GTPL Hathway: consol revenue +12% to ₹1,015 Cr but PAT collapses 81% YoY to ₹1.4 Cr on margin squeeze

GTPL Hathway's Q1 FY27 was a topline-vs-profitability split: consolidated revenue from operations rose 12.4% YoY (and 9.9% QoQ) to ₹1,015.4 Cr, confirming the subscriber/topline growth management had promised on the Q4 call — but consolidated net profit fell 81% YoY to ₹1.38 Cr (from ₹7.32 Cr a year ago), with PBT down 76% to ₹2.88 Cr. The sequential swing from Q4's ₹13.93 Cr loss reads as a turnaround, but that Q4 print was depressed by negative segment results and a goodwill impairment; against the cleaner year-ago base the underlying trend is clear profit erosion despite double-digit revenue growth.

The squeeze sits below the operating line and inside the mix. Operating margin compressed to ~10.3% from 11.8% a year ago (though up from Q4's 8.7%), while depreciation & amortisation climbed to ₹96.7 Cr — consistent with the ₹350 Cr/year capex programme management flagged — and finance cost rose 10% to ₹9.5 Cr, together absorbing most of the revenue gain. By segment, Internet Service profit collapsed to ₹3.5 Cr from ₹11.6 Cr YoY, the single largest driver of the PBT fall, and the Cable TV segment remained in operating loss (−₹4.7 Cr). A ~52% effective tax rate on already-thin pre-tax profit further compressed the bottom line.

The stock went into the print at ₹65.14, up 0.2% over the past month of trading.

For context: revenue is at a 6-quarter high.

Against management's own Q4 guidance the quarter is mixed-to-behind: revenue growth resumed as promised, but the HITS-led margin improvement and cost savings did not show up — margins compressed YoY, not expanded. There is no formal earnings guidance or published street consensus for this small-cap to test against. Concurrent developments: the company signed a ₹36.23 Cr slump-sale acquisition of the ACT Group cable business (effective July 1, so no Q1 contribution) that should add subscribers from Q2. Standalone told the same directional story — revenue ₹687.7 Cr (+15.6% YoY) but PAT down to ₹2.01 Cr from ₹5.63 Cr — so consolidated and standalone do not diverge materially in narrative; both show growth with sharply lower profit.