In the quarter under review, theatres have reopened from July 2021 in a staggered manner, except for Maharashtra, which resulted in Hindi movies delaying their release dates. However, in the South and other regional markets, movies were released despite restrictions on seating capacity. The release of these movies led to a gradual revival in the Company’s revenue and a reduction in cash losses.
The Consolidated revenue stood at Rs 265 million compared to Rs 128 million in Q2FY21. The EBITDA stood at minus (-) Rs 152 million as compared to minus (-)Rs 218 million Q2FY21. The PBT stood at minus (-)Rs 313 million, in Q2FY21 the PBT stood at minus (-) Rs 408 million. The PAT stood at minus (-) Rs 283 million.
In the Half Year ended September 30, 2021, the consolidated revenue stood at Rs 546 million (H1FY21 – ₹306 million). The EBITDA stood at minus (-) Rs 332 million (H1FY21 – minus (-) Rs 450 million). The PBT stood at minus (-) Rs 659 million (H1FY21 – minus (-)Rs 835 million) and PAT stood at minus (-) Rs 550 million (H1FY21 – minus (-) Rs 639 million).
The Board of Directors, in its meeting held on November 3, 2021, approved the preferential allotment of 93,99,933 equity shares aggregating to Rs. 96.82 Crores to Nepean Focused Investment Fund, a scheme of investment of Nepean Investment Trust II, a category II alternative investment fund registered with Securities and Exchange Board of India at a price of Rs. 103.01 per equity share, as per applicable rules and regulations. This preferential issue is subject to necessary approvals.
Maharashtra and Kerala allowed the reopening of theatres beginning on October 22, 2021, and October 25, 2021, respectively. Karnataka, Telangana, Rajasthan, Odisha, and Andhra Pradesh are operating at 100% occupancy, while most other states are permitted to operate at 50-60% capacity.
“During the quarter, there were no Hindi movie releases as theatres in a major market like Maharashtra were not permitted to reopen. However, regional movies performed well at the box office,” said Kapil Agarwal, Joint Managing Director. “With the opening of Cinemas in Maharashtra and Kerala, Hindi and Non-Hindi markets are now fully operational. Recently, Sooryavanshi was released on more than 1600 UFO screens and the much-awaited Rajnikanth movie, Annaatthe, distributed by UFO in the Hindi circuit, was released on more than 700 UFO screens in all languages. Despite the occupancy restrictions, both the movies had a blockbuster opening weekend, both collecting Rs. ~100 plus crores each worldwide, reaffirming the importance of Cinemas. Also, the movie pipeline for the next 6 to 8 months is extremely strong. We expect the film exhibition industry to recover at a rapid pace and are confident that UFO’s business and financial performance will be restored very soon.”
