News Broadcasting
Disney elects Pepper and Smith as independent directors
MUMBAI: The Walt Disney Company board of directors has elected Procter & Gamble former chairman and CEO John E. Pepper Jr. and Starbucks Corp former president and CEO Orin C. Smith as two new independent directors, effective 1 January, 2006.
With the election of Pepper and Smith, 11 of 13 directors on Disney’s Board will be independent.With them joining in January, the full Board of 13 members will now have an appropriate amount of time to work closely together and carefully deliberate in the selection of Disney’s next chairman.
The Board also unanimously requested that Senator Mitchell remain a director, and continue as chairman, through December 2006 to facilitate an orderly chairman succession process. Senator Mitchell had planned to retire following Disney’s 2006 Annual Meeting, but agreed to the Board’s request that he stand for re-election at the 2006 Annual Meeting.
“By growing, cultivating and protecting some of the best known brands worldwide at Procter & Gamble and Starbucks, John and Orin bring invaluable global perspectives as well as proven commitments to social responsibility. Disney shareholders will benefit from their decades of world-class leadership, finance and high profile consumer brand experience,” said Disney chairman Senator George J Mitchell.
The Disney Board also declared an annual cash dividend of $0.27 per share, a 12.5 per cent increase from last year’s dividend, payable on 6 January, 2006 to shareholders of record at the close of business 12 December, 2005.
“With our strong balance sheet and third straight year of double-digit earnings growth, Disney is in a good position to continue returning capital to shareholders even as we invest for future growth. In addition to this increased dividend, since August 2004, we have invested over $3.9 billion to purchase approximately 154 million shares of Disney stock, which further demonstrates our confidence in growing shareholder value over time,” said The Walt Disney Company president and CEO Robert A. Iger.
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.
