Multiplex chain operator Inox profit up 15% in first quarter of FY19

Advertising and F&B continue to drive growth, even as net box office revenue drops in the first quarter of the current fiscal

National multiplex chain operator Inox saw revenues grow by seven per cent year on year in the quarter ended June 30. Total income for Q1FY19 was Rs 4.15 billion, as compared to Rs 3.87 billion in the same quarter last fiscal.

EBITDA for the quarter was up 10 per cent y-o-y at Rs 835 million, as compared to Rs 759 million in Q1FY18 while EBITDA margin was up from 19.6 per cent last year to 20.6 per cent this quarter. PAT for Q1FY19 was Rs 370 million, up 15 per cent from Q1FY18’s Rs 321 million. PAT margin for the quarter under consideration was 8.9 per cent, as compared to 8.3 per cent in the corresponding quarter last fiscal.

While net box office revenue continues to be the largest contributor to the revenue, F&B and advertising saw the biggest growth at 20 and 26.3 per cent respectively. Net box office revenue saw marginal increase of 1.1 per cent in Q1FY19. This could be because of the high base set by the release of Baahubali 2: The Conclusion last year.

Footfalls on an overall and comparable properties basis saw a dip year on year, which could again be because of the higher base in FY18. Average ticket price (ATP) however was up 3.1 per cent year on year from Rs 193 in Q1FY18 to Rs 199 in Q1FY19 on an overall basis, and 2.4 per cent on a comparable property basis.

Average spends per head were up 17.2 per cent from Rs 65 in Q1FY18 to Rs 76 in the first quarter of the current fiscal.

Siddharth Jain, Director - INOX Group said “Content pipeline continues to be good this year. Our focus for this year has been expansion and we have stayed in-line with that. Our aim is to continue serving our guests with unparalleled movie viewing experience backed by luxury, technology and service.”