Hathway Cable & Datacom’s record carries an unqualified audit opinion across seven years and a clean promoter pledge position. Three things dominate the picture: a ₹3,201.93 crore unprovided regulatory demand that exists as of FY2025-26, a subsidiary’s material related-party commitment that could reach ₹1,900 crore a year through FY2030, and a ₹286 crore deferred tax asset that depends on a return to taxable profits the company has not yet shown.
Key findings
- A subsidiary’s RPT with Star India commits it to payments of up to ₹1,900 crore a year
Major- Hathway Digital Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary, obtained shareholder approval on 29 May 2025 for a material related-party transaction with Star India Private Limited covering FY2025-26 to FY2029-30. Estimated subscription charges payable are ₹950 crore for FY2025-26 and up to ₹1,900 crore for each of the four subsequent years, while estimated fees receivable are ₹550 crore and up to ₹1,100 crore respectively. The FY2025-26 estimated charges represent 46.58% of the parent’s FY2024-25 consolidated turnover. - Deferred tax assets of ₹286 crore rest on forecasts of future taxable income
Major- Consolidated deferred tax assets stood at ₹286.41 crore as at March 31, 2025, mainly from unused tax losses and unabsorbed depreciation, and the auditor designated their valuation a Key Audit Matter. The balance has declined from ₹412.29 crore in FY2021, with the auditor flagging it as a Key Audit Matter in each of those years. Retained earnings are described as “the losses that the Company has incurred till date” in the FY2025-26 standalone financial statements. - Promoter voting power overrides recurring public-institution dissent on Raheja brother re-appointments
Major- Promoter and promoter group held 75.00% of shares as of the latest filing, with zero pledge. At the 65th AGM on 24 Sep 2025, public institutions voted 80.48% against the re-appointment of Mr. Akshay Raheja and 100.00% against Mr. Viren Raheja; both resolutions passed on promoter votes. The board has had no executive director since the Managing Director resigned effective 9 Mar 2023. - Unqualified audit opinions, recurring CARO observations, and audit trail gaps
Minor- The standalone and consolidated audit opinions were unqualified every year from FY2020 through FY2026. CARO clause (i)(a) states every year that proper records of property, plant and equipment are maintained except for certain distribution equipments where location-wise particulars are considered impractical by management. The FY2025 consolidated audit report notes that an associate and its two subsidiaries had audit trail gaps in subscriber-management software for portions of the year, one subsidiary of an associate had a gap in its accounting software, and two joint ventures of an associate used accounting software with no audit trail feature at all for the entire year. - Recurring, modest exchange fines for Listing Regulations non-compliance
Minor- BSE and NSE each imposed fines of ₹94,400 on the company via notices dated May 29, 2025 for non-compliance with Board composition and Stakeholders’ Relationship Committee constitution; the fines were paid on June 2, 2025. In FY2021-22, the company paid penalties totalling ₹6,00,000 to BSE and NSE for non-compliance with shareholding-pattern filing and certificate requirements, and also incurred penalties for minimum public shareholding non-compliance. In FY2020-21, the company paid penalties totalling ₹8,00,000 across two similar regulatory provisions and was also levied a daily penalty for minimum public shareholding non-compliance. - The group has been simplifying its multi-layered subsidiary structure through amalgamations and stake sales
Clean- Five step-down wholly-owned subsidiaries were amalgamated into Hathway Digital Limited with effect from April 22, 2025. On November 19, 2025, the company sold its entire equity stake in three subsidiaries and one associate to Infomedia and Networking Private Limited. Pan Cable Services Private Limited ceased to be an associate with effect from February 16, 2026, pursuant to voluntary striking off.
What to watch
- DOT license-fee demand. Resolution of the ₹3,201.93 crore Show Cause cum Demand notices, where the group has made no provision, as of the FY2025-26 reporting period.
- HDL-Star India RPT values. Actual transaction values for FY2025-26 and subsequent years, to be disclosed in future annual reports, against approved estimates of ₹950 crore in payments and ₹550 crore in receipts for FY2025-26.
- Deferred tax asset recovery. Recovery of ₹286.41 crore consolidated deferred tax assets depends on generation of sufficient future taxable income, with no scheduled resolution date as of the FY2024-25 reporting period.
- Auditor transition. Outcome of the shareholder vote on the appointment of Deloitte Haskins & Sells as joint auditor at the 66th AGM, notice dated July 24, 2026, and its proposed transition to sole auditor upon conclusion of the 67th AGM.
Bottom line: This is a disclosed and audited record with audit trail gaps in subscriber-management software, accounting software, and accounting software with no audit trail feature at all, and a promoter group that holds its full stake unpledged. The risk is concentrated in three places: a regulatory demand that alone exceeds the company’s net worth, a subsidiary’s multi-year commitment to a related party that will lock in a large share of consolidated turnover, and a deferred tax asset that needs a return to profitability the company has not yet demonstrated. Watch the DOT demand, the first actual RPT disclosures, and whether the deferred tax asset continues to shrink or stalls.