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Manorama Quickerala Machinery & Trade Expo draws huge crowds, making Marine Drive a “Machinery Land”
Mumbai: Events like Machinery and Trade Expos can help revive industries which collapsed during the Covid pandemic, Ernakulam MP Hibi Eden said here on Wednesday. He inaugurated the third edition of Malayala Manorama Quickerala Machinery and Trade Expo at Marine Drive Kochi. The expo featuring products by nearly 130 machine manufacturers and 31 products manufacturers with over 225 stalls was conducted from 15 to 18 November.
Marketing Services & Solutions VP Joy Mathew, Malayala Manorama chaired the inaugural meet. General secretary P.J Jose, Kerala State Small Industries Association president Mujeebur Rahman, All Kerala Distributors Association president Mujeebur Rahman, Bakers Association district president V P Abdul Salim, Small Industries Development Bank of India deputy general manager K V Karthikeyan and State Bank of India deputy general manager Pradipta Kumar Pradhan spoke at the event.
The exhibition featured a huge collection of small and big machineries from industry majors across the country. The items lined up for display include food packing and food processing machines, jalebi makers, laundry machines, waste incinerators, water purifiers, paper bag making machines, solar products, modern technology pumps, CNC cutting machines, bakery equipments and machines, ice cream making machines, different types of power tools, napkin vending machines, interlock manufacturing machines, chapathy making machines, copra machines, electric coconut graters, flour mill machines, diesel generators and oil cleansing machines.
A discount fair of household items was held as part of the event. Items such as furniture, coir products, fencing materials, massagers, mop and water tank cleaners, tower fans, chapati makers, popcorn making machines, power saving bulbs, optical lens and car wash machines were available at the fair.
The event was organized by Kerala’s own search engine Manorama Quickerala.com in association with the Kerala State Small Industries Association , Cochin Chamber of Commerce and Industry , All Kerala Distributors, Association and Bakers Association. The expo’s banking partner State Bank Of India , Automative Partner Maruti Suzuki Nexa, MSME partner Small Industries Development Bank Of India and furniture partner Wood Look Furniture have arranged exclusive stalls at the event.
Thousands of people thronged the Marine Drive ground to visit the Malayala Manorama Quickerala Machinery and Trade Expo featuring a wide array of small and large machinery by manufactures from across the country.
The three day expo entered its second day on Thursday and the enthusiasm of the small and medium business community , and the public was evident from the crowd gathered.
The third edition of Malayala Manorama Quickerala Machinery and Trade Expo features products from nearly 130 machine manufacturers in over 200 stalls.
Two seminars aiming to help entrepreneurs were held as part of the expo on Thursday. In the first one, Najeeb P A , general manager, Department of Industries general manager (Ernakulam) Najeeb P A said, “The New Business Opportunities and Prospects in Kerala”. He explained the various government schemes introduced to help entrepreneurs in the state. On the first day , K V Karthikeyan , deputy general manager, the Small Industries Development Bank of India – Cochin branch , spoke on the schemes and financing for micro, small and medium enterprises. On the following days, various experts sessions were conducted by governments officials, among the sessions the most exclusive session was on Food Business in Kerala handled by Master Chef. Sri, Suresh Pillai (founder & chef and restaurateur). The changing market conditions and momentum has been building up a new culture which influences the future generation to build a business of their own to scale up their living standards. The expo has even marked more than 25 crores business bookings at an average for each and every participating company. The major categories participated were food packing machines, food processing machines, CNC cutting machines, industrial generators, printers, 3d printers, industrial refrigerators, bakery equipment, ovens, laundry machines, power tools and trade and franchise stalls were are highlights of the event. State Bank of India (SBI), Small Industries Development Bank (SIDBI), Maruti Suzuki NEXA, Woodlook were the category partners for this year’s manorama quickerala machinery & trade expo. The event has maintained its standards to be retained as the Top Rated Machinery & Trade Expo. The expo will be hosted in various other parts of the State as well. The attendance growth started with 18,050 in the year 2019 with 73 stalls at Calicut thereafter it marked an attendance of 68,823 with 138 stalls and the above mentioned current year attendance brings an outlook that the interest towards the business development and establishment is increasing day by day. The expo was promoted targeting the audience from pan Kerala. The machines weighing tons with Live demonstrations were the major core highlights of the event. The entry was FREE for all participants to avail the entry pass online ticket portal was introduced. The massive crowd experience in the event days under intense heat conditions were the points to mark the need of Manorama Quickerala Machinery & Trade Expo in Kerala. The next edition will be announced soon. The feedback from the entire participating brands was at its peak, which is the key to mark the success.
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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.
