PVR suffers a considerable loss of Rs 74.61 crores due to the lockdown

Multiplex chain operator PVR Ltd on Monday, June 8 reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 74.61 crore for the fourth quarter which ended in March 2020, as the film exhibition business was impacted because of the nationwide lockdown in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The company had posted a net profit of Rs 46.75 crore in the January-March quarter a year ago, PVR said in a BSE filing. Revenue from operations during the quarter under review stood at Rs 645.13 crore while it was reported to be Rs 837.63 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago. 

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PVR's business in the fourth quarter

“Beginning March 11, 2020, the company started closing its screens in accordance with the order passed by various regulatory authorities and within a few days most of our cinemas across the country were shut down,” PVR stated in a PTI statement. PVR has also taken one-time write off of perishable inventory of Rs 1.83 crore in March 2020, on account of spoilage due to closure of cinemas pursuant to COVID-19, it added.

PVR’s total expenses were at Rs 731.84 crore in the fourth quarter of 2019-20 as against Rs 771.27 crore a year ago. Revenue from movie exhibitions was at Rs 628.88 crore and Rs 29.89 crore from others which includes movie production, distribution and gaming.

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Meanwhile, PVR said its results for the year ended March 31, 2020, are not comparable with the year ended March 31, 2019, "on account of the acquisition of SPI Cinemas”. For the fiscal year 2019-20, PVR’s net profit was at Rs 26.85 crore. It was Rs 189.40 crore in 2018-19. Its revenue from operations in FY20 was Rs 3,414.44 crore and the same stood at Rs 3,085.56 crore in FY19.

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Currently, PVR operates 845 screens in 176 properties across 71 cities. Meanwhile, in a separate filing PVR has informed the BSE that its board in a meeting held on Monday has approved to raise Rs 300 crore through the rights issue. Shares of PVR Ltd on Monday settled at Rs 1,159.50 apiece on the BSE, down 6.60 percent over the previous close.

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As per reports, last month PVR CEO expressed his disappointment with films getting an OTT release. In the statement, the CEO of PVR said that the pandemic has caused an unfortunate shutdown of the theatres but they are confident that when the situation returns to normalcy, the masses will inevitably flock to the theatres to watch movies. The statement further added that when the situation becomes better, there will be an increasing demand within the cine-goers for the movie theatres after they have been locked up in their homes for such a long time. 

(With inputs from PTI)