MAM
Education, healthcare topped list of misleading ads in 2020: ASCI
MUMBAI: Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has said that the third quarter of 2020 witnessed a surge in number of consumer complaints after an initiative driven quarter by the Ad industry regulator to increase consumer awareness.
Between October and December, the ASCI team received 1,885 complaints originating from 1,230 advertisements, the regulatory body said in its Complaints Analysis Report – Q3 FY (2020-21). It noted that the Industry focused initiatives it led for consumer protection and streamlining of processes for effective self-regulatory practices had had a high impact.
251 of the 1,230 advertisements were either withdrawn or amended by the advertisers on receipt of communication from ASCI. From the remaining advertisements, ASCI’s independent Consumer Complaints Council (CCC) upheld complaints against 902 advertisements. Of these, a whopping 582 or almost 65 per cent ads belonged to the education sector and 128 from healthcare, 64 from food and beverages, 25 from personal care, 99 from other categories. Complaints against 77 advertisements were not upheld as these advertisements were not found to be in violation of the ASCI code.
Some of the key themes of false claims or code violations that emerged during the quarter October-December were:
– Education ads with false claims of job guarantees, placements, etc.
-Healthcare ads with false claims about Covid2019 cures and preventions advertising.
Other complaints included those against brands issuing comparative advertisements while prominent cases against honey brands were also in the spotlight. During the third quarter, complaints regarding surrogate advertising also picked up post the IPL.
In October 2020, ASCI introduced the Covid2019 advisory for advertisers, to protect consumers from being misled during the pandemic. Soon after, in November 2020, ASCI introduced guidelines for online gaming for “real-money winnings”, to protect audiences from risks associated with games involving real money. The guidelines received much appreciation and backing from the ministry of information and broadcasting. Earlier in 2020, the council had also introduced guidelines for usage of awards/rankings in advertisements by brands. Early September, it expanded its national Advertising Monitoring Service (NAMS) to add digital advertising to its suo motu screening. More than 3,000 digital platforms are being currently tracked by the regulatory body.
The initiatives sparked conversations in the media, on social media and various other forums, which further helped drive consumer education and awareness. Additional impact of the constant buzz on various channels was the spike in the number of complaints processed by ASCI for the quarter.
Overall in 2020, ASCI looked into 6,527 complaints that were registered against 3,315 advertisements, of which 2,357 were upheld. Education (1,062) and healthcare (827) topped the list for the year as well. Some of the numbers for other categories, 117 food and beverage advertisements were complained, 63 against personal care, 17 violations of guidelines for brand extension, 22 against real estate, 10 against visa and immigration services and 239 against ads from other categories.
ASCI secretary general Manisha Kapoor said: “The third quarter of the financial year involved initiatives leading to positive impact on the industry and stakeholders. The quarter recorded the highest numbers in terms of complaints processing, compared to the previous two quarters which were a direct outcome of the pandemic. We hope to continue this momentum in the year ahead.”
Brands
Trent posts Rs 19,701 crore FY26 revenue, profit rises to Rs 1,968 crore
Q4 profit at Rs 455 crore; margins improve, net worth climbs to Rs 7,703 crore
MUMBAI: Retail therapy seems to be working for Trent Limited as much as for its shoppers. The Tata Group retail arm reported a steady performance for FY26, with revenue from operations rising to Rs 19,701.41 crore, up from Rs 16,668.11 crore in FY25. Total income for the year stood at Rs 20,075.87 crore, reflecting continued momentum across its retail formats.
Profit before tax came in at Rs 2,511.54 crore for the year, compared to Rs 2,076.62 crore a year earlier. After accounting for taxes of Rs 543.72 crore, net profit rose to Rs 1,967.82 crore, marking a clear improvement from Rs 1,584.84 crore in FY25.
For the March quarter, the company reported revenue of Rs 4,936.64 crore and total income of Rs 4,997.71 crore. Profit before tax stood at Rs 576.46 crore, while net profit came in at Rs 454.75 crore, up from Rs 349.92 crore in the same quarter last year.
On the cost front, total expenses for FY26 rose to Rs 17,538.54 crore, driven by higher stock purchases of Rs 11,170.44 crore and increased occupancy costs at Rs 1,652.69 crore. Employee benefit expenses also edged up to Rs 1,222.04 crore, reflecting continued expansion.
Operationally, the company maintained stable efficiency metrics. Operating margin improved to 11.88 per cent from 11.29 per cent, while net profit margin rose to 9.99 per cent from 9.51 per cent. The interest service coverage ratio stood strong at 16.76, indicating comfortable debt servicing capacity.
Trent’s balance sheet also strengthened during the year. Net worth increased to Rs 7,702.80 crore from Rs 5,914.40 crore, while total assets expanded to Rs 12,225.71 crore. The debt-to-equity ratio improved to 0.33 from 0.38, signalling a more balanced capital structure.
Cash flow from operations rose to Rs 2,630.19 crore, compared to Rs 1,668.26 crore in the previous year, even as the company continued to invest in expansion, with capital expenditure and investments weighing on investing cash flows.
With consistent growth across revenue, profitability, and margins, Trent’s FY26 performance suggests a retailer scaling steadily ringing up gains not just at the checkout, but across the balance sheet.
