New Delhi: PVR Ltd has reported a net loss of Rs 49 crore for the quarter ended 31 December 2020, against a profit of Rs 36 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago.

Consolidated total income for the quarter was Rs 320 crores, as compared to Rs 924 crores during the corresponding period of last year, impacted by staggered reopening of cinemas over the quarter.

Consolidated adjusted EBITDA loss for the quarter was Rs 197 crores as against a positive adjusted EBITDA of Rs 315 crores in the same period last year.

Revenue for the December quarter came at Rs 45 crore against Rs 915.74 crore year-on-year and Rs 40 crore on a quarterly basis.

Results for quarter ended 31 December 2020 are not comparable with results for the corresponding quarter a year ago as staggered re-opening and limited content availability post re-opening has significantly impacted business operations.

All states where PVR has presence, with the exception of Rajasthan and Jharkhand, have allowed cinemas to re-open. PVR welcomed back its patrons with several celebratory promotions and offers, opportunity for private screenings, film festivals and a fresh new menu to make the movie watching experience truly delightful. Given the slow recovery in terms of footfalls, the company continued its cost aggressive management strategy along with keeping sufficient liquidity on the balance sheet. These efforts resulted in fixed cost reductions of 63 per cent as compared to Q3 FY20.

During this quarter the multiplex player was able to reach settlements with landlords for 88 per cent of cinemas for complete or partial waiver / discounts for the lockdown period for rental and common area maintenance.

Further, PVR also negotiated discounts/ rebates in the form of revenue share/ reduction in minimum guarantee post re-opening generally until March 31, 2020. These negotiations helped the company in reduction in rental and CAM expense by Rs 444 crore as compared to the nine month period ending 31 December 2019, representing a reduction of 80 per cent. It also successfully negotiated discounts/ rebates in the form of revenue share/ reduction in minimum guarantee post re-opening generally until 31 March 2021.

Cost-saving measures helped PVR in navigating the tough time during the pandemic. As on 31 December 2020, the company has over Rs 370 crore of liquidity available. The board of directors, on 18 December 2020, approved a fundraise via equity for an amount of up to Rs 800 crore, PVR said.

“After two quarters of successive lockdown, we are delighted to have welcomed back our patrons to our cinemas,” PVR chairman & MD Ajay Bijli said. “Consequent to being deprived of the most affordable and engrossing form of entertainment, we believe our audiences’ desire to revisit cinemas is strong and there is significant pent up demand that will help our business recover. The South Indian film industry had led the way in terms of release of blockbuster content and the initial performance of Tamil movie Master indicates that the customers are ready to revisit their favourite cinemas if the high-quality content is available. We are now hopeful that the Bollywood industry will derive comfort from this strong performance and start releasing high quality content in the near future.”