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GTPL Hathway Plans To Reduce Debt By Rs 230 Crore Post Listing 

GTPL Hathway expects to also expand its reach in Bihar, Jharkhand, Assam, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana

TV equipment sits on the digitization floor. (Photographer: Troy Harvey/Bloomberg)
TV equipment sits on the digitization floor. (Photographer: Troy Harvey/Bloomberg)

GTPL Hathway Ltd, a part of Hathway Cable and Datacom Ltd. on Wednesday fixed the price band for its proposed initial public offering at Rs 167-170 per equity share. The company’s offer comprises a fresh issue of equity shares aggregating up to Rs 240 crore and an offer for sale of up to 1.44 crore shares.

The cable television and broadband services provider will utilise Rs 230 crore from its IPO proceeds to repay debt. The company had a debt of Rs 306.6 crore as on December 31, 2016.

It will also use part of the proceeds expand its reach in states such as Bihar, Jharkhand, Assam, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. It is currently present in 169 towns and has about 5.41 million active digital cable subscribers.

It is currently the largest cable operator in Gujarat with a market share of 67 percent and also holds the number two spot in Kolkata with 24 percent market share.

GTPL Hathway’s initial public offering will open on June 21 and closes on June 23.

‘Growth Momentum To Continue’

Revenue in the first nine months of FY17 stood at Rs 689 crore and grew at a compound average growth rate of 23.9 percent between financial years 2011-12 and 2015-16. The company expects this revenue growth momentum to continue, Aniruddhasinhji Jadeja, managing director and chief executive officer of GTPL Hathway told BloombergQuint.

Net profit in the first nine months of the previous financial year stood at Rs 43 crore and grew at a compound average growth rate of 22.9 percent from FY12 to FY16.

The company is betting on revenue from the broadband business, which stands at 10 percent currently, to also increase in the immediate future.

Jadeja expects the Goods and Services Tax to aid the cable television and broadband services industry as GST will subsume excise, VAT and service tax on imported set-top boxes.