PVR Q1 Results: First Profit After Two Covid-Hit Years Misses Estimates
PVR posted a net profit of Rs 53.2 crore in the quarter ended June against a loss of Rs 105.49 crore in the previous three months.
PVR Ltd., India’s largest multiplex operator, has reported its first profit after two years of slowdown, helped by a robust content line-up and rising footfalls.
The movie exhibitor posted a net profit of Rs 53.2 crore in the quarter ended June against a loss of Rs 105.49 crore in the previous three months, according to its exchange filing. That compares with the Rs 62.8-crore consensus profit estimate of analysts tracked by Bloomberg.
PVR Q1 FY23 Highlights (QoQ)
Revenue rose 83% to Rs 981.4 crore, compared with the Rs 905.3-crore estimate. It rose 13% over Q1 FY20 or the pre-pandemic level.
Ebitda rose 3.42 times to Rs 341.6 crore, against the projected Rs 323.3 crore.
Margin stood at 34.8% against 18.6%.
Average ticket price and spend per head, which picked up in the last two quarters as movie halls were allowed to reopen, recorded their highest levels at Rs 250 and Rs 134, respectively, during the April-June period.
Occupancy rate, according to the company’s presentation, is still lower than the pre-pandemic levels at 33.6% in Q1 FY23 against 37.3% in Q1 FY20.
The company has reported advertising income of Rs 62.7 crore, which is 32% lower than the pre-pandemic level.
The admits or the number of visitors who visited theatres stood at 2.5 crore in Q1 FY23 compared with 2.7 crore in Q1 FY20.
Net box office collection shot up 16% to Rs 530.2 crore over the pre-pandemic levels supported by blockbuster contents such as ‘KGF: Chapter 2’, ‘RRR’, ‘Bhool Bhulaiya 2’, ‘Dr. Strange 2’ and ‘Vikram (Tamil)’, PVR said. The contribution of regional movies increased to 38% from 23% pre-pandemic.
“KGF 2 went on to become the second-largest blockbuster in the Indian market. It was the highest grosser ever for PVR with net box office of Rs 121 crore across our cinema circuit,” the company said in the statement.
“This quarter’s results are a reflection of the strength of the domestic film industry we have in India and the consumer’s unsatiated appetite to watch films on the big screen,” said Ajay Bijli, chairman and managing director, PVR. “The content line-up for the year ahead looks very promising and we hope this will be a very strong box office year for the Indian exhibitors.”
PVR expects its merger with rival Inox Leisure Ltd. to be completed this fiscal. It is in the process of filing application for the approval of scheme of merger before the National Company Law Tribunal in a couple of weeks.
The company has revived its capex cycle and plans to open about 125 screens in FY23, breaking its own record of 87 new screens in FY20.
“We have opened 14 screens across three properties till date. About one-third of the new screen additions in this fiscal will be in tier 2 and 3 cities. The company plans to enter nine new cities during the year,” said PVR
The company had opened 29 screens across five properties in FY22.
Shares of PVR were trading 2.41% higher after the results were announced against a 0.42%gain in the Nifty 50.