People visit an INOX movie theatre in Mumbai.
Credit: Reuters File Photo
New Delhi: Cinema exhibitor PVR INOX on Wednesday reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 12.8 crore in the third quarter of the current fiscal.
The company, earlier known as PVR Ltd, posted a net profit of Rs 165 crore in the October-December period a year ago, according to a regulatory filing.
Its revenue from operations stood at Rs 1,545.9 crore in the second quarter of the current fiscal. In the year-ago period, the same was at Rs 940 crore.
The December quarter results came after the merger of rival Inox into PVR, hence it is not comparable, the company said.
"Consolidated financial results for the quarter and nine months ended December 31, 2023 are not comparable to those reported for quarter and nine months ended December 31, 2022 due to the amalgamation of PVR INOX Limited (formerly known as PVR) with INOX Leisure Ltd with effect from January 1, 2023," it said.
PVR INOX's total expenses in December were at Rs 1,587.2 crore.
Its total income in the December quarter was Rs 1,604.7 crore.
During the quarter, the company recorded 3.65 crore admissions with an ATP (average ticket price) of Rs 271, registering a 14 per cent growth year on year, PVR Inox said an earnings statement.
The SPH (spend per head) was Rs 132 in the December quarter, up 8 per cent year on year.
"This led to a 14 per cent increase in ticket sales, an 8 per cent rise in food & beverage sales, and a 23 per cent boost in ad sales when compared to pro forma figures from Q3 FY23," it added.
During the quarter, PVR INOX added 29 new screens by openings in 7 cinemas during the quarter.
Currently, PVR Inox screen portfolio includes 1,712 screens spread across 113 cities in India and Sri Lanka.
Over the box office performance of the films, PVR Inox said: "December emerged as the highest grossing month of 2023 with stellar performance of films released during the month."
Hindi film Animal, which grossed over Rs 650 crore, became a phenomenal success. Salaar grossed Rs 480 crore, Dunki earned Rs 270 crore and Sam Bahadur Rs 110 crore.
Managing Director Ajay Bijli said, "It is really heartening to see that in the year 2023, India stands out as the sole major market worldwide to surpass the pre-pandemic peak in box office collections."
For the upcoming months, PVR Inox has a line up of movie releases which includes Teri Baaton Main Aisa Uljha Jiya and Article 370 in February. Yodha, Laapataa Ladies and The Crew are coming in March.
Similarly from South, it has a line up of some big films in February like Lal Salaam in Tamil starring Rajinikanth, and Eagle in Telugu starring Ravi Teja.
While from Hollywood, the line up includes Argylle and Madame Web in February; Dune Part 2, Kung Fu Panda 4 and Arthur the King in March.
Shares of PVR INOX Ltd settled at Rs 1,455 on the BSE on Wednesday, down 0.47 per cent from previous close.