PVR manages to outperform INOX in Q1 of FY2023

• INOX reported its highest ever quarterly revenue, EBITDA and net profit since its inception two decades ago.
• Its EBITDA was at an all-time high as 1.8 crore people visited its cinemas in the last quarter.
• Interestly, the average ticket price of INOX was ₹21 lower than that of PVR’s.

After a two-year slump, India’s biggest multiplex chains PVR and INOX have risen from the ashes to report their best quarters so far, thanks to some big-ticket film releases. Blockbuster films like KGF: Chapter 2, RRR, Bhool Bhulaiya 2 and Doctor Strange compelled audiences to step back into theatres between April and June.

INOX, on Wednesday, reported its highest ever quarterly revenue, EBITDA and net profit since its inception two decades ago. PVR, which announced its quarterly results two weeks ago, had also achieved the same milestones in the quarter ending June 30. However, PVR has managed to outperform INOX in the April-June quarter of 2022 with almost double the revenue.

INOX’s revenue stood at ₹589 crore in the April to June quarter of 2022, representing an astronomical 22-fold jump from ₹26 crore revenue reported a year earlier. The company also managed to turn its year-ago quarter’s net loss of ₹101 crore into a profit of ₹74 crore for Q1 of FY2023.

It’s EBITDA — earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation — was also at an all-time high as 1.8 crore people visited its cinemas in the April-June quarter.
Meanwhile, PVR’s revenue crossed ₹1,000 crore for the first time ever in the first quarter of fiscal year 2023, registering a nearly 10-fold increase from last year. Its net profit stood at ₹53 crore, compared to a ₹220 crore loss in the Q1 of FY2021.

Notably, PVR and INOX are in the middle of a merger to create the largest multiplex chain with more than 1,500 screens in India. The deal is still seeking regulatory approvals.

Interestly, the average ticket price of INOX was ₹21 lower than that of PVR’s. INOX charged an average ticket price (ATP) of ₹229, while PVR charged ₹250 — the highest for both the companies.

Content to their rescue

“Content continued to be the decisive force behind the historic performance of the quarter, with numerous movies doing extremely well at the Box Office. Q1’FY23 saw blockbusters, including RRR, KGF: Chapter 2, Vikram, Bhool Bhulaiya 2 and Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness resulting in an unprecedented footfall of 18.4 million guests,” INOX said in a statement.

The company now expects a “great turnaround” in the business in the upcoming quarter because of releases like Laal Singh Chaddha, Raksha Bandhan, Liger, Brahmastra and Vikram Vedha. PVR too has similar expectations from the upcoming months.

Siddharth Jain, the director of INOX Group, during the analyst call noted the footfall to the theatres would not be impacted even if any of these movies did not perform well.

Four brokerage firms — ICICI Securities/Direct, Motilal Oswal, Prabhudas Lilladher and ShareKhan — are also of the opinion that a strong movie pipeline can change the fate of movie theatre chains like PVR and INOX as they attract more footfall.

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