The Hon'ble High Court of Delhi has dismissed the petition filed to set aside an arbitral award dated 9th May 2023 against Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL). Sterlite Technologies Limited disclosed this development to stock exchanges on May 13, 2026, pursuant to Regulation 30 read with Schedule III of the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015.

Background of the Legal Matter

The dismissed petition relates to the Global Services Business, which was previously part of Sterlite Technologies Limited. The arbitral award at the centre of this legal proceeding was originally dated 9th May 2023 and involved Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited as the opposing party.

Demerger and Transfer of Liability

Following a Scheme of Arrangement approved by the Hon'ble National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Mumbai, the Global Services Business of Sterlite Technologies Limited has been demerged into STL Networks Limited. The key details of this corporate restructuring are outlined below:

As a result of this demerger, any contingent liability arising from the dismissed petition and the underlying arbitral award now pertains to STL Networks Limited and not to Sterlite Technologies Limited.

Regulatory Disclosures by STL Networks Limited

STL Networks Limited has filed the requisite disclosure in this regard pursuant to SEBI Listing Regulations and SEBI Master Circular No. HO/49/14/14(7)2025-CFDPOD2 / I / 3762 / 2026 dated January 30, 2026, on BSE Limited and National Stock Exchange of India Limited on May 12, 2026.

The disclosure on behalf of Sterlite Technologies Limited was signed by Mrunal Asawadekar, Company Secretary & Compliance Officer (Membership No.: ACS 24346), and submitted to both the National Stock Exchange of India Limited and BSE Limited on May 13, 2026.

Sterlite Technologies held its Q4 FY26 Earnings Conference Call on April 29, 2026, with Managing Director Ankit Agarwal and Chief Financial Officer Ajay Jhanjhari presenting the company's financial results and strategic outlook. The company reported strong full-year and quarterly performance, underpinned by record order intake, expanding margins, and a sharpened focus on AI data centre and telecom infrastructure markets.

Financial Performance Highlights

The company delivered a strong finish to FY26, with revenue and profitability both improving on a year-on-year basis. CFO Ajay Jhanjhari noted that PAT turned positive in Q4 and for the full year, reflecting improved profitability and execution discipline.

Q4 FY26 EBITDA margins expanded to 15.1%, supported by scale benefits, higher utilization, and a stronger product mix, marking the sixth consecutive quarter of sequential margin improvement. Management guided for EBITDA margins of 20% at the reported level by end of the current fiscal, driven by an expected increase in the Enterprise and Data Centre segment's revenue contribution to 30%.

Board Meeting Outcomes

The Board meeting, held on April 29, 2026, commenced at 9:30 AM and concluded at 1:41 PM. The statutory auditors, M/s. Price Waterhouse Chartered Accountants LLP, issued an unmodified audit opinion on the financial results.

The Board authorized raising funds through equity shares, equity-linked instruments, convertible securities, non-convertible securities, or combinations thereof, via private placement, qualified institutional placements, further public issues, preferential allotments, rights issues, or any combination of these methods. Management clarified this is an enabling resolution taken on a year-on-year basis, with near-term capex plans of approximately INR 500 crores focused on technology leadership and upgrading the asset base to support high-value data centre portfolio offerings.

Order Book and Revenue Visibility

FY26 was characterized by a transformative surge in order intake, providing strong revenue visibility heading into the next fiscal year.

Order momentum was driven by large-scale data centre projects predominantly in North America and long-term orders from Tier 1 telecom operators in India. The open order book is well diversified across customer segments, product categories, and geographies.

Geographic and Segment Mix

The company's revenue mix continued to diversify during FY26. North America's share increased from 25% in FY25 to 39% in FY26, while Europe remained a significant contributor at 40%. The Enterprise and Data Centre segment moderated to 19% of revenues in FY26, primarily due to a decline in the copper business on account of higher LME prices. Management expects this segment to scale up to 30% of revenues in the current fiscal, supported by accelerating AI data centre investments.

On the STL Digital front, FY26 revenue closed at INR 284 crores compared to INR 290 crores in the prior year, while EBITDA improved meaningfully to INR 3 crores, reversing a loss position. Nine new customer logos were added in FY26, taking the total customer base to 35.

Balance Sheet and Debt Position

Net debt to EBITDA stands at 1.3x, comfortably below the earlier target of 2x, with a revised ambition of moving below 1.2x.

Innovation, Technology, and Market Position

Ankit Agarwal highlighted several key innovations during the call. The company launched Neuralis, its flagship AI-Era data centre connectivity portfolio, at Data Center World 2026 in the U.S. The portfolio addresses AI Whitespace connectivity and high-speed DCI requirements, featuring pre-terminated fiber trunks, high-density arrays, Celesta IBR cable scaling up to close to 7,000 fibers, and intelligent enclosures. Manufacturing is supported by a local facility in South Carolina.

The company also launched India's first Hollow Core Fiber (HCF) cable, which is expected to reduce latency by 35% to 40% in the network and supports bandwidth from 800-gig to 106-Terabit and beyond. Additionally, the 654E fiber platform secured its first commercial order, validating customer interest with 30% lower signal loss. The company's total patent count stands at over 780, with 21 new filings during the quarter. Global ex-China OFC market share remained stable at around 8% in FY26.

On raw material constraints, management acknowledged that germanium and helium availability continues to be a challenge, though availability is expected to improve quarter-on-quarter. Regarding the Prysmian cables litigation, the company filed its appeal in September 2025, and management stated it continues to believe it has a strong case. On U.S. tariff refunds, management indicated the total amount paid as tariff is north of INR 100 crores and that the refund process has been initiated, with further updates expected in the next earnings call.

Industry Tailwinds and Strategic Priorities

Management outlined three powerful multi-year investment cycles driving structural demand for optical infrastructure: FTTx, data centres, and 5G. Key data points cited include global FTTx deployments rising from 151 million fiber kilometers in 2025 to 170 million fiber kilometers by 2030, North America installed data centre capacity expected to more than double from 60 gigawatts in 2025 to 115 gigawatts by 2030, and hyperscaler data centre capex expected to increase to USD 762 billion. CRU projects 40% of global growth in optical cable demand from data centres in 2026 alone, with global optical cable demand growth for 2026 upgraded to approximately 6.8% year-on-year. North America is expected to deliver the strongest regional CAGR of 15% through 2030.

For FY27, management's stated priorities include expanding OFC market share, increasing connectivity attach rates, scaling the Enterprise and Data Centre segment contribution, and maintaining technology and cost leadership.

Source: None/Company/INE089C01029/5bb45d0eb6cb4dc9.pdf