PVR INOX logs Rs 81.6 crore net loss in Q1; revenue from operations stood at Rs 1,304.9 cr

New Delhi: Leading cinema exhibitor PVR INOX on Tuesday reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 81.6 crore for the June quarter.

The company, earlier known as PVR Ltd, posted a net profit of Rs 53.4 crore in the April-June period a year ago, according to a regulatory filing.

Its revenue from operations stood at Rs 1,304.9 crore in the first quarter of the current fiscal. In the year-ago period, the same was at Rs 981.4 crore.

"As the appointed date for the PVR INOX merger was January 1, 2023; Q4 2022-23 & Q1 2023-24 results for the company are reported on a merged basis for PVR and INOX and are not comparable with Q1 2022-23," PVR INOX said in an earnings statement.

PVR INOX's total income in the June quarter was at Rs 1,329.8 crore and total expenses stood at Rs 1,437.7 crore.

According to the company, the total number of people visiting cinema halls was 33.9 million during the June quarter.

During this period, the average ticket price was Rs 246, and the average food and beverages spend was Rs 130.

"The quarter witnessed a muted start in April, with limited movie releases in Hindi. The box office picked up pace in May with the release of 'The Kerala Story', which turned out to be the biggest release of this quarter, along with other superhits like 'Fast X' and 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3' from Hollywood, and '2018' in Malayalam," it said.

The momentum continued in June with the release of 'Adipurush', which recorded the highest weekend admissions in 2023. Unfortunately, the movie did not do well after its first weekend, it added.

"Q1 2023-24 saw the release of the highest number of Hollywood movies post-pandemic, which combined with a robust performance at the box office, led to an impressive growth of 70 per cent in quarter-on-quarter box office collections for Hollywood films," it said.

The recent success of Hollywood blockbusters like 'Oppenheimer', 'Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part 1' and 'Barbie' reaffirmed its belief that the audience's enthusiasm for movie going remains intact when there is compelling content, the statement said.

During the June quarter, 31 new screens were opened across five properties.

PVR INOX operates 361 cinemas with 1,707 screens across 114 cities.

PVR INOX Managing Director Ajay Bijli said the exceptional performance of Hollywood movies both in terms of the increase in the number of releases year-on-year and the box office collections during the quarter "reinforces our belief in consumers' love for theatre-going. It is clearly indicating that audiences choose the big screen for a unique cinema experience." Shares of PVR INOX Ltd rose 0.51 per cent to close at Rs 1,565 apiece on the BSE.