Cable TV
Hathway reduces broadband entry price
MUMBAI: Hathway Cable & Datacom has lowered down the entry price of its broadband services and waived off rental cost on cable modems as part of its move to draw in new subscribers.
Subscribers under the “Liteway” tariff plan will have to pay Rs. 275 per month with a download limit of 125 mbps. Hathway’s lowest tariff was Rs. 500 a month. “It is one of the most competitive products in the market today. This will help us expand our market base,” says Hathway Cable & Datacom CEO K Jayaraman.
Hathway has also launched an unlimited usage plan known as “Thruway” at Rs. 500 a month. The service will be available at 64 kbps. Under an earlier plan, Hathway offers a download limit of 1 gbps at 256 kbps. While the speed has been reduced, the cap on the download limit has been removed. “It has always been our endeavour to make Internet affordable for the masses and encourage usage of Internet services,” says Jayaraman.
Subscribers will now not have to pay monthly rentals on cable modems. Earlier, they had a monthly rental option of Rs. 100. The cable modems, though, will continue to be provided on a returnable deposit of Rs. 1000.
Hathway has also slashed by half its registration fee to Rs. 500 across all schemes. The additional downloads will cost less at 90 paise per mb, in contrast to Rs. 2 or Rs. 1.50 depending on the plan the subscriber had opted for.
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.
