Mexico's Cinepolis eyes Rs 1,200 cr turnover from India by 2017

Mexican multiplex chain Cinepolis is aiming to clock Rs 1,200 crore in turnover from Indian operations by 2017 as it expands presence across the country.

The firm, which has over 80 screens in the country, expects India to account for 10% of global revenues by that time.

"Presently, India contributes around 4% of our international revenue (outside of Mexico). It would increase... We expect it to be more than double, nearly to 10 per cent by 2017. Roughly, about Rs 1,200 crore," Cinepolis India Managing Director Javier Sotomayor told PTI.

Cinepolis expects its global revenues to touch $2 billion by 2017, he added.

Headquartered in Morelia, Mexico Cinepolis is world's fourth largest movie theatre circuit, operating more than 3,000 screens in 11 countries.

The company also plans to pump in about Rs 1,500 crore over the next three years to increase its screen count to 400 by December 2017.

Sotomayor said the firm has already invested Rs 400 crore in its Indian operations.

"Our global strategy is to keep on expanding internationally. Now, Cinepolis has 20% of revenues and about 17% of the bottomline (coming from international operations). We expect the ratio to go 35% in the years to come," Sotomayor said.

In India, Cinepolis has selected top 40 cities for setting up screens over the next three years.

"The ultimate goal of Cinepolis is to be leader of this market. For that, we have selected a list of cities, which include Tier I and II cities -- top 40 cities of India where we would be expanding," he said.

On addition of new screens, Sotomayor said: "The target which we would have for organic growth is 400 screens. We would finish this year with 130-plus making us the one of the top players in the industry".

Cinepolis, which started its India operations in 2009, has presence in major hubs as Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore and Hyderabad.

"In next 12 months, we will have presence in all metros, including Kolkata where we would open this year, Chennai and NCR. At the same time, we would be opening (screens) in another tier II and III cities like Guwahati and Muzzafarpur," Sotomayor said.