News Broadcasting
Expomedia, CyberMedia sign joint venture in India
MUMBAI: London based business to business media group Expomedia Group PLC and South Asia’s first specialty media house CyberMedia today announced the signing of a 10-year joint venture agreement in India.
The agreement would see the two organisations collaborating on the organisation of new international events in the ICT and Life Sciences arena. The JV agreement was signed on 29 November 2005 by Shashoua and Cyber Media Events Ltd executive director K K Tulshan.
The joint venture, the first and only one of its kind in the Indian events landscape, brings together synergies of the international relationships, which Expomedia enjoys across countries, and CyberMedia’s strong foothold in the Indian market. These client relationships would be leveraged to deliver value in these events to both sponsors and visitors.
Gartner estimates that the internet communications technology spending in India will surpass $54.8 billion by 2008, a rise from $29.5 billion in 2004 and India continues to have the fastest growing ICT market in the world, with a CAGR of 19 per cent from 2004 through 2008.
Given this growth, events would be a critical platform and communication channel for bringing key vendors and users together. Some of the events organised under this venture would include ‘The Internet Communications Technology Show’ and the ‘Life Sciences Event’ both due to take place at the newly opened Expo XXI Centre in New Delhi in 2006.
“We are delighted to have embarked on this agreement with Expomedia. Their experience and international network of offices will enable us to significantly expand the scope of our events, bringing added benefits to both exhibitors and visitors and securing the events’ positions in the market place,” said CyberMedia chairman and managing director Pradeep Gupta.
Expomedia CEO Mark Shashoua added, “By collaborating with Cyber Media on a series of successful events, we are significantly expanding our portfolio of events in India. This is an incredibly exciting time for both the ICT Sector and the exhibition industry and we look forward to a successful future together.”
CyberMedia’s Event business, established 16 years ago, currently organises over 100 annual events in large and mid sized Indian cities. These events leverage its strength in the technology and life sciences space across its media and media services businesses. It has been responsible for organising and managing events like Bangalore IT.In (earlier Bangalore IT.Com), IT-Kerala, Hi-Tech Pune etc.
Expomedia Group Plc organises over 100 exhibitions worldwide and with its network of international offices in over 10 countries and an international client base of over 8,000, is ideally placed to provide the international audience reach to the events it organises in each of its markets.
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.
