Hathway Cable Q4 FY26 profit drops 68% to ₹11 cr, income up

Q4 FY26 result: sharp fall in profit

Hathway Cable & Datacom Ltd, a cable television and broadband services provider, reported a steep decline in consolidated net profit for the quarter ended March 2026. Net profit fell 67.7% year-on-year to ₹11.25 crore. The company had posted a consolidated net profit of ₹34.8 crore in the January to March quarter a year earlier, as per its regulatory filing released late Friday. The earnings drop stands out because it comes after a period where quarterly profits were higher in the preceding quarters disclosed in the company’s financial tables. Hathway Cable is owned by the Reliance Industries Group.

FY26 snapshot: profit down, total income up

For the full financial year ended March 31, 2026, Hathway Cable’s consolidated profit declined 11.13% to ₹82.24 crore. Over the same period, total income increased 4.52% to ₹2,243.53 crore. The combination suggests that higher income did not translate into higher bottom-line growth during FY26. The filing summary provides the two key full-year numbers but does not specify quarter-wise income for Q4 FY26 in the provided text. Even so, the contrast between income growth and profit contraction is the central takeaway from the FY26 update.

What the quarterly bridge indicates

The company’s consolidated financial table for the nine months ended December 31, 2025 (9M FY26) showed net profit of ₹70.99 crore. With FY26 profit reported at ₹82.24 crore and Q4 FY26 net profit at ₹11.25 crore, the Q4 number aligns with the implied final-quarter contribution to the full-year total. For context, the consolidated net profit for Q3 FY26 (quarter ended December 31, 2025) was ₹21.71 crore, while Q2 FY26 (quarter ended September 30, 2025) net profit was ₹18.25 crore. This makes the Q4 FY26 net profit notably lower than the two immediately preceding quarters shown in the filing tables.

Recent disclosed operating profile (through Q3 FY26)

In the consolidated results table, revenue from operations in Q3 FY26 stood at ₹536.56 crore, largely in line with ₹536.67 crore in Q2 FY26. Total income in Q3 FY26 was ₹557.65 crore compared with ₹555.45 crore in Q2 FY26. On the cost side for Q3 FY26, pay channel cost was ₹287.44 crore and total expenses were ₹533.40 crore, leaving profit before tax of ₹28.18 crore. Tax expense in Q3 FY26 included current tax of ₹2.27 crore and deferred tax of ₹4.20 crore, resulting in net profit for the period of ₹21.71 crore.

Segment mix: cable TV remains the larger revenue line

The segment disclosure for the consolidated business shows cable television as the biggest contributor to quarterly revenue, followed by broadband. For Q3 FY26, broadband segment revenue was ₹144.71 crore, cable television segment revenue was ₹377.20 crore, and dealing in securities contributed ₹14.65 crore. Total segment revenue matched the reported revenue from operations at ₹536.56 crore. In Q3 FY25, total segment revenue was ₹511.15 crore, indicating higher operational revenue in Q3 FY26 compared with the year-ago quarter shown in the table.

Segment profitability: mixed performance across businesses

Segment results in the table show that the broadband business posted a positive segment result in Q3 FY26 at ₹0.48 crore, compared with a loss of ₹2.93 crore in Q3 FY25. Cable television business segment result was negative at ₹10.10 crore in Q3 FY26, though less negative than the ₹16.34 crore loss shown for Q3 FY25. Dealing in securities showed a segment result of ₹14.65 crore in Q3 FY26, broadly consistent with its revenue line in the same quarter. The table also includes share of profit from associates and joint ventures in the segment result reconciliation.

EBITDA and profit comparison cited in the note

Alongside the tabulated results, the provided text cites EBITDA and net profit comparisons for the quarter ended December 2025. EBITDA for Dec 2025 was reported at ₹102.43 crore compared with ₹102.84 crore for Sep 2025, a decline of 0.4%. Net profit for Dec 2025 was reported at ₹21.71 crore compared with ₹18.25 crore for Sep 2025, representing a 18.96% increase quarter-on-quarter. These figures match the consolidated quarterly net profit shown in the financial table for Q3 FY26 and Q2 FY26.

Regulatory overhang: DoT demand notices disclosed

In the detailed notes, the company said it has received show cause cum demand notices from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) for licence fees amounting to ₹3,160.63 crore for FY06 to FY21, including interest and penalty. The company stated it is contesting the demand. Based on legal opinion, it believes no provision is necessary, as per the note included in the disclosure.

Accounting and policy notes: labour codes and exceptional items

The notes also mention new labour codes effective November 21, 2025. The group and the company estimated and recognised incremental employee-related liability, and stated it is not material. In the consolidated exceptional items note, the filing states there were no exceptional items in Q3 FY26 and 9M FY26. For FY25, the consolidated results included an impairment of investment and exposure to certain entities including joint ventures and associates of ₹0.85 crore. For standalone results, Q3 FY26 included an impairment item of ₹0.40 crore, while FY25 included ₹8.07 crore impairment and related items.

Key numbers at a glance

Market impact: what investors are likely to track

The immediate market-relevant development is the sharp year-on-year drop in Q4 FY26 consolidated net profit to ₹11.25 crore, especially against a higher FY26 total income of ₹2,243.53 crore. Investors typically watch whether profit weakness is a one-quarter event or part of a broader margin trend, but the provided information does not include Q4 FY26 revenue, costs, or margin details. The disclosed DoT demand notice amount of ₹3,160.63 crore is also significant as a headline figure, even though the company has said it is contesting the demand and believes no provision is required based on legal opinion. Segment disclosures through Q3 FY26 indicate cable television remains the larger revenue contributor, while broadband shows smaller but positive segment results in Q3 FY26.

Why the Q4 FY26 miss matters

Hathway’s FY26 numbers show that income growth and profit growth did not move together. The company reported higher total income for FY26, but a lower profit for the year and a much lower profit for the March quarter. The segment result table shows cable television business losses in Q3 FY26, while securities dealing posted positive results and broadband turned positive compared with Q3 FY25. Separately, the DoT notices and the company’s stance on provisioning are important disclosure points that can influence how investors assess contingent liabilities and litigation risk.

Conclusion

Hathway Cable closed Q4 FY26 with consolidated net profit of ₹11.25 crore, down 67.7% from ₹34.8 crore a year ago, while FY26 profit fell 11.13% to ₹82.24 crore despite total income rising 4.52% to ₹2,243.53 crore. Beyond earnings, the disclosure on DoT demand notices totalling ₹3,160.63 crore remains a key monitoring point. Investors will also track future filings for more detail on Q4 FY26 income and cost movements, given the gap between income growth and profit decline in FY26.