News Broadcasting
“Communications Convergence” conference on 13-14 Dec
MUMBAI: The first international conference on Communications Convergence : The Multi-Billion Indian Opportunity takes place on 13-14 December at The Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai. Hinduja TMT will be main sponsor at this event organised by The Indian Merchants’ Chamber.
The two-day conference will bring together top authorities in each field of Voice, Internet, Convergence and Data Services and engage the luminaries from the industries, the investors and the government.
At the legislative level, the convergence bill looks to be in limbo but there is a huge amount happening in the IT and telecom space, especially as regards the IT-enabled services business. The conference will provide a forum where the relevant issues will be addressed.
According to the IMC, Union minister for parliamentary affairs, communication and IT Pramod Mahajan will address the valedictory session of the two-day conference on 14 December. Maharashtra chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and minister for finance & planning Jayantrao Patil will be the chief guest and guest of honour respectively, for the luncheon session on 14 December.
The sessions run from 9:30 am to 6 pm on a daily basis. While the developed world has been seeing slower growth and problems in the telecom industry, Asia (particularly China and India) has seen scorching growth in the last decade. This growth is expected to continue in India, with the accelerated demand for telecom and converged services.
The Indian telecommunications industry has seen a revolution in recent times with deregulation, convergence, new spectrum allocation, new technologies, mergers and acquisitions, and new market entrants altering the wire-line, wireless, cable, satellite and ISPs landscape.
The changes have been driven by large investments, both by Indian companies and overseas telecom companies and institutional investors, spurred by the investor-friendly environment provided by the Government.
It is estimated by the IMC that India will need a huge investment of US $60 billion by 2005 in the telecom sector to keep up with the planned increase in teledensity. The reasoning is that the business opportunity offered by this new wave in India has tremendous potential and needs to be explored and tapped by investments, both Indian and foreign. In spite of all this, there has been very little information available on the specifics of this investment opportunity. The conference organised by IMC aims to identify and focus on the following:
– Business segments as defined by the regulatory framework & their prospects
– Legal and financial framework for investments
– Current competitive scene and investment climate.
Also on the table, is a series of tutorials on relevant topics of Convergence, which could provide the requisite background information to interested businessmen and enable them to take make further progress in the field.
According to the IMC, the speaker lineup at the Conference includes :
CEO Hinduja TMT – R. Mohan
Co-Chairman Hinduja TMT India – Ramkrishan P. Hinduja
Chairman, TRAI – M S Verma
Chairman, World Tel, UK (Video Conferencing) – Sam Pitroda
MD, net2phone Western Europe – Bryan Rowe
Regional Director-Asia of Aon (UK), an associate of Global Insurance Services (Mumbai) – David Hill
MD, NEC Singapore – Noel Hon Chia Chun
VP- Asia Pacific, Polycom (USA) – Leo M Cortjens
Chairman, Dishnet DSL Ltd. – Dr. Vijay Bhatkar.
In addition like any other International Conference there will be four tutorial sessions, to be conducted by experts in their own right on 12 December. These sessions will focus on several business and technical aspects.
The sponsors for the event include Hutchison Max Telecom, Hinduja Group India,, Bharti Enterprises, IDFC, Global Insurance Services, Aon (UK), Global Tele and Tellabs India.
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.
