PVRINOX

Oct 17 (Reuters) - India's largest multiplex operator PVR Inox PVRL.NS swung to a profit in the second quarter as a robust lineup of film releases boosted theatre attendance, reversing a loss from a year ago.

Consolidated profit came in at 1.06 billion rupees ($12.05 million) in the July to September quarter. Last year, it reported a loss of 121 million rupees.

PVR Inox and its smaller peers typically face volatile earnings because blockbuster releases are uneven through the year and competition from streamers like Netflix and Amazon Prime remains stiff.

Still, the first half of the fiscal year was "one of the most remarkable periods in recent times," the company said, with 12 films in the second quarter alone topping 1 billion rupees in box office sales.

Bollywood blockbusters like "Saiyaara" and "Mahavatar Narsimha", made more than 4 billion and 3 billion rupees respectively in sales, PVR said, driving a 21% year on year growth in gross box office collections.

Hollywood movies like "Jurassic World: Rebirth" and "The Conjuring: Last Rites" also helped, the company, which is experimenting with converting the movie hall into a one-stop shop for dining, gaming and co-working, to further drive consumer footfalls, said.

Ticket sales in the second quarter increased by nearly 15% year-on-year, while occupancy improved by 302 basis points.

However, food and beverage spends per head declined marginally by 1.4% year-on-year, in a sign of still-muted urban demand for convenience food.

($1 = 87.9525 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Ananta Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee)

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** Shares of multiplex operator PVR Inox Ltd PVRL.NS rise nearly 2% to 1,109 rupees

** Shares set to snap a three-day losing streak, if current trend holds

** Co launches luxury dine-in cinema in Bengaluru

** Brokerage CLSA says festive season to allay concerns over multiplexes, sees PVRL occupancy rebuilding in near term

** PVRL stock rated "buy" on avg by analysts; median PT at 1,300 rupees, as per data compiled by LSEG

** YTD, PVRL stock down ~15% vs Nifty 500's .NIFTY500 3.4% rise

(Reporting by Komal Salecha)

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** Shares of PVR Inox Ltd PVRL.NS climb 4.5% to 1,082 rupees, their highest since February 10

** India's largest multiplex operator reported a narrower Q1 loss on Wednesday as Hollywood hit 'F1: The Movie' drew more audiences

** Investec upgrades PVRL to "hold" and raises PT to 1,147 rupees from 996 rupees, citing improved earnings visibility on the back of a "solid content pipeline"

** Adds, PVRL's cost structure is aligned to the new reality of disruption from streaming services; raises FY26-27 earnings estimates by 8%-12%

** Analysts tracking stock rate it "buy" on average; median PT is 1,250 rupees - data compiled by LSEG

** Stock's YTD loss narrows to ~17%

(Reporting by Nandan Mandayam in Bengaluru)

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Updates with details from executive interview in paragraphs 7-9

By Hritam Mukherjee

Aug 6 (Reuters) - India's PVR Inox PVRL.NS reported a sharply narrower quarterly loss on Wednesday as a strong box office slate, including Hollywood hit 'F1: The Movie', drew more audiences to theatres and boosted ticket and food sales.

India's largest multiplex operator, formed through the merger of PVR and Inox, reported a consolidated loss of 540 million rupees ($6.2 million) in the April-June quarter, compared with a loss of 1.79 billion rupees a year earlier.

Analysts, on an average, had expected a loss of 659.1 million rupees.

Footfalls in cinema halls have been pressured by weak urban consumption, an uneven slate of film releases and growing competition from streaming platforms.

To bring audiences back, PVR has been offering discounted weekday tickets and relaunching older movie hits.

These measures, along with the strong box office performance of Bollywood and Hollywood films such as 'Sitaare Zameen Par' and 'Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning' helped lift quarterly footfalls by 12% on-year.

Average ticket prices rose 8% to 254 rupees, while per head spending on food and beverages increased 10% to a record 148 rupees. Executive Director Sanjeev Bijli told Reuters he expects spending in these segments to grow at a similar pace in the coming quarters.

"I do see a visibility of great films all the way down to December, the end of third-quarter, and that's what's going to drive consumption for admissions, ticket prices, advertisement revenues and also F&B spends," Bijli said.

He added that the company's new cinema halls will experiment with gaming centers, co-working spaces and cafeterias inside the premises to "enhance the stickiness of the consumer".

Revenue from operations rose 23% to 14.69 billion rupees for the quarter, topping analysts' estimate of 14.24 billion rupees.

The results come amid growing signs of recovery in urban consumption. Consumer goods firms such as Hindustan Unilever HLL.NS and Britannia BRIT.NS are signalling improving urban demand after several quarters of sluggish growth.

(Reporting by Hritam Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema)

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Changes sourcing

** Shares of PVR Inox PVRL.NS down 1.2% to 987 rupees

** Karnataka state government has proposed to cap movie ticket prices across the state at 200 rupees ($2.33), inclusive of entertainment tax, document shows

** Stock rated "buy" on avg, median PT at 1,250 rupees - data compiled by LSEG

** The state government's media team did not immediately respond to a Reuters' request for comment

** YTD, stock down 25%

($1 = 85.7375 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Manvi Pant in Bengaluru)

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May 12 (Reuters) - PVR Inox PVRL.NS, India's largest multiplex chain, reported a wider quarterly loss on Monday, as a lacklustre line-up of new film releases and muted urban spending dampened audience turnout.

The company, formed by the merger of PVR and Inox labels, reported an adjusted consolidated loss of 1.06 billion rupees ($12.48 million) in the fourth quarter, compared with a loss of 901 million rupees a year ago.

PVR blamed an "uneven release calendar" in fiscal 2025 for the performance, with March flagged as a particularly weak month. This lull in content contributed to the overall decline in admissions and revenue.

Among major Hindi-language titles during the quarter, only historical action film "Chhaava" delivered a strong box office showing.

The subdued demand comes amid ongoing pressure on urban consumption, driven by sluggish wage growth and a high cost of living, even as inflation continues to moderate.

Amid an increase of 10.5% year-on-year in the average ticket price, per-head spending on food and beverages dropped 3.5%, dragging revenue from the food and beverages' segment down 7.8%.

To revive audience turnout, PVR Inox has rolled out weekday discounts and re-released older films. Still, quarterly occupancy fell by 208 basis points to 20.5%, while total admissions declined 6.3% to 30.5 million.

PVR Inox's overall revenue declined marginally to 12.50 billion rupees.

($1 = 84.9050 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Ananta Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

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** Indian multiplex operator PVR Inox PVRL.NS jumps 4.3% to 940 rupees, on track to log best day since mid-August

** Brokerage Nuvama says February 2025 has been the highest-grossing February post-pandemic for the Bollywood film industry with box-office collections of 12.45 bln rupees (~$144 mln)

** Adds, promoters have slightly increased their stake by 0.03%, which is small but sends a positive signal to minority investors, especially after previous rounds of stake sales and pledged shares

** Says box-office collections in January-February jumped 39% y/y to 22.64 bln rupees, led by the release of "Chhaava" movie

** 19 analysts covering the stock on avg have a "buy" rating; median PT is 1,600 rupees - data compiled by LSEG

** Day's gains trim monthly fall, stock now down 0.3% in March

($1 = 86.7140 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Manvi Pant in Bengaluru)

(([email protected]; +918447554364;))

** Indian multiplex operator PVR Inox PVRL.NS gains as much as 2.9% to 980.35 rupees

** Kotak Institutional Equities says PVRL stock's recent correction is overdone; upgrades stock to "buy"

** PRVL stock fell 17% in February, logging its fifth straight monthly loss

** Brokerage says recent correction in stock due to continued weakness in box office collections, expects Hollywood releases to drive collections in FY26

** Even as the overall content cycle in multiplex chains remains depressed, PVRL's cost optimisation and expansion strategies are noteworthy - Kotak

** Brokerage cuts fair value to 1,200 rupees from 1,300 rupees to factor in delays in bollywood recovery

** PRVL stock up 5.4% so far this week; on track to log biggest weekly gain since early November, if current trend holds

** Stock rated "buy" on avg, median PT at 1,655 rupees - data compiled by LSEG

(Reporting by Manvi Pant in Bengaluru)

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Feb 6 (Reuters) - PVR INOX Ltd PVRL.NS:

• Q3 CONSOL NET PROFIT 359 MILLION RUPEES

• Q3 CONSOL REVENUE FROM OPERATIONS 17.17 BILLION RUPEES

Further company coverage: PVRL.NS

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** Multiplex operator PVR Inox PVRL.NS ends 1.4% lower at 1,161 rupees

** PVRL has now shed 12% in five-session losing run

** Yes Securities says the correction was due to fear of HMPV outbreak and is "overdone"

** Says current stock price is "attractive"; retains "buy" call and TP 1,980 rupees

** Analysts on avg rate PVRL "buy", median TP 1825 rupees -LSEG data

(Reporting by Hritam Mukherjee in Bengaluru)

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Oct 15 (Reuters) - India's largest multiplex chain PVR Inox PVRL.NS reported its third straight quarterly loss on Tuesday, as a ho-hum Bollywood lineup and rising demand for streaming services kept movie-watchers at home.

That hurt box-office collections and food and beverage sales at PVR Inox's outlets.

The company, formed by the merger of PVR and Inox labels, posted a consolidated net loss of 118 million rupees ($1.40 million) in the quarter ending Sept. 30 versus a year-ago profit of 1.66 billion rupees.

Analysts, on average, had expected a profit of 137.7 million rupees, data compiled by LSEG showed.

India's movie halls have been struggling to fill seats in recent quarters as consumers have curbed discretionary spending amid higher inflation, forcing multiplexes to introduce lower-priced weekday movie passes and cut popcorn prices.

The lack of compelling new movie releases has also added to their agony, making many multiplex chains resort to playing classics to win audiences.

In India, popular streaming platform Disney+ Hotstar is the market leader with 38 million users, while estimates showed Netflix NFLX.O has around 10 million.

PVR Inox's total revenue fell 19% to 16.22 billion rupees in the September quarter, with movie ticket sales dropping 25% and food and beverage sales 18% lower.

The occupancy rate fell to 25% from 32.3% in the year-ago period.

PVR Inox said it expects to add 110-120 screens in the year ending March 2025. So far this fiscal year, it has added 71 and closed 42 screens.

($1 = 84.0675 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Ashna Teresa Britto in Bengaluru; Editing by Dhanya Skariachan and Mrigank Dhaniwala)

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Oct 2 (Reuters) - PVR INOX Ltd PVRL.NS:

• PVR INOX LTD - OPENING OF 5 SCREEN MULTIPLEX AT COIMBATORE

Further company coverage: PVRL.NS

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** Multiplex operator PVR INOX PVRL.NS rises as much as 3% to 1,704.15 rupees, the highest since Jan. 4

** Anand Rathi Research retains "buy", raises PT from 1,750 rupees to 2,065 rupees, a 24.8% premium to last close

** Expects sequential improvement from Q2 and a good Q3 backed by several blockbusters

** About 10% of the new screens added in FY25 and 20-25% in FY26 would be in the form of management-fee and revenue-sharing models

** Mean rating of 20 brokerages is "buy"; their median PT is 1,754 rupees - LSEG

** PVRL gains 2.3% YTD

(Reporting by Meenakshi Maidas in Bengaluru)

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July 19 (Reuters) - PVR INOX Ltd PVRL.NS:

• JUNE-QUARTER CONSOL NET LOSS 1.79 BILLION RUPEES

• JUNE-QUARTER CONSOL REVENUE FROM OPERATIONS 11.91 BILLION RUPEES

Further company coverage: PVRL.NS

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BENGALURU, May 14 (Reuters) - India's largest multiplex operator PVR Inox PVRL.NS reported a bigger-than-expected fourth-quarter loss on Tuesday, hurt by a lack of interest in Bollywood releases.

The company reported a consolidated net loss of 1.3 billion rupees ($15.6 million) for the March quarter, missing analysts' estimate of a loss of 835.9 million rupees, as per LSEG data.

The company was formed by a merger of PVR and Inox in February 2023, and the results are not comparable year-over-year.

PVR Inox had posted a profit of 128 million rupees last quarter.

The quarter ended March 2024 marks PVR Inox's weakest quarter in the year, the company said.

The company flagged "significant volatility" in box office collections, with demand muted despite major Bollywood releases like "Fighter", "Shaitaan" and "Article 370".

It also added that the ongoing general election has impacted the flow of new releases, and that expects it to stabilize by mid-June.

Its occupancy slipped to 22.6% from 25.2% in the December quarter.

Coupled with these factors, it saw a 2% drop in average ticket price, prompting a near 19% sequential drop in revenue.

During the year, the company opened 130 new screens and closed 85 screens. The company said plans to shut down underperforming cinemas to reduce costs.

It also said it would pursue box office initiatives like screening alternate events like film festivals and sports, and was evaluating monetising real estate assets in a bid to become net debt free over the next few years.

PVR Inox's shares, which were up 1% ahead of results, dropped 2.3% post results.

($1 = 83.5106 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Ashna Teresa Britto in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H K)

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** Unexciting big-screen content during fourth quarter signals persisting gloom for India's PVR Inox PVRL.NS, says brokerage Investec

** Jan-March period revenue will be the lowest quarterly rev for multiplex operator in FY24; audience behaviour unlikely to dramatically alter unless content is consistently compelling - Investec

** Says net screen additions in FY25 and FY26 to be likely lower than its previous estimates

** PVRL posted a loss and a drop in profit in two of the last three quarters of FY24

** Investec cuts PT from 1,797 rupees to 1,438 rupees, downgrades stock to "sell" from "hold"

** Co rated "buy" on average with median PT of 1,900 rupees - LSEG data

** Stock closes flat; dropped over 16% YTD after a near-4% slip in 2023

(Reporting by Hritam Mukherjee in Bengaluru)

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April 2 (Reuters) - PVR INOX Ltd PVRL.NS:

• PVR INOX LTD - GOT ORDER DEMANDING DUTY OF 170.6 MILLION RUPEES

• PVR INOX LTD - CO REVIEWING ORDER, WOULD TAKE LEGAL RECOURSE TO CHALLENGE ORDER

Source text for Eikon: [ID:]

Further company coverage: PVRL.NS

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March 1 (Reuters) - PVR INOX Ltd PVRL.NS:

• OPENING OF 14 SCREEN MEGAPLEX AT PHOENIX MALL, PATNA

Further company coverage: PVRL.NS

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Jan 31 (Reuters) - PVR INOX Ltd PVRL.NS:

• PVR INOX DEC-QUARTER CONSOL NET PROFIT 128 MILLION RUPEES

• PVR INOX DEC-QUARTER CONSOL REVENUE FROM OPERATIONS 15.46 BILLION RUPEES

Source text for Eikon: [ID:]

Further company coverage: PVRL.NS

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Jan 19 (Reuters) - PVR INOX Ltd PVRL.NS:

• GOT GST ORDER WITH DEMAND, INTEREST, PENALTY OF 225.3 MILLION RUPEES

Source text for Eikon: ID:nBSE97Cxzf

Further company coverage: PVRL.NS

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** Shares of India's largest multiplex operator PVR Inox PVRL.NS fall 3% to 1,599.70 rupees

** Brokerage Investec Equities says co likely to see subdued Q3 on weaker-than-expected performance of films such as "Animal" and "Salaar" and fewer blockbuster Hollywood films

** Trims EBITDA estimate for FY24E by 9.3% and profit after tax estimate by 71.7%

** Brokerage expects co to end FY24 with an average occupancy rate of 26% at its movie theatres, below earlier estimate of 28%

** Downgrades stock to "hold" from "buy" and reduces PT to 1,797 rupees, sightly higher than current stock price

** Stock set to decline for third straight session

** PVRL fell 3.6% in 2023

(Reporting by Meenakshi Maidas in Bengaluru)

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** Shares of PVR Inox PVRL.NS rise as much as 3.06% to a two-month high of 1,830.40 rupees apiece

** Stock up after a large global fund - Norges Bank on account of Government Pension Global - bought 666,183 shares of the multiplex operator (0.68% stake) at 1,753 rupees apiece via bulk deals on Friday, data from National Stock Exchange showed

** Norges Bank had held a 1.4% stake in PVRL at the end of September quarter - NSE data

** Plenty Private Equity Fund I and Plenty Private Equity FII I sold stake in the company

** Trading volume is 796,157 shares as of 2:42 p.m. IST, twice the 30-day avg - LSEG data

** The mean rating of 22 analysts tracking PVRL is 1.6, equivalent to "buy"

** PVRL shares up 6% in 2023 so far, including today's gains

(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru)

(([email protected]; +91 9769003463;))

** Shares of India's largest multiplex operator PVR Inox PVRL.NS up 1.1% to 1,717 rupees

** Brokerage Nuvama sees rebound in box office collections for PVRL in December, after a muted start to Q3 due to cricket world cup discouraging content flow

** Adds, upcoming films including "Animal" and "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom" to show strong numbers; expects overall content slate to pick up

** To compensate for fewer movies released from October to mid-November, PVR Inox offered screening of the cricket world cup across 150 cinemas in 60 cities, which led to some benefits - brokerage

** Avg rating of 21 analysts tracking PVRL at "buy"; median PT is 2,035 rupees - LSEG data

** Including day's move, stock down 0.2% YTD

(Reporting by Kashish Tandon in Bengaluru)

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** CLSA recommends Indian large-cap liquid stocks for maximising capital protection and select mid-caps for growth opportunities

** Recommendations include Axis Bank AXBK.NS, Bharti Airtel BRTI.NS, Hindustan Unilever HLL.NS , ICICI Bank ICBK.NS, Mahindra & Mahindra MAHM.NS, NTPC NTPC.NS, Sun Pharma SUN.NS, UltraTech ULTC.NS, Tata Consultancy Services TCS.NS and State Bank of India SBI

** Says, stocks offer exposure to growth drivers, such as end of India's rate hike cycle in 2024, rural recovery in mid-2024 and RBI's move to protect rupee, ensuring external stability

** Adds mid-cap stocks such as Zomato ZOMT.NS, PVR Inox PVRL.NS, Delhivery DELH.NS, Prestige Estate PREG.NS and Paytm PAYT.NS also offer long-term value

** Says its picks are on three defensive principles - sectors that have already sold off or underperformed markets, traditional defensives, and stocks with a positive major event coming up

** India's economy will reach $29 tln in 2047 from current$3.4tn and $45 tln by 2052, surpassing Japan's nominal US-dollar GDP by 2027 - CLSA

(Reporting by Sethuraman NR in Bengaluru)

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Oct 20 (Reuters) - PVR INOX Ltd PVRL.NS:

• CUSTOMS EXCISE & SERVICE TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL RETAINED ORIGINAL DEMAND OF 530 MILLION RUPEES LEVIED BY SERVICE TAX AUTHORITIES

Source text for Eikon: ID:nBSE7NfFyw

Further company coverage: PVRL.NS

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Oct 19 (Reuters) - PVR INOX Ltd PVRL.NS:

• INDIA'S PVR INOX SEPT-QUARTER CONSOL NET PROFIT 1.66 BILLION RUPEES

• PVR INOX SEPT-QUARTER CONSOL REVENUE FROM OPERATIONS 20 BILLION RUPEES

• INDIA'S PVR INOX SEPT-QUARTER CONSOL YEAR AGO LOSS 712 MILLION RUPEES; REVENUE 6.86 BILLION RUPEES

Further company coverage: PVRL.NS

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Oct 10 (Reuters) - PVR INOX Ltd PVRL.NS:

• NCLT ALLOWED SCHEME OF AMALGAMATION OF SHOURI PROPERTIES WITH CO

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** The cricket World Cup campaign beginning on Oct. 5 in India will boost sectors like quick service restaurants (QSR), food delivery, beverages, hotels and airlines, Jefferies said in a note

** Jefferies expects companies to run World-Cup specific promotions on match days to tap consumption boost

** Says, consumption spurt is evident in flight and hotel bookings; fares have shot up on India match days

** Adds, expect a surge in media activity in coming weeks; Nifty media index .NIFTYMED up 1.7%

** There should be negative impact on footfalls for movie theatres, theme parks, and offline brick-and-mortar retailers - Jefferies

** QSR stocks like Restaurant Brands Asia RESR.NS, Devyani International are up 4% and 1.2%, respectively, food delivery co Zomato ZOMT.NS up 2.5% on Thursday

(Reporting by Sethuraman NR in Bengaluru)

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** Shares of PVR INOX Ltd PVRL.NS rise as much as 2.4% to 1,870.35 rupees, highest since Dec. 15

** Nuvama expects record Q2FY24 results after highest-ever monthly admissions and box office in August on the success of Hindi movies Gadar-2 and Jailer

** Adds, PVRL to further gain from Hindi-language movie Jawan, which released on Thursday

** Retains 'buy,' raises PT to 2,210 rupees

** Trading volume at ~1.3 mln shares, 1.5x the 30-day avg of ~878,700 shares as of 2:40 p.m. IST

** Average rating of 20 analysts covering stock at equivalent of 'buy;' median PT is 1,978 rupees - LSEG data

** Stock last up ~7.7% this year

(Reporting by Biplob Kumar Das in Bengaluru)

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Sept 1 (Reuters) - PVR INOX Ltd PVRL.NS:

• GROSS BOX OFFICE REVENUE OF ABOUT 5.32 BILLION RUPEES IN AUGUST

Source text for Eikon: ID:nNSE5Tbgyf

Further company coverage: PVRL.NS

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