STL Networks makes dismal listing debut on SEs

STL Networks Ltd, the digital infrastructure and IT services company formed as a result of a demerger from Sterlite Technologies, made a dismal debut on the stock exchanges on Thursday, listing at ₹22.90 on the NSE and ending over 5 per cent lower at ₹21.75. Shareholders of Sterlite Technologies had received one share of STL Networks for each share held in the company.

Sterlite Tech’s Global Services Business was demerged and rebranded Invenia-STL Networks and the aim is to scale its system integration (Network, data centre, cloud, and cybersecurity), connectivity, and managed services portfolio across telecom, enterprise, and public sector domains.

As per a press release, the demerger has already resulted in significant business wins with high-impact projects that underscore its market position. In its financial results for the year ending March 31, 2025, STL Networks reported a revenue of ₹1,180 crore, an EBITDA of ₹81 crore, and a strong open order book of over ₹4,249 crore. Of this, the biggest is the BharatNet III project worth ₹2,631 crore for the Jammu & Kashmir leg of the project, secured in a consortium with Dilip Buildcon Ltd. This includes ₹1,625 crore for capital expenditure and ₹975 crore for operations and maintenance.

Pankaj Mallik, CEO, STL Networks, said, “We are here to engineer secure, future-ready infrastructure that empowers enterprises, governments, telecom operators, and cloud providers to thrive in a digital-first economy. With landmark projects like BharatNet, we are delivering national-scale impact while unlocking long-term value for our investors and the communities we serve.”

The next contract is the PowerGrid data centre worth ₹359 crore with PowerGrid Teleservices Ltd for the supply, installation, and maintenance of a pilot data centre in Manesar. The company has already built data centres for the Indian Navy and other PSUs in the past.

“India itself is currently at about 1-1.5 gigawatts today which will move towards 4-5 gigawatts in the next 5-6 years. Data centre is a huge project which will come up both in public sector as well as private sector and presents a great opportunity for us to scale up in terms of design, deployment and maintenance of data centre networks. We do expect this to grow for us in coming years,” Ankit Agarwal, Vice-Chairman & Non-Executive Director at STL Networks.

Another project announced was the Mukhyamantree Surakshit Sushaait Shahar (MSSS) initiative worth ₹205 crore in three cities in Bihar, awarded by RailTel Corporation of India Ltd. in a consortium with Niveshan Technologies India Private Ltd. The company added it expects significant orders in coming two quarters, signalling growth in the next 18 to 24 months.

Speaking to businessline, Agarwal expressed confidence of scaling the business from about ₹1,300 crore revenue this year to over ₹2,000 crore in 2 to 3 years time, with margins to improve from 6-7 per cent currently to north of 10-12 per cent going forward. Further, Agarwal viewed cash generation as the company’s top priority to reduce debt, particularly from Maharashtra and Telangana projects and future projects.

“We are at the tipping point of improving our cash cycle, improving our patent involvement and growing the business from here,” he said.

Published on September 4, 2025