iWorld
Prabh Simran Singh moves on from Disney+ Hotstar
Mumbai: Disney+ Hotstar EVP and head of subscriptions Prabh Simran Singh has moved on from the video streaming service after a five-year stint. He had joined the OTT platform in October 2015.
“I announced my departure from Hotstar yesterday, where I learnt how to back big dreams with audacious thinking and high quality execution. The last 5 years have been transformational, from creating World record concurrency on the back of immense user love to making Hotstar into the largest subscription service in India with an explosive 30x growth in just 2 years. Today, Hotstar contributes to a third of Disney+ global subscribers!” Singh said in a LinkedIn post, announcing his departure.
He will be with Disney+ Hotstar till December.
“In this exhilarating 0 to 100 journey, it’s been an absolute privilege to work with whip smart people. I’m incredibly grateful to my insanely talented teams for believing in my vision and coming on-board as co-conspirators in building Hotstar. I’ll be at Hotstar till the end of the year,” Singh added.
In his current role at Disney+ Hotstar, Singh leads the charter to grow the subscription category and build the largest D2C subscription platform in India with an ambition of 50 million subs by 2023. His mandate included brand, revenue, content, product, pricing, customer experience, payments, and partnerships (telcos, fintech, OEMs).
Earlier, he was EVP & head of consumer and revenue at Disney+ Hotstar, where he led the Consumer & Revenue organisation with the mandate to accelerate user scale for ad-supported business and growing monetisation. In this role, he accelerated the streaming platform on the back of cricket as an acquisition lever and retention through Star network shows and films.
While his next move is yet unknown, Singh, in the same LinkedIn post, said that he is excited about the increasing role of technology in solving large & complex problems, particularly in health.
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.
