Sun TV margin rebounds as Q1 revenue rises 12.99% YoY
Expenses grew slower than revenue, but other income still made up 21.95% of pre-tax profit and the tax rate fell sequentially.
Filed 12 Aug 2026, 16:27 IST · after market close · Sun TV Network Ltd (SUNTV)
Key takeaways
- Sun TV’s consolidated operating margin expanded 6.17 percentage points sequentially to 50.44% in Q1FY27.
- Revenue grew 12.99% year on year while expenses rose 7.70%, lifting operating profit by 18.72%.
- Other income contributed 21.95% of pre-tax profit, while the sequential tax-rate decline of 3.68 percentage points also supported net profit.
Price around the results
Q1 revenue recovery lifted operating profit
Sun TV reported consolidated revenue growth of +12.99% year on year in Q1FY27, while operating profit increased +18.72%. The sequential recovery was larger, with revenue up +65.20% and operating profit up +88.20% from Q4FY26. The results were filed after market close, so there was no immediate market reaction to report.
Slower cost growth widened the operating margin
Expenses rose +7.70% year on year, below the +12.99% revenue growth, which expanded operating margin by 2.44 percentage points. Sequentially, revenue growth of +65.20% also outpaced expense growth of +46.92%, adding 6.17 percentage points to the margin. The margin recovery follows 44.27% in Q4FY26, though it remains below the 60.35% recorded in Q2FY26.
Profit quality remains partly supported by other income
Other income accounted for 21.95% of pre-tax profit, making it a material contributor beyond operating earnings. The sequential tax rate fell 3.68 percentage points to 24.28%, which provided an additional lift to net profit; year on year, the tax rate was 0.49 percentage points higher. Interest expense fell 56.62% year on year, but its absolute contribution to the quarter was small.
Margin improved after a two-quarter slide
Operating margin declined from 60.35% in Q2FY26 to 48.67% in Q3FY26 and 44.27% in Q4FY26 before recovering to 50.44% in Q1FY27. Sun TV’s margin was 37.15 percentage points above the 13.29% median for the 156 Consumer Discretionary peers that had reported the same quarter. In the last eight result reactions, the stock has risen four times and fallen four times, with a median absolute move of 4.12%.
Q1FY27 at a glance
Consolidated figures as filed with NSE — cross-checked against an independent source.
| Line item | Q1FY27 | Q4FY26 | QoQ | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | ₹1,458 cr | ₹883 cr | +65.20% | +12.99% |
| Other income | ₹179 cr | ₹33 cr | +443.49% | -3.61% |
| Expenses | ₹723 cr | ₹492 cr | +46.92% | +7.70% |
| Operating profit | ₹735 cr | ₹391 cr | +88.20% | +18.72% |
| Operating margin (%) | 50.44% | 44.27% | — | — |
| Interest | ₹1 cr | ₹3 cr | -56.62% | -60.28% |
| Depreciation | ₹96 cr | ₹98 cr | -2.21% | -10.92% |
| Profit before tax | ₹818 cr | ₹323 cr | +153.49% | +17.73% |
| Tax | ₹198 cr | ₹90 cr | +120.10% | +20.12% |
| Net profit | ₹619 cr | ₹232 cr | +166.45% | +16.98% |
| EPS (₹) | ₹15.71 | ₹5.90 | +166.27% | +16.98% |
Operating margin of 50.44% compares with a Consumer Discretionary sector median of 13.29% across 156 peers that have reported Q1FY27.
What to watch
- Whether operating margin holds above 50.44% after the Q1FY27 recovery.
- Whether expenses continue to grow slower than revenue, compared with +7.70% and +12.99% year on year in Q1FY27.
- Whether other income remains a material contributor relative to its 21.95% share of pre-tax profit.