Cable TV
FY-16: Hathway revenue up 13.7 percent, EBIDTA up 51.7 percent
BENGALURU: Indian multi system operator (MSO) Hathway Cable and Datacom Limited (Hathway) reported 13.7 per cent growth in Total Income from operations (TIO) and 51.7 percent growth in operating profits (EBIDTA) for the fiscal ended 31 March 2016 (FY-16, current year). The company reported TIO of Rs 2,081.63 crore in FY-16 as compared to Rs 1,831.60 crore in the previous year. The company’s EBDITA in the current year was Rs 388.69 crore (18.7 percent EBIDTA margin) and was Rs 256.16 crore (14 percent EBIDTA margin) in the previous year. The company narrowed its loss in the current year to Rs 163.13 crore in FY-16 from a loss of Rs 180.45 crore in FY-16.
High growth in Activation fees and Broadband revenue are chiefly responsible for the improved performance.
Note: The unit of currency in this report is the Indian rupee – Rs (also conventionally represented by INR).The Indian numbering system or the Vedic numbering system has been used to denote money values. The basic conversion to the international norm would be:
(a) 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10,000,000 = 10 million = 1 crore.
(b) 10,000 lakh = 100 crore = 1 arab = 1 billion.
The company’s broadband segment has been performing very well, as a matter of fact, among the national level MSOs’ Hathway has the highest subscription and revenue numbers among all of them. Hathway says that it has invested Rs 206 crore into its Broadband business in FY-16.
Hathway’s consolidated broadband subscribers increased 38 percent in FY16 to 6.272 lakh from 4.558 lakh in FY-15. Consolidated broadband revenue in the current year increased 61 percent to Rs 399.3 crore from Rs 247.5 crore in the previous year. Broadband ARPU in the current year increased to Rs 670 from Rs 530 in the previous year.
Consolidated reported CATV subscription revenue in the current year declined 3.3 percent to Rs 812.7 crore from Rs 840.3 crore in FY-15.
The company says that it deployed 22 lakh set top boxes in FY-16, 10 lakh of them in the last quarter of FY-16, and it has 1.06 crore CATV digital subscriber’s (87 percent of its subscriber base of 1.23 crore). Its DAS phase I area standalone Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) in the quarter ended 31 March 2016 (Q4-16, current quarter) increased to Rs 105 from Rs 100 in Q4-15. Its standalone DAS phase II area ARPU in Q4-16 increased to Rs 86 from Rs 67 in the corresponding year ago quarter.
Placement revenue in the current year declined 4 percent to Rs 598.8 crore from Rs 626.9 crore in the previous year.
Activation revenue almost tripled (2.8 times) in FY-16 to Rs 227.9 crore from Rs 82.4 crore in FY-15.
Other revenue increased 24 percent in FY-15 to Rs 42.9 crore from Rs 34.6 in the previous year.
Hathway’s Total Expenditure in FY-16 increased 8.9 percent to Rs 2,072.56 crore (99.6 percent of TIO) from Rs 1,903.38 crore (103.9 percent of TIO) in the previous year.
Pay channel cost in the current year increased 1 percent to Rs 821.65 crore (39.5 percent of TIO) from Rs 813.13 crore (44.4 percent of TIO) in FY-15.
MUMBAI: When margins wobble, liquidity talks and in Q3 FY25-26, cash did most of the talking. Den Networks Limited closed the December quarter with consolidated revenue of Rs.251 crore, marginally higher than the previous quarter but down 4 per cent year-on-year, even as profitability stayed resilient on the back of strong cash reserves and disciplined cost control.
Subscription income softened to Rs.98 crore, slipping 3 per cent sequentially and 14 per cent from last year, while placement and marketing income offered some cheer, rising 15 per cent quarter-on-quarter to Rs.148 crore. Total costs climbed faster than revenue, up 7 per cent QoQ to Rs.238 crore, driven largely by higher content costs and operating expenses. As a result, EBITDA dropped sharply to Rs.13 crore from Rs.19 crore in Q2 and Rs.28 crore a year ago, pulling margins down to 5 per cent.
Yet, the bottom line refused to blink. Profit after tax stood at Rs.40 crore, up 15 per cent sequentially and only marginally lower than last year’s Rs.42 crore. A healthy Rs.57 crore in other income helped cushion operating pressure, keeping profit before tax at Rs.48 crore, broadly stable quarter-on-quarter despite the tougher cost environment.
The real headline-grabber, however, sits on the balance sheet. The company remains debt-free, with cash and cash equivalents swelling to Rs.3,279 crore as of December 31, 2025. Net worth rose to Rs.3,748 crore, while online collections accounted for 97 per cent of total receipts, underscoring strong cash discipline across operations, including subsidiaries.
In short, while Q3 showed signs of operating strain, the financial backbone remains solid. With zero gross debt, steady profits and a formidable cash war chest, the company enters the next quarter with flexibility firmly on its side proving that in uncertain markets, balance sheet strength can be the best growth strategy.
