GTPL Hathway spends Rs 265 crore on capex in 9 months FY25
Reliance Industries-backed GTPL Hathway invested Rs 265 crore in its cable TV and broadband businesses in the first nine months of the financial year. The company plans to launch its HITS service by next quarter, having invested Rs 100 crore in th...
Of the Rs 265 crore, the company invested Rs 160 crore in the cable TV business and Rs 95 crore in the broadband business during the period, Pankaj told analysts during the company's third-quarter earnings call on January 10.
“In cable TV, the main capex was spent on set-top boxes. So, out of Rs 160 crore, you can say around 90% is on the cable boxes. The rest is on fibre,” Pankaj said.
GTPL Hathway is India’s largest cable TV company, with 8.9 million paying subscribers. It also has over a million broadband customers. For the nine months ending December 31, 2024, the company's net profit fell 60% year-on-year to Rs 38 crore, while revenue increased 8% to Rs 2,586 crore.
In 2023, the company had announced a capex of Rs 1,400 crore over the next three years, Rs 450-500 crore each year, divided equally between the cable TV and broadband businesses.
Pankaj said the soon-to-launch headend in the sky (HITS) business was 80% complete on the capex side. The company is awaiting some final approvals from the government before rolling out the HITS service. "By next quarter, the whole project (HITS) will be completed, and we will be ready to launch," he said.
The company intends to acquire customers in cable dark areas of the country, particularly in northern India, through HITS, which is a satellite-based platform that combines the features of cable TV and DTH..
GTPL Buzz, the company's entertainment app, which offers cloud gaming, live TV streaming and international content, has reached a subscriber base of one million, Pankaj said.
The Economic Times News App for Quarterly Results, Latest News in ITR, Business, Share Market, Live Sensex News & More.