Cable TV
GTPL Hathway to maintain FY22 revenue and EBIDTA growth in FY23
Mumbai: GTPL Hathway saw 12 per cent growth in revenues at Rs 24,154 million and four per cent increase in EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) to Rs 5,677 million year-on-year in FY22. The company expects to maintain this growth rate for the current financial year i.e., FY23.
“The guidance is just that we are going to maintain our compound annual growth rate (CAGR), 100 basis points here and there but we are going to maintain our CAGR in both revenue and EBITDA that’s the way as we look forward to our aggressive growth in both the businesses in this financial year,” said GTPL Hathway Ltd business head – CATV and chief strategy officer Piyush Pankaj during an investor call held recently.
GTPL Hathway closed the year 2021 becoming the largest multi-system operator in the country with its cable TV (CATV) subscriber base growing to 8.40 million as per Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (Trai) performance indicator report. “Our CATV subscriber base has grown sharply by 2.3 times in the last six years and for FY2022 it has grown by five per cent,” observed Pankaj.
ALSO READ | GTPL Hathway closes FY22 as largest MSO; revenue at Rs 24,154 million
The company lost 7.5 lakh commercial customers when Covid-19 pandemic started and has seen the return of four lakh customers since then. The rate of returning customers has slowed down from 20-25 lakh in the last quarter to 20K average during the fourth quarter FY22.
The majority of the company’s cable TV subscriptions come from the Gujarat market which has 95 per cent share with the remaining five per cent spread across markets such as Pune, Nagpur, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Patna and Varanasi.
“Our CATV business expansion will gain momentum with organic and inorganic growth in the coming quarters,” said Pankaj. “After the new tariff order (NTO) , we said that growth will come from inorganic and organic. The first year of NTO has gone into stabilising the industry. Just as we were getting ready for acquisitions and going organic, Covid hit us in March 2020 and we were not able to do any inorganic growth. So, from this quarter onwards we have started both inorganic and organic growth.”
The company’s capex for FY22 was Rs 363 crore which includes Rs 180 crore of CATV capex and Rs 183 crore of broadband capex. “Next year we are keeping the target of Rs 450 crore for the capex on which around Rs 180 crore is going to be cable capex and rest is going to be the broadband capex,” said Pankaj.
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.
