Sun TV Network Limited

Communication Services — Broadcasting · NSE

₹635.75+₹6.60 (+1.05%)

DalalBaazaar Score

57 / 100

🟡 Moderate

Verdict

NEUTRAL

Risk

Moderate

Driven by moderate debt load, negative free cash flow.

In simple words: Strong business and financial position, with both sales and profits growing well. Cash generation is currently the main factor to watch.

Decision support, not a buy or sell call.

As of 18 Oct 2026, 7:02 pm

Understanding the Business

Company site ↗

The 60-second version of Sun TV Network Limited — what it does, how it earns, and who it competes with, before any of the numbers below.

What does this company do?

Sun TV Network Limited, together with its subsidiaries, engages in producing and broadcasting satellite television and radio software programming in the regional languages. The company's flagship channel is Sun TV.

IndustryBroadcasting

SectorCommunication Services

Employees1,010

Annual revenue₹4,335 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹4,335 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹33 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹56 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 1,010 employees supports ₹4.29 Cr of revenue a year, the signature of a capital- or asset-led business.

Revenue / employee₹4.29 Cr

Who are its competitors?

The closest listed comparisons in its industry are BHARTI AIRTEL LIMITED, VODAFONE IDEA LIMITED. These are the companies its valuation and returns are measured against elsewhere in this report.

Compared side by side in Peers ↓

What is its competitive advantage?Some evidence

ROCE of 15.3% is above what capital typically costs, which suggests some pricing power, though not yet the sustained, wide gap that marks a durable advantage.

Peer median ROE20.2%

What is the outlook?

8 analysts covering the stock expect revenue to grow about 9.2% and earnings to grow about 6.6% in the year to 2028. These are estimates by people who follow the company, not a forecast for the wider industry.

Est. revenue growth+9.2%

Est. earnings growth+6.6%

Analysts8

What has been driving growth?

Profit has moved mainly because margins changed, not because the business sold much more. Over 3 years revenue moved +15% while net margin moved -27% relative to itself. What this cannot tell you is which products, customers or geographies did the work — that lives in the segment disclosures of the annual report.

Revenue effect+15%

Margin effect-27%

DalalBaazaar Score

57/ 100

Moderate

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✗ Revenue CAGR of only 4.7% — barely ahead of inflation
✗ Profit has declined at 5.5% a year
✗ Profit is compounding slower than revenue — margins are being squeezed as the business grows

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

54/ 100

Average

How good the business is, ignoring the share price entirely.

Valuation

71/ 100

Cheap

What you are being asked to pay, ignoring how good the business is.

A reasonable business at a reasonable price — neither the quality nor the valuation stands out in either direction.

Historical Valuation

Current P/E

16.6x

3Y Median

14.0x

40 monthly readings · mean 14.3x · range 11.5x–20.8x

Sector Median

21.7x

median of 2 sector peers

⚠️Current valuation is approximately 18% above its 3y median of 14.0x. Paying more than usual needs a reason — faster growth, a better balance sheet, or a re-rating you believe in.

🟢Against its sector it trades 24% below the peer median of 21.7x.

vs. its own history

Fair

14.0x median over 40 months · +18%

vs. sector peers

Cheap

21.7x median of 2 peers · -24%

vs. generic bands

Fair

15x–35x

EV/EBITDA

10.2x

PEG

0.98

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well1

Consistently profitable
Profitable in every one of the last 4 reported years.

🔴 What Needs Attention2

Return on equity is falling
ROE has dropped from 18.4% to 11.4% — each rupee of shareholder capital earns less than it did.
Return on capital is falling
ROCE has declined from 24.5% to 15.3% — often a sign of competition or overexpansion.

Red Flags

3 items require attention · 2 high · 1 watch

🔴Debt has risen sharplyFinancial
Total debt is up 68% over 3 years, from ₹63 Cr to ₹106 Cr.
🔴Significant margin compressionFinancial
EBITDA margin has fallen 13.3 points, from 69.5% to 56.2%.
🟡Free cash flow is negativeFinancial
Free cash flow was -₹413 Cr in the latest year.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Cheaper than its peers
It trades 24% below the sector median. Either the market sees a problem the numbers do not show, or the discount closes.
Earnings have proved durable
Profitable in every one of the last 4 reported years. Consistency lowers the risk that any single bad year is structural rather than cyclical.

🔴 Bear CaseWhat could go wrong?

Margins are being competed away
EBITDA margin has fallen from 69.5% to 56.2%. If the trend continues, profit falls even on flat sales — and margin decline rarely reverses quickly.
Growth barely outpaces inflation
Revenue compounding at 4.7% a year is close to the rate prices rise, so the business is gaining little ground in real terms. That leaves the share price dependent on a re-rating rather than on earnings growth.
Returns on shareholder capital are falling
ROE has dropped from 18.4% to 11.4%. Each rupee of equity earns less than it did, so profit growth increasingly depends on raising more capital rather than on the existing base working harder.
Several serious flags at once
2 high-severity checks triggered. Individually each has an explanation; together they raise the chance that something structural is wrong rather than a one-off.

🟡 Key Things to WatchMeasurable tripwires, set against where this company stands today

1EBITDA margin holds above 54%✓ 56.2%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
2Free cash flow remains positive✗ -₹413 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
3Revenue growth stays above 4% a year✓ 4.7% CAGR
Latest reported year was 13.0%. The bar is set below the established compounding rate, so ordinary variation does not trip it.
4Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x✓ 0.0x
The ratio lenders write covenants against; it survives a small or negative equity base, unlike Debt/Equity.
5ROCE stays above 12%✓ 15.3%
Falling returns on capital are usually competition arriving, and show up here before they reach the margin.

Investment Checklist

10 / 12 checks passed

✗ Strong return on equity (ROE ≥ 15%)
✓ Strong return on capital employed (ROCE ≥ 15%)
✓ Healthy net margin (≥ 10%)
✗ Generates positive free cash flow
✓ Manageable leverage (Debt/Equity < 1.0)
✓ Adequate short-term liquidity (Current Ratio ≥ 1.0)
✓ Revenue growing year-over-year
✓ Profit growing year-over-year
✓ Not trading at an extreme valuation (P/E < 40x)
✓ Not buying right at the 52-week high
✓ Analyst consensus isn't majority-sell
✓ Short-term technical trend isn't bearish

Price history

Quick Metrics

5 good · 5 neutral · 1 weak

Market Cap

₹25,054 Cr

Mid Cap

Mid-sized — more growth headroom, but sharper swings than large caps

P/E (Trailing)

16.6x

Fair

Fairly valued against the generic band

P/B Ratio

1.98x

Fair

Moderate premium to the company's book value

EPS (TTM)

₹38.3

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

11.4%

Moderate

Moderate capital efficiency

ROCE

15.3%

Strong

Earns comfortably above its likely cost of capital

Debt/Equity

0.84x

Moderate

Moderate leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

13.0%

Healthy

Healthy top-line growth

Profit Growth (YoY)

17.0%

Healthy

Profits growing at a healthy clip

Dividend Yield

3.15%

Healthy

Meaningful cash return while you hold the stock

Free Cash Flow

-₹413 Cr

Cash burning

Spending more cash than the operations bring in

More Metrics

P/E (Forward)

14.3x

Improving

Below the trailing multiple — the street expects earnings to grow into the price

Operating Margin

43.9%

Good

Healthy core-business profitability

Net Margin

34.0%

Good

Strong bottom-line conversion

Current Ratio

7.80

Comfortable

Healthy short-term liquidity

Beta (vs Nifty)

0.12

Defensive

Steadier than the market

52W Range Position

83%

Mid-range

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

576.2 / 513.5

Bullish alignment (short > long)

Price vs SMA 200

Above

Long-term uptrend

RSI (14)

75.8

Overbought zone

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹3,772 Cr	₹4,282 Cr	₹4,020 Cr	₹4,335 Cr	+4.7%
EBITDA	₹2,622 Cr	₹2,894 Cr	₹2,481 Cr	₹2,437 Cr	-2.4%
EBITDA Margin	69.5%	67.6%	61.7%	56.2%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	₹1,706 Cr	₹1,925 Cr	₹1,702 Cr	₹1,440 Cr	-5.5%
EPS	₹43.31	₹48.86	₹43.22	₹36.56	-5.5%
ROE	18.4%	18.3%	14.6%	11.4%	—
ROCE	24.5%	24.8%	18.9%	15.3%	—
Total Debt	₹63 Cr	₹38 Cr	₹124 Cr	₹106 Cr	+19.0%
Free Cash Flow	₹1,526 Cr	₹1,660 Cr	₹1,281 Cr	-₹413 Cr	—

🟢 Revenue has grown at 4.7% a year over 3 years.

🔴 EBITDA has shrunk at 2.4% a year over 3 years.

🔴 EBITDA Margin has fallen from 69.5% to 56.2% over 3 years (-13.3 pts).

🔴 PAT (Net Profit) has shrunk at 5.5% a year over 3 years.

🔴 EPS has shrunk at 5.5% a year over 3 years.

🔴 ROE has fallen from 18.4% to 11.4% over 3 years (-7.0 pts).

🔴 ROCE has fallen from 24.5% to 15.3% over 3 years (-9.2 pts).

🔴 Total Debt has grown at 19.0% a year over 3 years.

🔴 Free Cash Flow has turned negative, from ₹1,526 Cr to -₹413 Cr.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹13,841 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹1,181 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹243 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

₹1,802 Cr

Capex

-₹2,214 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

14.1%

Insider Holding

78.5%

Corporate Actions

Next Earnings

13 Nov 2026

Dividend Rate

₹20

Ex-Dividend Date

18 Aug 2026

Analyst Consensus

Recommendations

9 Buy · 2 Hold · 0 Sell

Target Price (Mean)

₹637.55

+0.3% vs CMP

Target Range

₹530 – ₹790

Peer Comparison

Company	P/E	ROE
BHARTI AIRTEL LIMITED	39.8x	20.2%
VODAFONE IDEA LIMITED	3.6x	—

Recent News

2 mixed4 general

Sun TV Network promoter declares no encumbrance on shares in FY26

scanx.trade, 18 Oct

Sun TV Network (SUNTV) Share Price Rises 2.14% to Rs 649

Univest, 14 OctPrice move

🟡Mixed / dependsA price move, which is not by itself a change in the business. Worth finding the cause before reading it as either good or bad.

Sun TV zooms 20%, sees sharpest intraday rally in 9 years; up 45% in 7 days

Business Standard, 30 Sept

Sun TV Share Price On A September Sprint: Up Over 30% In A Month, What's Fueling The Rally?

NDTV Profit, 30 Sept

Sun TV Network Limited Just Beat EPS By 31%: Here's What Analysts Think Will Happen Next

Simply Wall Street, 15 AugAnalyst view

🟡Mixed / dependsBroker commentary — an opinion about the price rather than new information about the business.

Why Sun TV Network Share Price is Rising

Equitymaster, 30 Sept

Watch Items

Cross-check against the company's latest quarterly filing / investor presentation before acting.
RSI is in overbought territory — momentum entries here carry more short-term pullback risk.

DalalBaazaar Thesis

StrongBusiness Quality · Valuation

MiddlingFinancial Health · Profitability · Risk

WeakGrowth

Points for each in the Score ↑

Unremarkable in both directions

A reasonable business at a reasonable price. Nothing here is alarming and nothing is compelling, which usually means the decision rests on things this data cannot see — the industry's direction, management's intent, and what else is available to you. 2 high-severity red flags sit above this conclusion and should be read first.

1 of 5 tripwires tripped — Free cash flow remains positive · see Key things to watch ↑