Pyramid Saimira eyes tier-II cities

To tie up with 235 theatres in 'B' and 'C' locations by March 2007.

Chennai-based Pyramid Saimira Theatre Limited, the single-largest theatre chain in the country, is focusing more on tier-II cities.

"Our focus is more on tier-II cities. Even though the company will be present in all tier-I cities across the country, we feel that tier-II cities offer a great uncontested space for quality entertainment delivery. Besides, theatres in tier-II cities are deprived of prints of a new film in the first week of release and typically get used to prints of inferior quality. In a bid to change this scenario, we intend to have 60-70 per cent of our theatres in tier-II cities," V Natarajan, chairman of Pyramid Saimira, told mediapersons here on Thursday, on the sidelines of a press conference to announce the company's initial public offering (IPO).

The company is planning to have around 350 screens by March 2007, with 9.60 million sqft under operational management, from the existing 148 screens in 136 theatres. "We plan to tie up with 120 theatres in 'A' locations and 235 theatres in 'B' and 'C' locations by March 2007, and we expect tier-II cities to contribute close to 47 per cent to our total revenues in FY07," he said.

Besides, it is planning to create a 'Mega Digital Theatre Chain' in every single township in India, and have over 2,000 screens in 1,550 locations across the country with 58.75 million sqft under operational management by 2010.

Pyramid's expansion plans that include creation of a theatre chain with tie ups with theatres and multiplexes on long-lease basis, conversion of theatres into digital exhibition systems by installing digital projectors, servers, VSAT terminals and other audio and video equipment, and investing in a central network operating system control centre to enable service provisioning, require an estimated fund of Rs 111.19 crore.

The company intends to deploy Rs 84.44 crore, raised through its forthcoming IPO, which opens on December 11, and closes on December 18, 2006, to part fund its expansion.

"While around Rs 57 crore will be deployed in building the theatre chain, around Rs 34.25 crore will be invested in digitalisation of the theatres," Natarajan said.

Pyramid, which has a strong foothold in Tamil Nadu, is also planning to make inroads into Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala in a big way.

"We currently have 34 theatres in Andhra Pradesh under operational management, and we intend to add 200 more theatres in the state in the next 12-18 months," he said.