Hathway Cable & Datacom Ltd Q2 FY26 – When 73,000 km of Fibre Brings 2% ROE and Zero Chill
1. At a Glance
If Reliance ever adopted a child from the analog era and tried to make it “digital,” it would look suspiciously like Hathway Cable & Datacom Ltd.
With ₹ 2,420 cr market cap, ₹ 13.7 share price, and a book value of ₹ 25, the stock trades at half of its book value — cheaper than some monthly OTT subscriptions. Sales came in at ₹ 537 cr this quarter, PAT at ₹ 18 cr, down 29 % QoQ, because apparently broadband margins move slower than government Wi-Fi in a railway station.
The company’s P/E = 24.6, ROE = 2.2 %, ROCE = 3 %, and debt = basically zero. Yet the stock is down 31 % YoY, proving once again: being debt-free doesn’t mean being stress-free.
2. Introduction
Once upon a dial-up time, Hathway was the king of the cable jungle. Then Jio happened, and suddenly this king was demoted to local ward councillor.
Post-acquisition by Reliance Industries (53 % stake), Hathway has been undergoing rehab — detoxing from analog television and binge-eating fibre optics. The company proudly advertises a 31,000 km cable backbone and 73,000 km broadband fibre network, because in India, if you can’t grow profits, at least grow kilometres.
Still, its financials behave like a 90s set-top box: takes forever to boot and mostly shows static.
3. Business Model – WTF Do They Even Do?
Hathway runs two primary screens in this double feature:
🎬 Cable TV Business (≈ 68 % of FY 24)
Through Hathway Digital Ltd, it beams channels to 5.3 million households across 700 towns. Think of it as the neighborhood cable guy with Reliance’s surname. Offers SD, HD, and in-house channels like H-Tube, CCC Cine Channel, and Hathway Music — basically the YouTube of people who refuse to leave their remote control.
🌐 Broadband Business (≈ 32 % of FY 24)
The new-age child — FTTH via GPON tech. 1.1 million subscribers, average data usage ≈ 346 GB/month — that’s a lot of binge-watching and gaming. Broadband ARPU has been crawling upward, but customer acquisition cost runs a marathon.
So, it’s half a cable dinosaur and half a digital toddler.
