PVR announced a total net profit of Rs 16.15 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2022, aided by increases in key performance parameters. According to a regulatory filing, the business incurred a combined loss of Rs 10.18 crore a year earlier.
Its consolidated income from operations increased by 53.17 percent in the third quarter to Rs 940.69 crore, up from Rs 614.15 crore in the same time the previous year.
“The quarter witnessed a sharp bounce back from the previous quarter on the back of strong content performance. The same was reflected in the growth of key operating metrics like Admits, ATP (average Ticket Price) and SPH (Spending per head),” said PVR.
The company said that its overall costs were 28.22% higher, at Rs 934.60 crore, compared to Rs 728.93 crore in Q3 FY22.
“The 3rd quarter saw Hollywood’s resurgence with the highest grossing movie of the quarter ‘Avatar 2: The Way of Water’ and was supported by movies like ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ and ‘Black Adam’. The dominance of Regional cinema continued in the 3rd quarter with blockbusters like ‘Ponniyin Selvan 1’ and ‘Love Today’. ‘Kantara’ , which turned out to be a sleeper hit, was the biggest regional release during the quarter,” it said.
Drishyam 2 from Bollywood was the second largest film of the quarter, helped by material such as Vikram Vedha and Bhediya.
Commenting on the results PVR Chairman cum Managing Director Ajay Bijli said: “The performance of the quarter gone by demonstrates the swift recovery in the business as soon as good quality content is made available. After a dismal Q2, it also marks good recovery in box office collections”.
With regional films continuing to outperform Bollywood films across India, it is just a matter of time before Bollywood films catch up.
“We are looking for a significant uptick in box office collections for next fiscal year and a strong recovery in Bollywood and Hollywood lm collections,” he added.
Regarding PVR’s merger with rival Inox Leisure, Bijli stated that with the National Company Law Tribunal’s (NCLT) verbal clearance for the merger, everything is on track for the transaction’s completion.
“We intend to complete all the formalities within the current financial year,” he said.
In terms of the future, PVR believes 2023 will be a bright year for the business, with a large rise in the quantity of Hollywood film titles compared to 2022.
“The Hindi film industry after a lacklustre 2022 is also gearing up for a much stronger 2023 with several big films slated to release in the next 12 months,” it said.
