1. At a Glance
Hathway Cable, the Reliance-backed broadband & cable TV player, is like that relative who shows up at every family function with the same old jokes — familiar, debt-free, but hasn’t reallyevolved. They run 73,000 km of fiber, serve 5.6 million cable subs and 1.1 million broadband customers, yet their share price chart looks like a sad ECG machine. Sales up just 4% YoY, profit up 10%, but market still yawns — possibly because ROE is a tragic 2.16%.
2. Introduction
Once upon a time (read: pre-JioFiber), Hathway was the cool kid in the broadband colony. Fast forward to 2025, they’re Reliance’s obedient sidekick — delivering CATV to millions while quietly holding ₹1,677 crore in mutual funds like a squirrel hoarding nuts for winter.
On paper, it’s all very… fine. No debt, high online collections, fiber expansion in 271 new towns. But the market isn’t clapping. In fact, over the past year, the stock is down 31%. If stock charts were report cards, this is the one your parents would hide from relatives.
And despite a clean balance sheet, they’re allergic to dividends. Imagine a guest at a buffet who eats nothing but still refuses to share the dessert. That’s Hathway’s capital allocation for you.
3. Business Model (WTF Do They Even Do?)
Two Segments:
- Cable TV (68% of FY24 revenue): Through Hathway Digital Ltd, they beam 700+ towns with a mix of SD, HD, and their own proprietary channels (H-Tube, CCC Cine, Hathway Music). Subscriber base ~5.3M.
- Broadband (32%): GPON FTTH-based high-speed fixed line broadband, with 1.1M subs using ~346 GB/month on average — enough for one person’s Netflix addictionandthree Zoom calls a week.
Their model is simple: build and maintain fiber, collect subscriptions, and resist the temptation to spend that fat mutual fund corpus on anything that moves.
4. Financials Overview
Quarterly Snapshot (Q1 FY26)
Metric | Latest Qtr (₹ Cr) | YoY Qtr (₹ Cr) | Prev Qtr (₹ Cr) | YoY % | QoQ % |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Revenue | 530 | 503 | 513 | 5.55% | 3.31% |
EBITDA | 88 | 81 | 91 | 8.64% | -3.30% |
PAT | 31 | 18 | 35 | 72.22% | -11.43% |
EPS (₹) | 0.18 | 0.10 | 0.20 | 80.00% | -10.00% |
P/E= 14.3 ÷ 0.59 =24.23. Industry PE = 18.8, so Hathway is somehow more “expensive” than its cooler peers despite lower ROE. Cute.
5. Valuation (Fair Value RANGE only)
Method 1 – P/EAssume fair P/E range = 15–18 (given low ROE).FV = EPS ₹0.59 × 15 to 18 = ₹8.85 – ₹10.62
Method 2 – EV/EBITDAEV ₹2,343 Cr; FY25 EBITDA ₹348 Cr → EV/EBITDA = 6.73.Peer fair range ~5.5–6.5 → FV MCap range = ₹1,914–₹2,263 Cr → per share ₹10.80 – ₹12.77
Method 3 – DCF(10-year, 4% sales CAGR, 12% discount rate, terminal growth 2%) → FV ≈ ₹11–₹13
Fair Value Range: ₹9 – ₹13Disclaimer: This FV range is for educational purposes only and is not investment advice.
6. What’s Cooking – News, Triggers, Drama
- SEBI Fine: ₹94,400 for board composition non-compliance. That’s like getting a parking ticket for a Mercedes — embarrassing, but affordable.
- Expansion: Entered 271 new towns — focus on underserved