The Indian Film Entertainment company, PVR Cinema has reported total revenue of Rs. 263 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2021, as against a revenue of Rs. 662 crore in the same quarter of the previous fiscal. The company’s EBITDA was Rs 25 crore and PAT loss was Rs. 289 crore as compared to EBITDA of Rs. 189 crore and PAT loss of Rs. 74 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2020. After adjusting for the impact of IND-AS 116 – Leases, Consolidated Total Income, EBITDA loss, and a net loss of the company for the quarter ended March 31, 2021, were Rs. 191 crore, Rs. 118 crore and Rs. 272 crore respectively.
The company noted that the results for the quarter and year ended March 31, 2021, are not comparable with results for the quarter and year ended March 31, 2020, as the operations were severely impacted due to Covid 19 induced lockdowns, staggered re-openings, social distancing requirements, limited content flow, and low consumer confidence.
For the year ended March 31, 2021, total revenue was Rs. 749 crore, EBITDA was Rs.134 crore and PAT loss was Rs. 748 crore as compared to revenue of Rs. 3,452 crore, EBITDA of Rs. 1,114 crore and PAT of Rs. 27 crore for the year ended March 31, 2020. After adjusting for the impact of IND-AS 116 – Leases, Consolidated Total Income, EBITDA loss, and Net Loss of the company for the year ended March 31, 2021, was Rs. 310 crores, Rs. 424 crore and Rs. 665 crore respectively.
As per the statement released by company, PVR said that the FY21 was one of the toughest years for the multiplex industry and the company was able to successfully navigate the challenges on account of Covid 19 through a continuous focus on reducing fixed costs and keeping adequate liquidity on the balance sheet.
It further stated that the company was able to reduce its fixed cost in FY’21 by 63 percent as compared to FY’20 through aggressive cost-containment measures. This included a reduction in Rent by 79 percent, CAM by 42 percent, and all other fixed overheads being reduced by 57 percent. The company also successfully raised additional liquidity of Rs 1600 crore including Rs 1100 crore through equity and Rs 500 crore through Debt during the financial year and had total liquidity in excess of Rs 750 crore as of April 30, 2021.
Even though there were no major Bollywood or Hollywood movie releases in Q4 FY’21, the Southern film industry which saw new movie releases showed a strong recovery. In spite of capacity restrictions, the South Indian box office continued to perform strongly with movies like Master, Uppena, Jathi Ratnalu, Vakeel Saheb, Sulthan, etc. With the resurgence of the 2nd Wave of Covid 19 since April 2021 and the consequent shutdown of cinemas, the Company has again started taking all necessary measures to manage its costs and preserve liquidity.
Detailing about the results and performance, PVR CMD Ajay Bijli said, “FY’21 was marked by never before seen challenges for the multiplex industry, which was one of the most impacted by the pandemic. PVR showed resilience and ingenuity in the face of this adversity. As we look towards putting the past few quarters behind us, the company has turned its focus towards vaccinating all its employees and their families. We want our patrons to feel safe when they return to theatres to enjoy the latest movies. As of date, we have already vaccinated 59 percent of our employees.”
He further added, “We are buoyed by the great response received by movies that have been released theatrically in regions where Covid incidence has reduced viz. China, USA, UK, South Korea, Australia, France, UAE etc. and believe that our business will bounce back stronger than ever once things start to normalize in the face of mass vaccinations that are being rolled out and the strong line up of content awaiting release across Hindi, English and Regional languages. We look forward to offering the “Best in Class” service to our patrons like we always have in a “Best in Class” safe environment.”
