PVR outperforms INOX in the first quarter of FY2023

Due to several high-profile movie releases, India’s two largest cinema chains, PVR and INOX, have recovered from a two-year decline to announce their greatest quarters to date. Between April and June, blockbuster movies like KGF: Chapter 2, RRR, Bhool Bhulaiya 2, and Doctor Strange encouraged viewers to return to theaters.

Performance: PVR and INOX

INOX recorded its greatest quarterly sales, EBITDA, and net profit since its founding 20 years ago on Wednesday. The same accomplishments were made by PVR during the quarter that ended on June 30 and was reported in its quarterly results two weeks ago.

However, PVR outperformed INOX in the April to June 2022 quarter, earning almost twice as much money. In the April to June 2022 quarter, INOX’s revenue was $589 crore, a staggering 22-fold increase over the $26 crore reported the previous year. The business also succeeded in turning its Q1 FY2023, Q1 net loss of 101 crores into a profit of 74 crores.

As 1.8 crore people entered its theaters in the April–June quarter, it also had an all-time high in EBITDA, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and depletion.

Meanwhile, PVR’s revenue crossed ₹1,000 crores for the first time in the first quarter of the fiscal year 2023, registering a nearly 10-fold increase from last year. Its net profit stood at ₹53 crores, 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.

Interestingly, 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.

Comeback in the Q1 FY23

The sources claim that INOX stated in a statement that content was still the driving force behind the miraculous comeback of the quarter, with several films performing remarkably well at the Box Office. Blockbusters including RRR, KGF: Chapter 2, Vikram, Bhool Bhulaiya 2, and Doctor Strange in The Multiverse of Madness contributed to a historic attendance of 18.4 million visitors in Q1’FY23.

Because of releases like Laal Singh Chaddha, Raksha Bandhan, Liger, Brahmastra, and Vikram Vedha, the corporation now anticipates a “big turnaround” in the business in the following quarter. Similar hopes are held for the following months by PVR as well. During the analyst call, Siddharth Jain, the director of INOX Group, stated that even if one of these films did poorly, theater attendance would not be affected.

Four brokerage firms, including ICICI Securities/Direct, Motilal Oswal, Prabhudas Lilladher, and ShareKhan, concur that as theater chains like PVR and INOX draw more customers, a robust movie pipeline may alter their future.

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