News Broadcasting
BBC Worldwide sells ‘Eve’ magazine to Haymarket
MUMBAI: BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the BBC, has sold women’s magazine Eve to UK publishing group Haymarket.
The decision to sell Eve resulted from the Commercial Review undertaken by the BBC last year. Haymarket will take over publishing responsibility starting with the April 2005 issue.
Eve launched in 2001. The BBC claims that it is currently Britain’s fastest growing women’s glossy magazine with an ABC of 150,069. Haymarket intends to continue to invest in the title as the foundation for a new women’s interest group of magazines.
BBC Magazines MD Peter Phippen said, “We are very proud of what we have achieved with eve, and the team we have created is first class. Once the decision had been taken to sell, it was important for the future of the magazine and the staff that we completed a sale as quickly as possible. It was equally important to find a publisher who shares our belief in the aims of the magazine and who was keen to keep the team together.
“I am delighted that we have secured an exciting future for Eve with Haymarket and believe we have found a new home for the magazine where the team will flourish and continue the phenomenal success that we have achieved since its launch.”
Haymarket Group MD Eric Verdon-Roe said: “This is a significant move for Haymarket and we are very excited to have the opportunity to acquire such a successful title with the entire publishing staff on board. We aim for Eve to be the flagship of a new women’s interest group and fully intend to invest in its continued growth to ensure that it remains the very best magazine for the definitive woman.”
Haymarket Group Chairman Lord Heseltine, said that the acquisition was the latest in a series of new investments at the company: “This is the latest step in the expansion of Haymarket into another new area. Before Christmas, we completed the acquisition of the Thalacker Group, the leading horticultural publishers in Germany and earlier in 2004, acquired AJB Publishing, a significant technology publisher in Australia.”
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.
