News Broadcasting
HTMT declares 50 per cent interim dividend
MUMBAI: Hinduja TMT (HTMT) has declared an interim dividend of Rs. five per share. This is 50 per cent on the par value of the share which stands at Rs. 10. The dividend is for the financial year 2003-04 and amounts to Rs. 20.45 crores.
A company release states that the company’s board of directors took the decision after reviewing the operations and profitability of the outfit for the eleven month period ended 29 February 2004.
The release adds that due to HTMT’s deep insight into automated work force management systems in IT business, Aspect Communications Corporation, USA, the world’s largest company focused exclusively on contact center solutions for unifying the work force, information and communication, recently entered into a re-seller partnership agreement with HTMT for selling and implementing their solutions.
HTMT further claimed to have world-class infrastructure in line with global standard of environment and resources. Quality of delivery, domain expertise, effectiveness of people interface and predictability of schedules are what it claims to be delivering in the areas of call center and BPO solutions.
The company ranked first in the preferred employer category in the Employee Satisfaction Survey conducted by Dataquest-IDC in India. It employs around 1800 people in the BPO / Call Center and IT services segments.
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.
