PVR INOX posts net loss of Rs 129.7 cr in Q4

New Delhi: Cinema exhibitor PVR INOX Ltd on Tuesday reported a consolidated loss after tax of Rs 129.7 crore in the March quarter.

The company, which had posted a consolidated loss after tax of Rs 334 crore in the same quarter a year ago, said it will consider reducing overhead costs, having a leaner organisational structure and monetisation of real estate assets, among other steps as part of four key strategic priorities that have been identified for its growth strategy from a medium- to long-term perspective.

Consolidated revenue from operations in the March quarter stood at Rs 1,256.4 crore. It was at Rs 1,143.2 crore in the year-ago period, PVR-INOX said in a regulatory filing.

Total expenses for PVR-INOX in the quarter was Rs 1,480.7 crore. The total expenses for PVR last year was Rs 1,364.1 crore a year ago.

For the fiscal year ended March 31, 2024, the consolidated loss after tax was at Rs 32.7 crore. It was Rs 336.4 crore in the year ended March 31, 2023.

In FY24, consolidated revenue from operations stood at Rs 6,107.1 crore. In FY23, it was Rs 3,750.6 crore.

The company said the effective date for the merger of PVR Ltd and INOX Leisure Ltd was February 6, 2023.

Consequently, FY24 results for the company are reported on a merged basis for PVR INOX and are not comparable with the earlier period.

"Significant volatility was observed in box office collections during the year. The quarter ended March 2024 was the weakest quarter of the year," it said.

The ongoing general elections have also impacted the flow of new releases in the current quarter, which is expected to stabilise by mid-June, it added.

During the year, the company opened 130 new screens and closed 85 underperforming ones, resulting in net addition of 45 screens.

Currently, it has 1,748 screens in 360 cinemas across 112 cities in India and Sri Lanka.

PVR INOX said it has identified four key strategic priorities for its business that will "act as guiding posts for our growth strategy from a medium- to long-term perspective".

The first will be improving profitability of existing circuit through revenue enhancement by driving box office initiatives like 'Movie Passport', 'Cinema lovers day', screening of alternate content like film festivals, live concerts, key sporting and other events.

Second, the company said it will focus on reducing costs by renegotiating rentals for operational cinemas, shutting down underperforming cinemas, reducing overhead costs and having a leaner organisational structure.

The company will adopt a 'Capital Light' model wherein in its endeavour to reduce annual capital expenditure by exploring alternate models like FOCO (franchisee owned, company operated) and partnering with developers for jointly investing in new screen capex as the third priority.

The fourth priority is to become net debt free over the next few years, it said, adding, "in this context, we are also evaluating monetisation of real estate assets owned by the company and using the proceeds to reduce leverage".

"The key strategic priorities as envisaged above, should help the company in charting a new, less capital intensive and incrementally profitable growth path. Our endeavour is to redefine our growth strategy, focus on fixed cost reduction thus improving profitability resulting in enhanced return on capital and free cash flow generation," PVR INOX Managing Director Ajay Bijli said.