News Broadcasting
Essel Propack FY03 group net up 9.8% YoY, Indian ops down 16%
MUMBAI: Subhash Chandra promoted Essel Propack Ltd has posted a year on year (YoY) growth in its consolidated FY03 bottom lines even as its Indian operations have slipped in the red.
The Indian operations of Essel Propack have posted a net profit of Rs 388 million for the year ended 31 December 2003, which is down 16 per cent from the previous fiscal’s net profit of Rs 463 million. Revenues from Indian operations have slipped from Rs 2421 million to Rs 2302 million for the year 2003.
While the YoY profits have taken a hit, net profit for the fourth and last quarter ended 31 December 2003 stands at Rs 123 million vis-?-vis Rs 81 million for the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.
The tumble in the YoY net profit is largely due to a slow down in the Chinese local customers’ off-take and the planned relocation of a key customer’s manufacturing plant from Shanghai to Hefei during the third quarter of 2003.
However, the consolidated results for Essel Propack’s global operations sing a different tune. The consolidated net profit for the group is up 9.8 per cent to Rs 692 million from previous fiscal’s net of Rs 630 million. For the quarter ended 31 December 2003, the company recorded a net profit of Rs 178 million against the Q4 net of Rs 137 million in the previous fiscal.
The group net sales have also seen a healthy YoY growth of 20.6 per cent. Revenues for the year ended 31 December 2003 stood at Rs 5732 million vis-?-vis net of Rs 4750 million in the previous fiscal. The net sales for the quarter ended 31 December 2003 have grown to Rs 1554 million over the previous corresponding quarter’s net income of Rs 1153 million.
Essel Propack Ltd is a specialty packaging company headquartered in India. It provides packaging solutions to toothpaste, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and Industrial sectors all over the world. The company has manufacturing operations in 11countries across the globe.
The increase in sales during the year 2003 mainly reflects the startup of operations in USA and increased sales in China.
During 2002, the company had transferred its shareholding in subsidiaries in Egypt and China to its 100 per cent subsidiary in Mauritius. The company had received a dividend income of Rs 122 million during the previous year ended 31 December 2002.
The board of directors has approved an interim dividend of 70 per cent for the year ended 31 December 2003. In absolute terms, the dividend translates into Rs 7 per share.
Essel Propack has also approved a reshuffle at the senior management level. R Chandrasekhar, the erstwhile chief financial officer -global (CFO- Global), has been re-appointed as chief operating officer-global (COO-Global) while R Ramakrishnan who was heading treasury and taxation will now be the vice president finance – global.
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.
