News Broadcasting
Khabar 365 Din to sell part stakes to Gitanjali Jewellers
KOLKATA: Kolkata headquartered Rose Valley, which launched ‘Khabar 365 Din’ – a Bengali daily last year, plans to sell a part of the stake to Mumbai based jewellery company Gitanjali Jewellers.
Also, Rose Valley which registered a public limited company by the name of Rose Valley Patrika was initially in talks with two-three Kolkata headquartered ‘big companies’ who were willing to strike a deal with the company.
A senior media person on the condition of anonymity said: “The deal has been done between Rose Valley and Gitanjali Jewellers.”
Khabar 365 Din, which launched on 16 January 2012, is published from Kolkata and Siliguri.
“Within a span of one and half years, after its launch, the newspaper made a mark in the Kolkata media industry,” said media analysts.
The company was also in the process to publish daily newspaper in English language from Kolkata but nothing concrete was heard, the media person added.
A Kolkata based media manager said companies which need to spend a huge amount on advertising; sometimes prefer to pick a small stake in regional dailies so that by publishing advertisements at the appropriate time they can reach their clientele.
A Kahabar 365 Din daily senior employee confirmed that Gitanjali may buy a small per cent stake in the newspaper. “We have been hearing about this development recently but though no official announcement has been done by the management,” he clarified.
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.
