Hathway Q1: consolidated PAT falls 21% YoY to ₹24.6 Cr as pay-channel costs squeeze margins

Hathway Cable & Datacom reported a mixed first quarter: consolidated revenue from operations rose 6.5% year-on-year to ₹565.1 Cr, but net profit fell 20.9% to ₹24.6 Cr from ₹31.0 Cr a year ago, as cost inflation outpaced topline growth. Net margin compressed to 4.3% from 5.5% in Q1 FY26. The headline +118% QoQ profit jump (from ₹11.3 Cr in Q4 FY26) is off a depressed base — Q4 carried a ₹5.3 Cr share of JV losses and a heavy current-tax charge — and should not be read as underlying momentum; the year-on-year decline is the real signal.

The squeeze sits on the cost of goods line: pay channel cost jumped 18.8% YoY to ₹319.5 Cr, far ahead of the 6.5% revenue gain, while share of JV/associate profit collapsed to ₹0.5 Cr from ₹4.0 Cr. Segment detail confirms the drag is the Cable TV business, whose loss widened to ₹18.6 Cr (vs ₹17.6 Cr yr-ago) even as its revenue grew to ₹405.5 Cr; broadband revenue slipped to ₹141.8 Cr and the securities-dealing segment did the profit lifting at ₹17.8 Cr. Depreciation eased to ₹75.4 Cr (from ₹84.8 Cr), partly cushioning the operating hit. No exceptional items in either period, so reported and adjusted growth are the same.

The stock went into the print at ₹11.11, down 0.4% over the past month of trading.

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

The result lands alongside a management transition — Gurjeev Singh Kapoor was named COO cum CEO-designate in April — and a small bolt-on (balance 49% of Channel 5). Standalone tells a similar story: revenue ₹141.8 Cr (-3.7% YoY), PAT ₹18.4 Cr (-14.3%). The company gives no formal quarterly guidance and no analyst consensus exists for this small-cap, so there is no beat/miss to score. The overhang worth flagging is the unprovided-for ₹3,201.93 Cr DOT license-fee demand, which dwarfs quarterly earnings and remains contested.