Multiplex chain operator Inox Leisure Ltd on Monday reported narrowing of consolidated net loss to Rs 28.17 crore for the fourth quarter ended March. The company had posted a net loss of Rs 93.69 crore in the January-March quarter a year ago, according to a regulatory filing.

Its revenue from operations was up over three-fold to Rs 317.72 crore during the quarter under review as against Rs 90.44 crore in the year-ago period, when the screening business was impacted by the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic. Inox Leisure’s total expenses were at Rs 357.25 crore, up 51.37 percent in the latest fourth quarter. In the year-ago period, it stood at Rs 236.01 crore.

"Q4 FY22 saw the company receiving a tremendous response, reminiscent to pre-COVID times due to movies, including Valimai, Bheemla Nayak, Gangubai Kathiawadi, The Kashmir Files, Radhe Shyam and RRR," according to an earning statement from Inox. Around 11 million guests visited Inox cinemas in the fourth quarter of last fiscal. It was operating 161 multiplexes and 681 screens across 72 cities.

Also read:

Hyderabad: Annapurna Studios and Qube Cinema to build India's first virtual production stage

"In March 2022, company reported its highest ever Box Office and F&B collection in a single month," it said. During the quarter "ATP (Average Ticket Price) stood at Rs 218, Spends Per Head stood at Rs 86, whereas occupancy stood at 24 percent," the company said.

For the fiscal year ended March 2022, Inox Leisure also reduced its consolidated net loss to Rs 239.43 crore. It had reported a net loss of Rs 337.66 crore in 2020-21. Its revenue from operations was Rs 683.94 crore in 2021-22. This was multiple times higher than Rs 105.93 crore in the year-ago period when operations of the cinema halls had remained impacted due to the pandemic.

In FY 2022, 23 million guests visited Inox cinemas and reported the highest-ever full-year ATP of Rs 217. It was Rs 170 in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal. "With the ’worst’ behind us, and the ’best’ on the anvil, we are looking forward to FY23 with a lot of excitement and preparedness to make sure that we continue to delight all our stakeholders and resume our profitability story," Inox Leisure Director Siddharth Jain said.

The company plans to add a total of 77 screens in FY23, out of which, 6 screens have already been added. During the January-March quarter, Inox Leisure announced a scheme of merger of the company with rival PVR Ltd, subject to necessary approvals.

"The draft scheme of the amalgamation of Inox Leisure Ltd with PVR Ltd was filed with BSE and NSE on March 30, 2022, and approvals are awaited from Stock Exchanges/SEBI," Inox Leisure said. On Monday, shares of Inox Leisure closed 2.12 percent at Rs 491.60 apiece on BSE.

Also read: PVR shares fall 4%, among three stocks under NSE's F&O ban today

(Edited by : Anand Singha)