News Broadcasting
Challenge is to target all classes of people & yet make money: Manwani
MUMBAI: The International Advertising Association’s (IAA) India chapter kicked off its ‘International Indian’ series with Unilever Asia and Africa president and Hindustan Lever Limited (HLL) chairman Harish Manwani.
Speaking from personal experience in the Asian, American and African markets while working in various capacities at Unilver; Manwani threw light on Winning in Developing and Emerging Markets.
Manwani threw statistics on how Unilver brands were the number one brands in most of the developing markets that the company had a presence in. “Our Asian and African offices, we are the market leaders in most priority categories in key countries. We have over 100 years of doing business in the region, which is serviced by a strong local management. The recipe for success is to provide continuous stream of renewed insights and brilliant local executions to serve and delight consumers, deepen partnerships with our customers and build relationships with local communities,” he said.
Explaining Unilever’s business strategy, Manwani said, “Our consumers are diverse. There are 300 million affluent consumers, 1.2 billion aspiring and 3.2 billion striving. Unilever’s international competitors work on the affluent consumers, who are on top of the pyramid, whereas our local competitors work the striving class at the bottom of the pyramid. Our strategy is to work the pyramid, which comprises the affluent, aspiring and striving people. We aim to leverage the full potential of the community and consumers in the market,” he added.
Throwing light on the company’s strategy to target the aspiring and the striving class, Manwani spoke about the affordable sachets of shampoos, detergent, oil, toothpaste, fairness cream, tea bags and margarine that Unilever came out with. “These were an instant hit the people who could never afford to buy the bottles. The biggest challenge is to create a business model to go to the bottom of the pyramid and at the same time make money,” he said.
He also went on to talk about HLL’s Project Shakti, which was aimed at empowering women in the village. “Project Shakti has generated employment while at the same time it has helped us sell and market our brands in villages. The aim for 2010 is for us to have 100,000 Shakti ammas spread across 500,000 villages in India,” Manwani said.
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.
