iWorld
Mukund Cairae to head media networks division at Toonz
Mumbai: Close on the heels of launching its OTT platform, global kids and family entertainment player Toonz Media Group has appointed former Zee Entertainment chief operating officer Mukund Cairae to give strategic leadership to the new SBU, that seeks to expand to more territories in the next two years.
Toonz Media Group is all set to venture deeper into the platform entertainment business and has constituted a new SBU – Toonz Media Networks – with the aim of widening the scope of the company’s platform business.
Apart from its well-established YoutTube ecosystem as well as television channels in Russia and LATAM, Toonz Media Networks SBU will supervise the launch of the group’s new linear television channels in the fast-growing kids’ television markets of Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore & MENA, said the company in a statement on Thursday.
With 1000+ hours of content in multiple genres ranging from pre-school to tween as well as the family audience, Toonz will bank on its rich library to bring world-class shows and films to families across the world via the mini screen, it added.
“I think this is the right time for Toonz to focus more on platform entertainment. The content industry is booming around the world and demand for kids’ content, especially, is unprecedented,” said Toonz Media Group, CEO, P Jayakumar. “We have consolidated our position as a leading kids and family entertainment company in the last 20+ years, with a diverse portfolio of businesses ranging from animation production to emerging technologies.”
“The idea is to monetise Toonz’s content in various geographies across the globe, especially in the emerging markets, via our in-house content delivery platforms,” said Toonz Media Networks, president, Mukund Cairae. “Toonz will partner with telcos as well as digital platforms to launch channels in these geographies. This includes both linear and on-demand channels. For on-demand platform, we will start off with the Middle East market.”
Cairae added that apart from the market potential, each of these geographies have been identified based on the scope for revenue capturing and effective content repurposing, in order to make it relevant and adaptable to the local markets. As part of this, Toonz’s home-grown content will be dubbed into a slew of global languages like Bahasa Indonesia, Bahasa Melayu, Arabic, Urdu, Thai, French, and Swahili.
Additionally, Toonz will also be actively pursuing content partnerships in these regions to co-create premium content, including e-Sports, to engage the tweens and teens besides the kids audience category.
Gaming
Bluestone FY26 revenue rises to Rs 2,436 crore, turns profitable
Q4 profit at Rs 31 crore, full-year profit at Rs 13 crore vs loss last year.
MUMBAI: From sparkle to numbers, Bluestone seems to be polishing more than just jewellery this year. Bluestone Jewellery and Lifestyle Limited reported a sharp turnaround in FY26, with revenue from operations rising to Rs 2,436 crore (Rs 24,364 million), up from Rs 1,770 crore (Rs 17,700 million) in FY25. The company posted a full-year profit of Rs 13 crore (Rs 131.79 million), a significant recovery from a loss of Rs 222 crore (Rs 2,218 million) a year ago.
Total income for the year stood at Rs 2,486 crore (Rs 24,860 million), compared to Rs 1,830 crore (Rs 18,300 million) in the previous year, reflecting both topline growth and improved operational momentum.
The March quarter, however, told a more nuanced story. Revenue from operations came in at Rs 681 crore (Rs 6,814 million), down from Rs 748 crore (Rs 7,486 million) in the year-ago period, though higher than Rs 461 crore (Rs 4,613 million) in the preceding December quarter. Net profit for Q4 stood at Rs 31 crore (Rs 311.81 million), compared to Rs 68 crore (Rs 688 million) a year earlier, but a clear reversal from a loss of Rs 51 crore (Rs 512 million) in Q3.
Margins were shaped by higher input costs, with raw material consumption rising to Rs 2,204 crore (Rs 22,043 million) for the full year, alongside employee benefit expenses of Rs 282 crore (Rs 2,824 million) and finance costs of Rs 210 crore (Rs 2,104 million). Other expenses came in at Rs 371 crore (Rs 3,715 million), slightly lower than Rs 393 crore (Rs 3,938 million) in FY25.
On the balance sheet front, total assets expanded to Rs 4,961 crore (Rs 49,610 million) as of March 31, 2026, from Rs 3,532 crore (Rs 35,322 million) a year earlier, driven largely by a surge in inventories to Rs 2,672 crore (Rs 26,718 million). Equity also strengthened to Rs 1,803 crore (Rs 18,030 million), nearly doubling from Rs 911 crore (Rs 9,107 million).
Cash flows reflected the cost of growth. Net cash used in operating activities stood at Rs 199 crore (Rs 1,990 million), while investing activities saw an outflow of Rs 239 crore (Rs 2,392 million). Financing activities, however, generated Rs 497 crore (Rs 4,971 million), helping the company end the year with cash and cash equivalents of Rs 108 crore (Rs 1,075 million), up from Rs 49 crore (Rs 487 million).
Earnings per share for FY26 came in at Rs 1.10, a sharp improvement from a negative Rs 79.74 in FY25, underlining the shift from losses to profitability.
With revenue scaling up, costs still glittering on the higher side, and profitability finally back in the black, BlueStone’s FY26 performance suggests a business mid-transition less about shine alone, and more about sustaining it.
