Balaji could grow by about 20 per cent year on year. From the revenue point of view, that might be little lower because of other income which would be lower this year, he added.
GECs
Sahara One reports financial results, notes director exit and business realignment
Muted revenues, steady expenses and strategic adjustments shape company’s current phase
MUMBAI: In a tale where the sands seem to be slipping faster than they can be gathered, Sahara One Media and Entertainment Limited has reported another quarter of wafer-thin income and widening losses, even as a boardroom exit adds to the unease.
The company informed the Bombay Stock Exchange that its board, in a meeting held on April 4, approved its unaudited financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2025. The numbers paint a stark picture. Total income for the quarter stood at just Rs 0.13 lakh, unchanged sequentially and sharply down from Rs 0.26 lakh a year earlier.
Losses, meanwhile, deepened. The company posted a net loss of Rs 24.16 lakh for the quarter, compared to Rs 18.81 lakh in the June quarter and Rs 39.69 lakh in the same period last year. For the six months ended September 2025, the cumulative loss stood at Rs 39.69 lakh, while the full-year loss for FY25 was reported at Rs 60.72 lakh.
Expenses continued to outweigh income by a wide margin. Total expenses for the quarter came in at Rs 24.30 lakh, led by employee benefit costs of Rs 6.51 lakh and other expenses of Rs 17.78 lakh. Earnings per share remained in the red at Rs (0.11) for the quarter.
The balance sheet reflects a company with significant assets on paper but limited operational momentum. Total assets stood at Rs 23,065.57 lakh as of September 30, 2025, broadly unchanged from March 2025. Equity share capital remained steady at Rs 2,152.50 lakh, while total equity was reported at Rs 18,004.85 lakh.
Cash and cash equivalents saw a modest uptick to Rs 6.75 lakh from Rs 4.68 lakh earlier, supported by a positive operating cash flow of Rs 180.01 lakh for the period.
Yet, beneath these numbers lies a more complex narrative. The company’s auditors flagged their inability to obtain sufficient evidence to form a conclusion on the financial statements, citing lack of access to records. They also raised concerns over the company’s ability to continue as a going concern, pointing to insufficient funds, delayed recoveries, and stalled content investments.
Adding to the governance overhang, the company disclosed that Rana Zia has resigned as whole-time director, effective October 16, 2025, citing other professional commitments. The resignation, noted and accepted by the board, also brings an end to her role across company committees.
Regulatory pressures continue to loom large. The Securities and Exchange Board of India has already initiated penal actions for non-compliance with listing norms, with trading in the company’s shares remaining suspended. There is also a risk of promoter demat accounts being frozen.
Legacy legal issues remain unresolved. A substantial deposit of Rs 694,027.88 thousand linked to the long-running OFCD dispute involving Sahara group entities is still under the purview of the Supreme Court of India. Restrictions on asset disposal continue to weigh on the company’s financial flexibility.
Operationally, challenges persist across multiple fronts. Advances worth Rs 1,92,916 thousand given for film content remain stuck, with delays in project completion and uncertain recoverability. The company’s YouTube channel, despite being operational, has generated no revenue for over three years due to compliance lapses. In a further twist, management has indicated that revenues may have been fraudulently diverted through unauthorised changes to its AdSense account, with a police complaint in the works.
There are also missed revenue opportunities. Television content rights continue to be used by a related party despite the expiry of the licence agreement, with fresh negotiations still underway.
For now, Sahara One Media and Entertainment Limited appears caught between legacy disputes and present-day operational hurdles. As losses linger and governance questions mount, the road to recovery looks less like a sprint and more like a slow trudge through shifting sands.
