Hathway Cable & Datacom Q4 FY26: ₹3,202 Crore DOT Bomb, Yet Stock Trades Below Half Book Value
1. At a Glance
Hathway Cable & Datacom is one of those companies that looks boring on the surface but becomes much more interesting when you start digging.
This is a company with more than 5 million cable subscribers, over 1 million broadband users, a large nationwide fiber network, almost no debt, over ₹2,400 crore of investments, and a promoter group backed by the Reliance ecosystem.
But it is also a company with only ₹82 crore annual profit, ROE below 2%, weak stock performance, no dividend, and a gigantic ₹3,201.93 crore DOT demand hanging over its head.
That DOT demand alone is bigger than the company’s entire market capitalization.
The company’s stock currently trades around ₹11.6 while its book value is ₹25.2 per share. So the market is valuing Hathway at less than half of its book value.
That creates a strange setup.
On one side, there is a debt-free company with strong parentage and a huge asset base.
On the other side, there is a slow-growth business where the biggest segment is losing relevance and the best-performing segment is still too small.
2. Introduction
Hathway has been around for decades and is one of the biggest names in cable television and broadband in India.
The company is part of the Reliance ecosystem and has 75% promoter ownership.
Its operations are spread across more than 700 towns and cities.
The company mainly operates in two businesses:
Cable TV
Broadband internet
The challenge is obvious.
Cable TV is slowly becoming less relevant because viewers are shifting toward OTT, YouTube, and streaming platforms.
Broadband is the future, but that business is highly competitive.
Players like Reliance, Airtel, local ISPs, and regional fiber companies are all competing aggressively.
That leaves Hathway in an awkward position.
The old business is declining.
The new business is growing, but not fast enough.
FY26 revenue increased to ₹2,149.58 crore from ₹2,039.65 crore in FY25, but PAT declined to ₹82.24 crore from ₹92.54 crore in FY25.
3. Business Model – WTF Do They Even Do?
Broadband
Broadband is the cleaner and more future-facing business.
The company provides fiber broadband using FTTH technology.
Broadband revenue in FY26 stood at ₹581.98 crore while segment profit came at ₹10.84 crore.
The company has around 1.06 million broadband subscribers and broadband home passes of 6.3 million.
Cable TV
Cable TV remains the largest business.
FY26 cable television revenue stood at ₹1,509.48 crore.
But this segment reported a loss of ₹51.72 crore.
Its biggest segment is also its weakest segment.
Treasury / Securities
The company also earns money from dealing in securities and investments.
