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  • How to plan SIPs for your child’s education?

    How to plan SIPs for your child’s education?

    Are you extremely worried about securing your child’s future education in the present day’s ever-increasing cost scenario? With prudent planning and investment in a proper financial vehicle, you can ensure that your child’s educational dreams are not compromised by financial constraints. Wondering which financial product can be a perfect choice in such a case? Systematic Investment Plans (SIPs) in mutual funds can be a reliable financial product to save for your child’s higher education. To learn how you can plan SIPs in mutual funds for your child’s higher education, continue reading.  

    1)       Set clear education goals 

    The initial step in planning SIP in mutual funds for your child’s higher education is to set clear goals. Estimate the cost of education depending on the program and educational institute you aspire for your child. Consider parameters such as tuition fees, books, accommodation, and other expenditures. For instance, if you aim for a medical degree from a high-ranked foreign institute, research the present costs and factor in inflation. Setting a clear target will allow you to determine the amount you require to save through SIPs.   

    2)       Decide the investment time frame 

    The duration you have, until your kid begins higher education, is essential in deciding your SIP approach. If your child is currently five years old and you plan for their higher studies at 18, you have an investment horizon of 13 years. Longer investment time frames allow you to take benefit of the compounding effect. Use an online SIP calculator to estimate how much you need to invest month on month to reach your goal. The calculator can provide a realistic picture of the necessary investments required, allowing you to stay on track.   

    3)       Select the correct mutual funds 

    Choosing the correct mutual funds is crucial for maximising returns on SIPs. Equity funds are favourable for long-term goals such as education owing to their potential for higher returns. Diversify your investments through distinct equity funds to disseminate risk. Moreover, consider hybrid funds, which invest in both debt and equities, offering a balanced approach. Getting in touch with a certified financial professional can assist you in choosing the prudent mutual fund in alignment with your risk appetite and financial goals.   

    4)       Monitor and adjust your investments 

    Periodically monitoring your SIP is essential to ensure they are on the right track to meet your financial goals. Assess your investment portfolio at least once a year and make required adjustments, if necessary. If certain funds are not performing well, consider switching to better-performing funds. Reevaluating your financial scenario and goals periodically helps in making well-informed decisions. Online tools like an SIP calculator can help in assessing your investment performance and making required adjustments. 

    Ending note 

    Planning SIPs for your child’s higher education requires clear goal setting, understanding your time frame, selecting the correct mutual funds, and periodic monitoring. By following these steps, you can prepare a solid financial plan to support your child’s educational goals. Use an online SIP calculator to make better decisions and stay on track. Additionally, ensure to start early, remain committed and watch your investments grow.

  • HDFC securities appoints Puneeth Bekal as CMO

    HDFC securities appoints Puneeth Bekal as CMO

    Mumbai: Leading investment services provider HDFC securities has announced the appointment of Puneeth Bekal for the position of chief marketing officer (CMO) and executive vice president. Bekal will be heading the marketing department, and HDFC Sky – their flat pricing equity broking app launched in September 2023.

    Puneeth has over 19 years of experience in brands and marketing, with key expertise in brand strategy, marketing strategy, and digital marketing across industries and verticals. He was recently awarded as the 100 Most Influential Marketers by Business World and authored the prestigious Business World Marketing White Book. Before joining HSL, Puneeth worked for organizations including Mastercard, Godrej Group, Lodha Group, and Ceat Tyres. He holds a marketing degree from IIM-Calcutta. In his career spanning nearly two decades, he has worked in over 42 cities across India and 7 countries, giving him a deep understanding of India’s diverse culture and sense of global interconnectedness.

    Speaking on his appointment, HDFC securities chief marketing officer and executive vice president Puneeth Bekal said, “I am thrilled to embark on this journey with HDFC Securities, driving towards our shared vision of becoming the preeminent ally for financial investors. In a rapidly evolving landscape, we recognise the transformative power of cutting-edge technologies, and my commitment is to leverage these tools to unlock their full potential. The surge in over 10 crore new demat account openings in India since the pandemic, predominantly fueled by a wave of young and tech-savvy investors, underscores the dynamic shift in the financial landscape.

    As the newly appointed CMO at HDFC Securities and HDFC Sky, my immediate focus is to propel our digital capabilities to new heights, with a specific emphasis on HDFC Sky. This strategic initiative aims to position HDFC Sky as the undisputed investment platform of choice for the vibrant community of young and millennial investors across the nation. Through innovation, personalised experiences, and a commitment to trust, we aspire to redefine the landscape of financial services and solidify our standing as the go-to destination for the next generation of investors.”

    HDFC Securities MD & CEO Dhiraj Relli said, “Puneeth will be instrumental in crafting a new age, digital-first marketing ecosystem to lead HDFC Securities to stand out in the fragmented and evolving broking and distribution space in India. Puneeth’s enthusiasm and expertise will play a key role in the entire spectrum of HSL’s offerings ranging from our flat pricing offering – HDFC Sky to Investment advisory services.”

  • Consumer sentiment improves for urban Indians in December 2023: Refinitiv-Ipsos PCSI monthly India report

    Consumer sentiment improves for urban Indians in December 2023: Refinitiv-Ipsos PCSI monthly India report

    Mumbai: Consumer sentiment shows recovery and uptick of 1.2 per cent points for urban Indians in December 2023, according to the Refinitiv-Ipsos Primary Consumer Sentiment Index (PCSI).

    The monthly PCSI result, which is driven by the aggregation of four weighted sub-Indices, displays a mixed response across the four sub-indices. The PCSI Current Personal Financial Conditions (“Current Conditions”) Sub-Index is up 3.2 per cent points; the PCSI Investment Climate (“Investment”) Sub-Index improves and is up 3.0 per cent points. On the contrary, PCSI Economic Expectations (“Expectations”) Sub-Index is down 0.1 percentage points and the PCSI Employment Confidence (“Jobs”) Sub- Index has dipped 1.9 percentage points.

    Ipsos India CEO Amit Adarkar said, “We see a slight recovery and upturn in consumer sentiment in December, after November’s downturn. The RBI has left the Repo Rate unchanged in its recent Monetary Policy, which means no hike in interest rates on home loans, vehicle loans, borrowings etc., which should have brought some cheer to consumers. Improvement in sentiment is seen more around the 2 sub-indices of current financial conditions and investments, which shows consumers do not need to observe frugality in their spending and savings. Sentiment around jobs and the economy continues to be pessimistic as the two wars in Israel and Ukraine and a significant slowdown in the global economy continue to impact most global markets, especially now that we are seeing job cuts by major global companies.”

    Consumer Sentiment in 29 Countries

    Among the 29 countries, India (64.3) holds the highest National Index score this month. Indonesia (63.9) and Mexico (60.0) are the only other countries with a National Index score of 60 or higher.

    Six other countries show a National Index above the 50-point mark: Thailand (58.1), Singapore (57.5), Brazil (56.5), the Netherlands (52.2), Poland (51.5), and the U.S. (51.1). For Poland, this month’s score is the country’s highest since November 2019.  

    In contrast, five countries now show a National Index below the 40-point mark: Chile (39.9), South Korea (39.1), Japan (37.5), Hungary (36.6), and Türkiye (35.5).

    https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/5xO87cdvNbhHl9HDHtm4WFTDVB7B6v_Xy2UT_51B8636SIBhhu2wUu4B2j0cgI7pC2bBJq-d1jDinzJjVsxZkRRNNPEQn8jii-aJj0ab2Tr2cmIJryEnhr6YWu3wmjx9l7iApwhGcLY561HR1u-gRg

    These findings are based on data from a monthly 29-country survey conducted by Ipsos on its Global Advisor online survey platform and, in India, on its IndiaBus platform. They are first reported each month by LSEG as the Primary Consumer Sentiment Index (PCSI).

    The results are based on interviews with over 21,200 adults aged 18+ in India, 18-74 in Canada, Israel, Malaysia, South Africa, Türkiye, and the United States, 20-74 in Thailand, 21-74 in Indonesia and Singapore, and 16-74 in all other countries.

    The monthly sample consists of 1,000+ individuals each in Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Spain, and the U.S., and 500+ individuals in each of Argentina, Belgium, Chile, Colombia, Hungary, Indonesia, Israel, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, Thailand, and Türkiye. The sample in India consists of approximately 2,200 individuals of whom 1,800 were interviewed face-to-face and 400 were interviewed online.

    Samples in Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, and the U.S. can be considered representative of their general adult populations under the age of 75. Samples in Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Indonesia, Israel, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand, and Türkiye are more urban, more educated, and/or more affluent than the general population. The survey results for these countries should be viewed as reflecting the views of the more “connected” segment of their populations. India’s sample represents a large subset of its urban population — social economic classes A/B/C in metros and tier 1-3 town classes across all four zones.  

    The data is weighted so that the composition of the sample in each country best reflects the demographic profile of the adult population according to the most recent census data. The global indices and averages reported here reflect the average result for all the countries and markets in which the survey was conducted. They have not been adjusted to the population size of each country or market and are not intended to suggest “total” results.

    Sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error and measurement error. The precision of Ipsos online surveys is calculated using a Bayesian credibility interval with a survey of N=1,000 being accurate to +/- 3.5 per cent points and a survey of N=500 being accurate to +/- 5.0 percentage points. For more information on credibility intervals, visit this page.

    The LSEG/ Ipsos Primary Consumer Sentiment Index (PCSI), ongoing since 2010, is a monthly survey of consumer attitudes on the current and future state of their local economy, personal financial situation, savings, and confidence to make major investments. The PCSI metrics reported each month for each of the countries surveyed consist of a “Primary Index” based on all 10 questions below and of several “sub-indices” each based on a subset of these 10 questions.

    The concerned publication of these findings abides by local rules and regulations. 

  • GroupM India names Ashwin Padmanabhan as president – investments, trading and partnerships

    GroupM India names Ashwin Padmanabhan as president – investments, trading and partnerships

    Mumbai: GroupM India announced on Wednesday that Ashwin Padmanabhan will be promoted to president-investments, trading, and partnerships. Padmanabhan, who earlier led ‘Trading’ and ‘Partnerships’ will now also be taking on the ‘Investments’ portfolio from Sidharth Parashar. Parashar will be joining the APAC Mindshare leadership team as chief investment officer, Mindshare APAC, and will now be based out of Singapore.

    Padmanabhan will continue to report to GroupM South Asia CEO Prasanth Kumar and be based out of the Gurgaon campus. Over the next three months, Parashar and Padmanabhan will work closely to ensure a seamless transition into their respective new roles along with their key leadership team.

    GroupM South Asia CEO Prasanth Kumar said, “Sidharth has had a phenomenal career journey where the organisation has witnessed his evolution from a practise expert to a leader over the last 18 years with GroupM. He has successfully led investment mandates across all media, elevating the practise through innovative products and exceptional value for our clients. I would like to wish him the very best and will continue to work closely with him as he drives the regional investment strategy for Mindshare.”

    “I am also excited to see Ashwin taking over this additional role. He has a deep understanding of the business, and we continue to benefit from his knowledge of the media ecosystem. Focusing on cutting-edge innovation backed by his solid process orientation is a value-add for clients. His ‘start-up’ mindset has helped GroupM venture into new practices, deploying creativity to our products and solutions, keeping client delight at the helm,” he added.

    Parashar will report to Mindshare APAC chief executive officer Helen McRae, and work on enhancing Mindshare’s local market investment strategy and driving thinking on the opportunity of good growth and intentional investment for the region.

    Helen McRae said, “I am very pleased that Sid will be joining our regional team. He brings a tremendous depth of expertise and will be a great champion of good growth for our clients.”

    Sidharth Parashar said, “It has been an amazing journey at GroupM, and I am delighted to now take over this new Mindshare APAC investment role. I look forward to this opportunity in new markets to build value for our client’s business.”

    Ashwin Padmanabhan said, “GroupM has been a fertile ground for innovation and creating value in a highly entrepreneurial environment. This expanded remit motivates me to renew my focus on the GroupM value proposition for our clients, media partners, and technology partners. We want to keep the momentum up with these relentless efforts toward improving today for a better tomorrow.”

  • Prasad: Investments in electronic mfg cross Rs 1.28 lakh crore, 50 crore internet users by end 2016

    Prasad: Investments in electronic mfg cross Rs 1.28 lakh crore, 50 crore internet users by end 2016

    New Delhi: The total investments in the electronics manufacturing sector in India has crossed Rs 1.28 lakh crore, Communications and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said today.

    “When our government came in 2014, the total investment in electronics manufacturing was around Rs 11,700 crore and as of two days ago it is Rs 1,28,000 crore plus,” Prasad said.

    He said until recently, just a few cities like Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Bangalore or Mumbai were considered the hubs for information technology, but the aim had been to take this to mofussil towns as well and so even smaller towns now had facilities after the launch of the Digital India, Skill India and Make in India programmes.

    Addressing the Times Network’s Second Digital India summit, the Minister said these programmes had become transformational as they would set the path for changing the face of the country.

    When he became the IT Minister, he said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had given him a small slogan to live up to. “IT (Indian Talent) plus IT (Information Technology) is equal to IT (India Tomorrow).’

    Prasad said India is fast adopting technology and the country is likely to have half a billion(50 crore) internet users by the end of this year. “It took two to three years for internet users to go from 200 to 300 million (20 to 30 crore) . It has taken a year to reach 400 million (40 crore) and when Internet service providers said we have reached 400 million, I was really surprised. I think the target of 500 million (50 crore) by 2017… maybe this will come by this year-end,” he said.

    At the same time, he stressed that the government fully respected freedom of expression and was therefore encouraging the use of Internet. He said the government’s aim is to not only create a digitally-enabled society but also a digitally-empowered and enlightened India.

    Prasad said: “Today India has a billion-plus (100 crore-plus) mobile phone users, 990 million (99 crore) have Aadhaar card. The government has saved close to Rs 50,000 crore by directly giving subsidy to Aadhaar-enabled bank accounts”. The minister said the government is also pushing hard electronic manufacturing in the country and 120 million (12 crore) mobile phones have been manufactured in the last year.

    He said that one of his major achievements had been to introduce e-commerce in post offices. In addition, he had introduced core banking services in postal services. From 213 offering banking services when he took over, the number had gone up to 20,494 post offices. Around 850 post offices had ATM services. He claimed that sixty international consortiums were talking to India to collaborate with the postal authorities.

    He said the aim of connecting 2.50 lakh gram panchayats through optical fibre network was proceeding fast and from 398 km when he took over, cable had been laid in 10,5000 km. When all gram panchayats are linked through the broadband network, then e-business, e-education, e-health and other projects can be started in villages, he added.

    The government’s aim was to open BPOs in small towns and 78 companies have shown interest to set up BPO operations at 190 locations across the country for about 1,25,000 seats. There is also a plan to set up BPO centres in small urban centres of India, said the minister.

    The minister said creation of MyGov.in had led to greater interaction with the average citizen, voice their concerns and give suggestions for improvement of public policies and development programmes.

    The aim was also to build Common Service Centres all over the country offering all kinds of services like e-commerce, internet, BPO and telephony.  This was a major step towards bridging the digital divide.

    He said under the Digital India Programme, Indian IT exports had touched the $100 billion  ($10,000 crore) mark last year.

    Internet should not be a monopoly of a few and needs to be available on a non-discriminatory manner to ensure open access to the masses. It should be open, plural and inclusive,” Prasad said. The minister said internet subscribers are growing at a rapid pace in India at a time when the government is also taking steps to link villages by optical fibre network. However, there is a need to need to ensure that the online set-up is secure.

    Earlier welcoming him, Times Now and ET Now President-News and Editor in Chief Arnab Goswami suggested that Skill India and Digital India should be combined into one programme.

  • Prasad: Investments in electronic mfg cross Rs 1.28 lakh crore, 50 crore internet users by end 2016

    Prasad: Investments in electronic mfg cross Rs 1.28 lakh crore, 50 crore internet users by end 2016

    New Delhi: The total investments in the electronics manufacturing sector in India has crossed Rs 1.28 lakh crore, Communications and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said today.

    “When our government came in 2014, the total investment in electronics manufacturing was around Rs 11,700 crore and as of two days ago it is Rs 1,28,000 crore plus,” Prasad said.

    He said until recently, just a few cities like Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Bangalore or Mumbai were considered the hubs for information technology, but the aim had been to take this to mofussil towns as well and so even smaller towns now had facilities after the launch of the Digital India, Skill India and Make in India programmes.

    Addressing the Times Network’s Second Digital India summit, the Minister said these programmes had become transformational as they would set the path for changing the face of the country.

    When he became the IT Minister, he said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had given him a small slogan to live up to. “IT (Indian Talent) plus IT (Information Technology) is equal to IT (India Tomorrow).’

    Prasad said India is fast adopting technology and the country is likely to have half a billion(50 crore) internet users by the end of this year. “It took two to three years for internet users to go from 200 to 300 million (20 to 30 crore) . It has taken a year to reach 400 million (40 crore) and when Internet service providers said we have reached 400 million, I was really surprised. I think the target of 500 million (50 crore) by 2017… maybe this will come by this year-end,” he said.

    At the same time, he stressed that the government fully respected freedom of expression and was therefore encouraging the use of Internet. He said the government’s aim is to not only create a digitally-enabled society but also a digitally-empowered and enlightened India.

    Prasad said: “Today India has a billion-plus (100 crore-plus) mobile phone users, 990 million (99 crore) have Aadhaar card. The government has saved close to Rs 50,000 crore by directly giving subsidy to Aadhaar-enabled bank accounts”. The minister said the government is also pushing hard electronic manufacturing in the country and 120 million (12 crore) mobile phones have been manufactured in the last year.

    He said that one of his major achievements had been to introduce e-commerce in post offices. In addition, he had introduced core banking services in postal services. From 213 offering banking services when he took over, the number had gone up to 20,494 post offices. Around 850 post offices had ATM services. He claimed that sixty international consortiums were talking to India to collaborate with the postal authorities.

    He said the aim of connecting 2.50 lakh gram panchayats through optical fibre network was proceeding fast and from 398 km when he took over, cable had been laid in 10,5000 km. When all gram panchayats are linked through the broadband network, then e-business, e-education, e-health and other projects can be started in villages, he added.

    The government’s aim was to open BPOs in small towns and 78 companies have shown interest to set up BPO operations at 190 locations across the country for about 1,25,000 seats. There is also a plan to set up BPO centres in small urban centres of India, said the minister.

    The minister said creation of MyGov.in had led to greater interaction with the average citizen, voice their concerns and give suggestions for improvement of public policies and development programmes.

    The aim was also to build Common Service Centres all over the country offering all kinds of services like e-commerce, internet, BPO and telephony.  This was a major step towards bridging the digital divide.

    He said under the Digital India Programme, Indian IT exports had touched the $100 billion  ($10,000 crore) mark last year.

    Internet should not be a monopoly of a few and needs to be available on a non-discriminatory manner to ensure open access to the masses. It should be open, plural and inclusive,” Prasad said. The minister said internet subscribers are growing at a rapid pace in India at a time when the government is also taking steps to link villages by optical fibre network. However, there is a need to need to ensure that the online set-up is secure.

    Earlier welcoming him, Times Now and ET Now President-News and Editor in Chief Arnab Goswami suggested that Skill India and Digital India should be combined into one programme.

  • Big Data: Helping maximise the return on investments

    Big Data: Helping maximise the return on investments

    MUMBAI: Flip through business channels or newspapers and everyone seems to be talking about the Big Data.

     

    And in the current digital revolution phase, it has become quite imperative for brands to efficiently and effectively leverage Big Data for strategic business decisions.

     

    The rise of social and mobile computing means huge volumes of precious customer and prospect insights are available to further propel the business. However, extracting and making sense of this raw data, as well as data from traditional systems of record, requires definitive use of cases in which tangible business objectives drive experimentation with new tools, analytical techniques and operating processes for pinpointing potential returns on information — and investment.

     

    So, Big Data Analysis is helping companies gain deeper insights into customer behaviour and industry trends, thus letting them make informed strategic decisions to improve their operational and marketing ROI.   In layman’s terms, Big Data can be defined as collection of data much larger than can be stored and computed in an individual large server. Generally the data comes from different sources like Data Warehouses, Sales data, online customer behaviour logs and social media streams. Because of rapid digitisation, the data is getting captured at a faster rate and continues to grow over time. These are popularly called as 3V’s of Big Data (Variety, Velocity and Volume), explains IntelliGrape engineering VP Narinder Kumar.

     

    Global spending on Big Data hardware, software, and services will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 30 per cent through 2018, reaching a total market size of $114 billion as per a recent report from AT Kearney.

     

    It’s relevance in today’s world has grown multifold because though data analytics and lot of related techniques have been in use since long time but these were generally under realm of very large organisations. “Rapid digitisation, pervasiveness of internet enabled devices and social media has led to Big Data explosion in recent times. Existing tools and techniques are either not capable to easily handle such large data-sets or find it difficult to keep pace with such fast pace of data evolution,” points out Kumar.

     

    He adds, “Alongside Big Data explosion, we are witnessing technology advances in terms of innovative products to harness power of Big Data. Hadoop ecosystem, NoSQL Databases, cloud platforms, analytical & visualisation tools have made it possible for mid and even small organisations to harness power of Big Data.”

     

    Thanks to technology spurt, today organisations can apply for Big Data techniques in multitude of ways. For instance, an e-commerce portal can build recommendation engines to up-sell and cross-sell visiting customers. A bank can propose tailor made policies to its customers based upon their financial history, their existing portfolio along with their demographic details. A mobile service provider can predict churn and reach out to the potential customer base with more innovative plans.

     

    Kumar says, “In brief, Big Data allows organisations to be become more data driven in formulating their marketing and product strategies rather than relying on guts, assumptions and expert opinions.”

     

    Having said that, there are companies that don’t know how to use Big Data to their benefit. “This is largely because the entire landscape has grown very vast in a relatively short span of time. We would say, Big Data domain is under early stages of maturity in multiple aspects. Many organisations are sitting on fences and waiting for the technologies to be more mature and best practices to evolve. As a result, we see several half-hearted attempts towards Big Data adoption. We witness a lot of PoC (Proof of Concepts) or isolated adoptions of Big Data analytics. This leads to low returns of Big Data investments for organisations,” reasons Kumar.

     

  • Network18 Media on a turnaround trail

    Network18 Media on a turnaround trail

    MUMBAI: The Network18 group is doing very well, thank you. The group’s media holding company Network18 Media & Investments has reported results which show that the management led by managing director Raghav Bahl and group CEO B. Saikumar is slowly but surely driving it back to profits.

    The company has reported revenues of Rs 679.5 crore in Q4 FY 2013 as against Rs 697.4 crore in Q3 FY 2013. Revenues for the full financial year ending 31 March 2013 are at Rs 2400.8 crore as against Rs 1943.8 crore – a jump of 23.51 per cent. This was driven primarily by an almost doubling in revenues from its digital content and ecommerce vertical to Rs 400.9 crore (from Rs 233.8 crore) for the whole year. Its television and motion picture vertical too leaped ahead 36.62 per cent in revenues to Rs 1725.5 crore (Rs 1262.9 crore).

    The company shaved off its operating expenses for Q4 2013 to Rs 666.8 crore from Rs 686.8 crore in Q3 FY 2013. For the whole year ending 31 March 2013, its operating expenses rose to Rs 2440.1 crore (Rs 2239.9 crore).

    Operating profits for the group during Q4 2013 were at Rs 12.8 crore against Rs 10.6 crore during Q3 FY 2013 keeping its operating margin at 2 per cent. During Q4 FY 2013, there was a drop in the company’s television and motion picture unit’s operating profits to Rs 34.6 crore (from Rs 48.1 crore). The operating losses for its digital content and e-commerce vertical fell to Rs 24.3 crore from Rs 31.3 crore in this period. The operating margins for its television and motion picture business in Q4 FY 2013 decreased to seven per cent (nine per cent in Q3 FY 2013).

    For the whole year, there has been a drastic reduction in its operating losses to Rs 39.2 crore (Rs 296 crore). Its television and motion picture business which reported operating profits of Rs 107.1 crore (Rs 1.6 c rore) and allied businesses (publishing), which saw a decrease in losses to Rs 46.9 crore from Rs 118.8 crore, helped staunch the red ink. Its digital and e-commerce business continued to lose money operationally with an operating loss of Rs 125.4 crore (Rs 126.3 crore). The operating margins for its TV and motion pictures have improved from 0 to 6 per cent for the full year.

    Network18’s consolidated debt as on 31 March 2013 stood at Rs 211 crore, down 90 per cent from Rs 2130 crore at the end of FY12.

    Interest costs for Q4 FY 2013 were reduced to Rs 38.9 crore (Rs 53.1 crore in Q3 FY 2013). For the whole year it managed to keep its interest cost under control at Rs 272 crore (Rs 270.7 crore in FY 2012).
    It managed to report a net profit of Rs 50 lakh in Q4 FY 2013 (Rs 6.8 crore in Q3 Fy 2013). For the full year, it managed to improve its bottomline with a reduction in losses to Rs 105.5 crore (Rs 392.7 crore).

    During the year, Network18 profitably sold its entire stake in Newswire18, divested its Yellow Pages and Askme businesses and diluted its majority stake in Book My Show. These transactions, in line with the strategy to exit non-core businesses, added Rs 180 crore to the annual profit and raised Rs 235 crore for the Network18 Group.

    Says Bahl: “We are delighted to inform our investors and stakeholders that at both Network18 and TV18, we have successfully deleveraged our balance sheets and have delivered strong operating performances. Network18s and TV18s net debt now stands at less than one-fifth of the peak levels and our interest payments have come down sharply. We are confident that we are now entering a sustained value creation phase in our journey as we continue to strengthen our existing operations and consolidate our regional acquisition.”

    Adds B. Saikumar: “We are extremely pleased that our digital and broadcast operations have turned in a sustained and healthy operating performance during the year despite softness in the advertising environment. Our e-commerce businesses have turned in another stellar year and our digital content businesses continue to grow steadily. We are now on a solid net distribution income trajectory and while our flagship channels like CNBC TV18/Awaaz, Colors and CNN IBN continue to perform admirably, we are also enthused by the performance of recent launches and the motion pictures business. Inspite of near term challenges given the macro-economic headwinds, we are hopeful of delivering a strong year ahead.”