PVR-Inox shares decline on Q4 flop show, few takers for Hindi films

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26 Aug, 2025 12:21

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The merged entity of PVR-Inox reported its first-ever quarterly numbers and it turned out to be a flop show with the multiplex chain sinking into a loss of Rs 333 crore for the quarter ended March 2023 and revenue from operations at Rs 1,143 crore.

The numbers cannot be compared sequentially or on a year-on-year basis, as PVR and Inox were separate entities then.

As part of its strategy, PVR-Inox has announced plans to close around 50 cinema screens over the next six months. These screens either operate at a loss or are located in malls that have reached the end of their life cycle. The company has accounted for an accelerated depreciation charge and written off the value of these assets. Merger-related expenses also weighed on the bottomline.

At 9:30am, the stock was trading at Rs 1,423.80 on the NSE, lower by 2.8 percent. It has lost over 16 percent in the last three months.

Going ahead, PVR-Inox aims to open an additional 150–175 screens next fiscal year. Managing Director Ajay Bijli has said the integration process is proceeding smoothly and he is confident of achieving operational synergies of Rs 225 crore over the next 12-24 months.

Apart from the impairment charges and merger expenses, low occupancy also hit the company's performance. The combined entity’s occupancy declined 290 basis points year-on-year to 22.2 percent against 25.1 percent a year back.

Movies such as Pathaan and Avatar performed well in January 2023. However, February and March saw a dip in admissions due to weak performance of Hindi films.

The company remains slave to good content, which can generate high footfalls, and thus higher ad-revenue. The company's ad revenue has not jumped back to pre-Covid levels yet.

While most analysts are positive on the stock,  caution is slowly creeping in. In April, Elara Securities downgraded the stock to a 'reduce' rating with a target price of Rs 1,510.

"The risk of lower EBITDA CAGR of 11 percent over FY20-25 (three-year CAGR, ex0-Covid shutdown) versus pre-Covid CAGR (FY17-20) of 25 percent remains an overhang," the firm said.

Nuvama Institutional Equities remains positive on the long-term story with strong pipeline for the overall cinema industry (across languages) in FY24. It has a 'buy' rating with a target of Rs 2,125.