ITV

Tag: F&B

  • eBay engages consumer with live game on FB

    eBay engages consumer with live game on FB

    MUMBAI: Festive season is a busy time for Indian brands, especially the e-commerce players given the shopping spree the nation witnessed around the time. Thus it becomes important to brainstorm on new and unique ways to get the consumer’s attention; something different from the unbelievable discounts that is default of the season.

    eBay India’s doing so by hosting the first ever Facebook live gaming event for its consumers called Dhanbola (online tambola). Hosted by stand-up comedian Zakir Khan, Dhanbola went live on October 25, from 4:00-5:00 pm on eBay India FB page, and was witnessed by over 7000 people live.

    The concept of Dhanbola was simple: over 5.6 million consumers on ebay.in had gotten codes that entitled them to participate in live Dhanbola event, witth prizes such as MacBook Pro, an Apple iPhone 7 or a Philips Bluetooth speaker up for grabs.

    “Our festive season in India, which started on 15 September and will continue till Diwali, is the most important time of the year for our business. These forty five days have been packed with multiple activities, be it exclusive launches, new products and attractive offers and discounts,” shared eBay India marketing director Shivani Suri.

    This year, eBay is especially looking forward to the festive given a huge jump in their over all product selection on the platform. Compared to last year’s three crore products, this year the e-commerce player boasts of 10 crore products on the site.

    Thus, unlike its usual presence on the digital platforms, this year eBay has launched a TVC campaign as well, with a shelf life of around six weeks.

    The e-commerce player’s latest TVC campaign titled #ThingsDontJudge highlights the variety of products that eBay has to offer while also turning materialism on its head. The caption for the ad sums up the idea behind the advert. It states that “Don’t let the voices hold you back. eBay has products that don’t judge you for who you are or what you believe in. They say just one thing – Live and let live.”

    Tying the TVC’s message with the latest FB initiative Suri had earlier said “Our recently launched TVC campaign #ThingsDontJudge struck a chord with consumers from different walks of life. Dhanbola is yet another industry first from eBay India to not only deepen our engagement with consumers on a platform which is preferred by them but also to celebrate the spirit of the upcoming festivities.”

    Apart from ‘Dhanbola’, eBay shoppers will be given a chance to engage with the stand-up comedian through several additional activities. Consumers can challenge the host for either a ‘Truth or Dare’, and/or a real time “Roast the Host.”

    eBay offers consumers the option to make purchases via EMI through ICICI, Citibank and HDFC credit cards. All purchases are covered under the eBay Guarantee which ensures refund or replacement in case a consumer is unhappy with the purchase.

  • eBay engages consumer with live game on FB

    eBay engages consumer with live game on FB

    MUMBAI: Festive season is a busy time for Indian brands, especially the e-commerce players given the shopping spree the nation witnessed around the time. Thus it becomes important to brainstorm on new and unique ways to get the consumer’s attention; something different from the unbelievable discounts that is default of the season.

    eBay India’s doing so by hosting the first ever Facebook live gaming event for its consumers called Dhanbola (online tambola). Hosted by stand-up comedian Zakir Khan, Dhanbola went live on October 25, from 4:00-5:00 pm on eBay India FB page, and was witnessed by over 7000 people live.

    The concept of Dhanbola was simple: over 5.6 million consumers on ebay.in had gotten codes that entitled them to participate in live Dhanbola event, witth prizes such as MacBook Pro, an Apple iPhone 7 or a Philips Bluetooth speaker up for grabs.

    “Our festive season in India, which started on 15 September and will continue till Diwali, is the most important time of the year for our business. These forty five days have been packed with multiple activities, be it exclusive launches, new products and attractive offers and discounts,” shared eBay India marketing director Shivani Suri.

    This year, eBay is especially looking forward to the festive given a huge jump in their over all product selection on the platform. Compared to last year’s three crore products, this year the e-commerce player boasts of 10 crore products on the site.

    Thus, unlike its usual presence on the digital platforms, this year eBay has launched a TVC campaign as well, with a shelf life of around six weeks.

    The e-commerce player’s latest TVC campaign titled #ThingsDontJudge highlights the variety of products that eBay has to offer while also turning materialism on its head. The caption for the ad sums up the idea behind the advert. It states that “Don’t let the voices hold you back. eBay has products that don’t judge you for who you are or what you believe in. They say just one thing – Live and let live.”

    Tying the TVC’s message with the latest FB initiative Suri had earlier said “Our recently launched TVC campaign #ThingsDontJudge struck a chord with consumers from different walks of life. Dhanbola is yet another industry first from eBay India to not only deepen our engagement with consumers on a platform which is preferred by them but also to celebrate the spirit of the upcoming festivities.”

    Apart from ‘Dhanbola’, eBay shoppers will be given a chance to engage with the stand-up comedian through several additional activities. Consumers can challenge the host for either a ‘Truth or Dare’, and/or a real time “Roast the Host.”

    eBay offers consumers the option to make purchases via EMI through ICICI, Citibank and HDFC credit cards. All purchases are covered under the eBay Guarantee which ensures refund or replacement in case a consumer is unhappy with the purchase.

  • RIL innovates; to live stream Q1-2016-17 results on FB, Youtube, Periscope

    RIL innovates; to live stream Q1-2016-17 results on FB, Youtube, Periscope

    MUMBAI: When you are a company that generates Rs 1,000 crore a day in revenue, you have to do things in style right? We are referring to the Mukesh Ambani group company Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL).

    It is touting a first for a global company as it gets ready to stream live its CFO’s Alok Agarwal’s analysis of its Q1-2016-17 results from a single axis (read a camera) over Youtube, Twitter’s Periscope and Facebook Live today. In most cases in the past, companies have streamed an event live on one of the three platforms but using different cameras.

    Says a company official: “Three cameras means three different angles for three different platforms. And an individual can look at only one camera at a time which means that somewhere or the other it appears as though he is not addressing people.”

    Apparently, RIL has technically innovated to have one video out from a single camera and distributing it to the three outlets with the help of a switcher.

    The test signal of the feed was seen on the verified Facebook page of RIL president and media director Umesh Upadhyay, the company’s Twitter feed called @FlameOfTruth and its YouTube landing, @flameoftruth2014.

    The company had streamed its results announcement live on Facebook in January 2016 with Agarwal holding forth on its Q3 2015-16 results. It then added Periscope to communicate its Q4 2015-2016 results.

    Now it has taken the step to simulcast the live stream on all the three digital platforms for its Q1 2016-2017 financials.

    “We are where the sophisticated consumer of media and stakeholders are, spread across different geographies and time zones ” an RIL official confirmed, requesting not to be named.

    A promo announcing this LIVE feed has already attracted 4.14 lakh reach, 1.03 lakh views, 2,300 likes on Facebook alone.

    RIL has more than 3 million shareholders. Even if 10 per cent of them log onto the live stream, that will be equal to the audiences that some TV shows get.

    Now if cable TV operators choose to stream this to their subscribers that could mean even more reach for RIL.

    YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/flameoftruth2014

    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RelianceIndustriesLimited/

    Twitter: https://twitter.com/flameoftruth

  • RIL innovates; to live stream Q1-2016-17 results on FB, Youtube, Periscope

    RIL innovates; to live stream Q1-2016-17 results on FB, Youtube, Periscope

    MUMBAI: When you are a company that generates Rs 1,000 crore a day in revenue, you have to do things in style right? We are referring to the Mukesh Ambani group company Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL).

    It is touting a first for a global company as it gets ready to stream live its CFO’s Alok Agarwal’s analysis of its Q1-2016-17 results from a single axis (read a camera) over Youtube, Twitter’s Periscope and Facebook Live today. In most cases in the past, companies have streamed an event live on one of the three platforms but using different cameras.

    Says a company official: “Three cameras means three different angles for three different platforms. And an individual can look at only one camera at a time which means that somewhere or the other it appears as though he is not addressing people.”

    Apparently, RIL has technically innovated to have one video out from a single camera and distributing it to the three outlets with the help of a switcher.

    The test signal of the feed was seen on the verified Facebook page of RIL president and media director Umesh Upadhyay, the company’s Twitter feed called @FlameOfTruth and its YouTube landing, @flameoftruth2014.

    The company had streamed its results announcement live on Facebook in January 2016 with Agarwal holding forth on its Q3 2015-16 results. It then added Periscope to communicate its Q4 2015-2016 results.

    Now it has taken the step to simulcast the live stream on all the three digital platforms for its Q1 2016-2017 financials.

    “We are where the sophisticated consumer of media and stakeholders are, spread across different geographies and time zones ” an RIL official confirmed, requesting not to be named.

    A promo announcing this LIVE feed has already attracted 4.14 lakh reach, 1.03 lakh views, 2,300 likes on Facebook alone.

    RIL has more than 3 million shareholders. Even if 10 per cent of them log onto the live stream, that will be equal to the audiences that some TV shows get.

    Now if cable TV operators choose to stream this to their subscribers that could mean even more reach for RIL.

    YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/flameoftruth2014

    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RelianceIndustriesLimited/

    Twitter: https://twitter.com/flameoftruth

  • FY-16: PVR PAT up nine-fold

    FY-16: PVR PAT up nine-fold

    BENGALURU: Indian motion picture exhibition, production and distribution house PVR Limited (PVR) reported more than nine-fold (9.3 times) profit after tax (PAT) for the fiscal ended 31 March 2016 (FY-16, current year, current fiscal) as compared to the previous fiscal FY-15. The company reported PAT of Rs 118.73 crore (6.3 percent margin of consolidated Total Income from Operations or TIO) as compared to PAT of Rs 12.76 crore (0.9 percent PAT margin of TIO). For fiscal FY-14, the company had reported PAT of Rs 50.39 crore (3.7 PAT margin of TIO).

    PVR’s consolidated TIO in the current year increased 26.5 percent to Rs 1,873.54 crore as compared to Rs 1,481.34 crore in FY-15. TIO plus other income in FY-16 increased 27.1 percent to Rs 1,896.99 crore from Rs 1,485.98 crore in FY-15.

    Note: The unit of currency in this report is the Indian rupee – Rs (also conventionally represented by INR). The Indian numbering system or the Vedic numbering system has been used to denote money values. The basic conversion to the international norm would be:
    (a) 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10,000,000 = 10 million = 1 crore.
    (b) 10,000 lakh = 100 crore = 1 arab = 1 billion.

    PVR’s total operating profit including other income (EBIDTA) in FY-16 increased 70.8 percent to Rs 358.09 crore (18.9 percent EBIDTA margin of total income including other income) as compared to Rs 209.67 crore (14.1 percent EBIDTA margin of total income including other income) in the previous year.

    Total Expenditure in FY-16 increased 19.5 percent to Rs 1,664.09 crore (88.8 percent of TIO) as compared to Rs 1,393.11 crore (13.2 percent of TIO) in FY-15. Film Exhibition cost increased 22.4 percent to Rs 418.96 crore (23.4 percent of TIO) in FY-16 from Rs 324.18 crore (23.1 percent of TIO) in FY-15. Employee Benefit Expense (EBE) in the current year increased 29.5 percent to Rs 185.30 crore (9.9 percent of TIO) as compared to Rs 143.04 crore (9.7 percent of TIO).Other expenses in FY-16 increased 30.9 percent to Rs 212.29 crore (11.3 percent of TIO) as compared to Rs 162.21 crore (11 percent of TIO) in the previous fiscal. Food & Beverages and other costs increased 16.3 percent to Rs 124.83 crore (6.7 percent of TIO) from Rs 107.38 crore (7.2 percent of TIO) in FY-15.

    Segment Revenue

    Three segments contribute to PVR’s revenues.

    The largest segment – Movie Exhibition reported 26.3 percent growth in operating revenue in FY-16 at Rs 1,730.09 crore from Rs 1,370.39 crore in the previous year. The segment reported more than double operating profit 2.34 times) of Rs 206.51 crore in the current fiscal as compared to Rs 88.23 crore in the FY-15

    Movie Production and Distribution segment reported 59.1 percent growth in FY-16 at Rs 81.50 crore as compared to Rs 51.23 crore in FY-15. The segment’s operating profit in the current year increased 5.1 percent to Rs 2.88 crore from Rs 2.74 crore in FY-15.

    PVR’s ‘Other’ segment which includes bowling, gaming and restaurant services reported 3.9 percent increase in revenue in FY-16 at Rs 76.85 crore as compared to Rs 73.96 crore in the previous fiscal. The segment reported operating profit of Rs 0.1 crore as compared to an operating loss of Rs 2.80 crore in FY-15.

    The board of directors of PVR have approved a dividend of Rs 2 per equity share of face value of Rs 10 each

  • FY-16: PVR PAT up nine-fold

    FY-16: PVR PAT up nine-fold

    BENGALURU: Indian motion picture exhibition, production and distribution house PVR Limited (PVR) reported more than nine-fold (9.3 times) profit after tax (PAT) for the fiscal ended 31 March 2016 (FY-16, current year, current fiscal) as compared to the previous fiscal FY-15. The company reported PAT of Rs 118.73 crore (6.3 percent margin of consolidated Total Income from Operations or TIO) as compared to PAT of Rs 12.76 crore (0.9 percent PAT margin of TIO). For fiscal FY-14, the company had reported PAT of Rs 50.39 crore (3.7 PAT margin of TIO).

    PVR’s consolidated TIO in the current year increased 26.5 percent to Rs 1,873.54 crore as compared to Rs 1,481.34 crore in FY-15. TIO plus other income in FY-16 increased 27.1 percent to Rs 1,896.99 crore from Rs 1,485.98 crore in FY-15.

    Note: The unit of currency in this report is the Indian rupee – Rs (also conventionally represented by INR). The Indian numbering system or the Vedic numbering system has been used to denote money values. The basic conversion to the international norm would be:
    (a) 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10,000,000 = 10 million = 1 crore.
    (b) 10,000 lakh = 100 crore = 1 arab = 1 billion.

    PVR’s total operating profit including other income (EBIDTA) in FY-16 increased 70.8 percent to Rs 358.09 crore (18.9 percent EBIDTA margin of total income including other income) as compared to Rs 209.67 crore (14.1 percent EBIDTA margin of total income including other income) in the previous year.

    Total Expenditure in FY-16 increased 19.5 percent to Rs 1,664.09 crore (88.8 percent of TIO) as compared to Rs 1,393.11 crore (13.2 percent of TIO) in FY-15. Film Exhibition cost increased 22.4 percent to Rs 418.96 crore (23.4 percent of TIO) in FY-16 from Rs 324.18 crore (23.1 percent of TIO) in FY-15. Employee Benefit Expense (EBE) in the current year increased 29.5 percent to Rs 185.30 crore (9.9 percent of TIO) as compared to Rs 143.04 crore (9.7 percent of TIO).Other expenses in FY-16 increased 30.9 percent to Rs 212.29 crore (11.3 percent of TIO) as compared to Rs 162.21 crore (11 percent of TIO) in the previous fiscal. Food & Beverages and other costs increased 16.3 percent to Rs 124.83 crore (6.7 percent of TIO) from Rs 107.38 crore (7.2 percent of TIO) in FY-15.

    Segment Revenue

    Three segments contribute to PVR’s revenues.

    The largest segment – Movie Exhibition reported 26.3 percent growth in operating revenue in FY-16 at Rs 1,730.09 crore from Rs 1,370.39 crore in the previous year. The segment reported more than double operating profit 2.34 times) of Rs 206.51 crore in the current fiscal as compared to Rs 88.23 crore in the FY-15

    Movie Production and Distribution segment reported 59.1 percent growth in FY-16 at Rs 81.50 crore as compared to Rs 51.23 crore in FY-15. The segment’s operating profit in the current year increased 5.1 percent to Rs 2.88 crore from Rs 2.74 crore in FY-15.

    PVR’s ‘Other’ segment which includes bowling, gaming and restaurant services reported 3.9 percent increase in revenue in FY-16 at Rs 76.85 crore as compared to Rs 73.96 crore in the previous fiscal. The segment reported operating profit of Rs 0.1 crore as compared to an operating loss of Rs 2.80 crore in FY-15.

    The board of directors of PVR have approved a dividend of Rs 2 per equity share of face value of Rs 10 each

  • PVR launches new multiplex in Bengaluru

    PVR launches new multiplex in Bengaluru

    MUMBAI: PVR has opened a new multiplex at MSR Regaliaa Elements Mall in Bengaluru.

     

    The seven screen multiplex enabled with state of art technology, 3D technology with 7.1 channel sound, plush interiors and a wide range of F&B, became operational today (9 March, 2015).

     

    With the opening of this multiplex, PVR’s total screens count has gone up to 469 at 105 locations across 44 cities in 14 States and 1 Union Territory.

  • Q3-2015: Inox reports marked jump in F&B, Ad revenue

    Q3-2015: Inox reports marked jump in F&B, Ad revenue

    BENGALURU:  Inox Leisure Limited (Inox) reported 2.21 times PAT in Q3-2015 at Rs 14.30 crores (4.7 per cent of Total Revenues or TR) as compared to the PAT of Rs 6.47 crore (3 per cent of TR) in the corresponding year ago quarter and 2.73 times the Rs 5.23 crore (2 per cent of TR) in Q2-2015, but PAT for 9M-2015 at Rs 24.10 crore (3 per cent of TR) was a steep 31.9 per cent lower than the Rs 35.40 crore (5.2 percent of TR) in 9M-2014.

     

    Note: (1) 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10 million = 1 crore

    (2) Inox acquired Satyam Cineplexes Limited (SCL) with 38 screens as a wholly owned subsidiary on 8 August 2014 and Q2-2015 and Q3-2015 figures in this report include the figures of SCL.

     

     

    Revenue streams

     

    Inox TR in Q3-2015 at Rs 304.85 crore was 41.2 per cent more than the Rs 215.83 crore in Q3-2014 and 14.3 per cent more than the Rs 266.66 crore in Q2-2015. TR for 9M-2015 at Rs 807.42 crore was 18.1 per cent more than the Rs 683.40 crore in 9M-2014.

     

    Though Food and Beverages (F&B) and advertisement revenues (ad revenue) constitute just around 25 to 30 per cent of Inox TR, these two account heads have shown healthy 45.1 per cent and 98.4 per cent y-o-y  growth respectively in Q3-2015. Both these revenue heads have slowly and steadily started growing their contribution to Inox’s total revenue.

     

    F&B revenue grew to Rs 55.63 crore (18.2 percent of TR) from Rs 38.34 crore (17.8 percent of TIO) in Q3-2015 and grew 9.6 per cent from Rs 50.77 crore (19 per cent of TR) in the immediate trailing quarter. During 9M-2015, F&B revenue grew 22 per cent to Rs 156.30 crore (19.4 per cent of TR) from Rs 128.13 crore (18.7 percent of TR).

     

    Ad revenue in Q3-2015 grew to Rs 28.92 crore (9.5 per cent of TR) from Rs 14.58 crore (6.8 per cent of TR) in Q3-2014 and grew 62.4 per cent from Rs 17.81 crore (6.7 per cent of TR). During 9M-2015, ad revenue grew 84.6 per cent to Rs 61.7 crore (7.6 per cent of TR) from Rs 33.42 crore (4.9 per cent of TR) in the corresponding period of the previous year.

     

    ‘Other’ revenue in Q3-2015 at Rs 18.55 crore (6.1 per cent of TR) was 9.5 per cent lower than the Rs 20.50 crore (9.5 per cent of TR) in Q3-2014 and 2.4 per cent more than the Rs 18.12 crore (6.8 per cent of TR) in Q2-2015. For 9M-2015, ‘Other’ revenue at Rs 51.15 crore (6.3 per cent of TR) was 2.8 per cent more than the Rs 49.78 crore (7.3 per cent of TR) during 9M-2014.

     

    Average Ticket Pricing

     

    Inox’s says that its average ticket price (ATP) in Q3-2015 was 175, in Q3-2014 it was Rs 163 and in Q2-2015 it was Rs 162. During 9M-2015, ATP was Rs 166 versus the Rs 157 in 9M-2014. The company claims that its ATP is higher than the exhibition industry’s comparable properties ATP of Rs 171 in Q3-2015, Rs 163 in Q3-2014, Rs 163 in 9M-2015 and Rs 157 in 9M-2014.

     

    Expenditure

     

    Inox total expenditure (TE) in Q3-2015 at Rs 254.44 crore (83.5 per cent of TR) was 35.8 per cent more than the Rs 187.36 crore (86.8 per cent of TR) in Q3-2014 and 10.9 per cent more than the Rs 229.35 crore (86 per cent of TR) in Q2-2015. TE during 9M-2015 increased 19.5 per cent to Rs 686.80 crore (85.1 per cent of TR) from Rs 574.86 crore (84.1 per cent of TR) in 9M-2014.

     

    Entertainment tax paid by the company increased 50.6 per cent to Rs 38.12 crore (12.5 per cent of TR) in Q3-2015 from Rs 25.31 crore (11.7 per cent of TR) in Q3-2014 and was 19.1 per cent more than the Rs 32 crore (12 per cent of TR) in Q2-2015. During 9M-2015, Entertainment Tax paid by the company was 98.69 crores (12.2 per cent of TR), up 17.6 per cent from Rs 83.95 crore (12.3 per cent of TR) in 9M-2014.

     

    Inox Payroll cost in Q3-2015 at Rs 18.99 crore (6.2 per cent of TR) was 36.6 per cent more than the Rs 13.90 crore (6.4 per cent of TR) and 17.7 per cent more than the Rs 16.14 crore (6.1 per cent of TR) in Q2-2015. 9M-2015 payroll cost at Rs 48.83 crore (6.0 per cent of TR) was 31.1 per cent more than the Rs 37.24 crore (5.4 per cent of TR) in 9M-2014.

     

    Distributors share in Q3-2015 increased 38.3 per cent to Rs 75.37 crore (24.7 per cent of TR) from Rs 54.48 crore (25.2 per cent of TR) and was 11.1 per cent more than the Rs 67.81 crore (25.4 per cent of TR) in Q2-2015. This expense head during 9M-2015 at Rs 201.58 crore (25 percent of TR) was 13.8 per cent more than the Rs 177.13 crore (25.9 per cent of TR) during 9M-2014.

     

    F&B cost in Q3-2015 at Rs 13.58 crore (4.5 per cent of TR) was 28 per cent more than the Rs 10.61 crore (4.9 per cent of TR) in Q3-2014 and 1.6 per cent more than the Rs 13.58 crore (5 per cent of TR) in Q2-2015. F&B cost in 9M-2015 at Rs 39.20 crore (4.9 per cent of TR) was 4.8 per cent more than the Rs 37.41 crore (5.5 per cent of TR) in 9M-2014.

     

    Other expenses in Q3-2015 at Rs 108.39 crore (35.6 per cent of TR) was 30.5 per cent more than the Rs 83.07 crore (38.5 percent of TR) in Q3-2014 and 8.4 percent more than the Rs 100.02 crore (35.6 per cent of TR) in Q2-2015. In 9M-2015, other expense at Rs 298.51 crore (37 per cent of TR) was 24.8 per cent more than the Rs 239.12 crore (35 per cent of TR) in 9M-2014.

     

    Depreciation in Q3-2015 increased 57.2 per cent to Rs 20.44 crore (6.7 per cent of TR) from Rs 13 crore (6 per cent of TR) in Q3-2014 and increased 6.4 per cent from Rs 19.21 crore (7.2 per cent of TR) in Q2-2015. 9M-2015 depreciation at Rs 5.74 crore (7.2 per cent of TR) was 52.3 per cent more than the Rs 37.92 crore (5.5 per cent of TR) during 9M-2014.

     

    Inox’s interest cost in Q3-2015 was 88.7 per cent more at Rs 12.49 crore (4.1 per cent of TR) than the Rs 6.62 crore (3.1 per cent of TR) in Q3-2014 and 9.6 per cent more than the Rs 11.40 crore (4.3 per cent of TR) in Q2-2015 Interest cost in 9M-2015 at Rs 30.34 crore (3.8 per cent of TR) was 41.6 per cent more than the Rs 21.43 crore (3.1 per cent of TR) in 9M-2014.

     

    Occupancy and Footfalls

     

    Inox says that it currently has 365 screens in 51 cities and 94 locations in India with a seating capacity of 97039 seats. It plans to increase the number of screens by 12 and seats by 2751 in Q4-2015. Post FY-2015, Inox says that it plans to add 169 screens with seating capacity of 36977 to take its overall total to 546 screens and 136766 seats.

     

    The company says that it has kept pace with the exhibition industry’s comparable properties occupancy rate to 27 per cent in Q3-2014 and 28 per cent in Q3-2015,during 9M-2015, it had the same occupancy rate of 27 per cent as the industry rate of 27 per cent. The company claims a higher footfall of 326 lakhs for 9M-2015 as compared to the industry’s comparable properties footfall of 276 lakh, a figure that has fallen from the 298 lakh footfalls experienced by the industry’s comparable in 9M-2014. Inox claims that the footfalls at its properties was 304 lakh in 9M-2014.

  • Eulogy! India gears ahead with remarkable aspirations in their 5th year of existence

    Eulogy! India gears ahead with remarkable aspirations in their 5th year of existence

    MUMBAI: Eulogy Media, a London based, independent and multi-award winning PR agency, recently completed 4 successful years of being in the Indian market.

     

    Headquartered in the silicon valley of our country, the India operations functions from 5 offices across; Mumbai, New Delhi, Pune, Kolkata besides Bangalore. As one of the most versatile of PR agencies, the team expertise and the client portfolio ranges from national as well as international clients cutting sectors ranging from Education, Power, Fashion/Lifestyle, F&B, Automobiles, Information Technology, Media Buying and Advertising, Data & Media Analytics, Realty, Bio-sciences to Alco-Bev.

     

    Amongst the few fastest growing independent public relations agencies in India today, Eulogy is not only extending geographically but is making the Indian team one to reckon with a very strong and dynamic group of young professionals.

     

    Talking about the journey of E! India, Cyrus Jogina, Managing Director, India, stated, “It has been a great journey and specially last year has been very exciting in terms of overall growth and structuring; client wins, office expansions, geographical spread amidst positive client testimonials for bringing to the table innovative, out-of-the-box ideas and designing successful campaigns time and again. We have an unremitting aspirant vision of broadening our reach across sectors and markets in India.”

     

    Pleased by the success of Eulogy’s presence in India, Adrian Brady, CEO, Eulogy, said “The India office was our first expansion of the Eulogy brand into a foreign market – 4 years hence I am pleased and proud of the journey we have been on. From a single office to 5 offices and mixed bag sectorial expertise being built slowly but steadily, we have extended our mission of ‘igniting profitable conversations’ through the communication campaigns in India as well. We have confidence in our personnel in the India office lead by Cyrus, of taking the consultancy to the next level within a short time.”

     

    Eulogy! in India has also successfully forayed into Digital PR and is currently organically growing this division. “Agencies claim to offer Digital PR but in true sense its more of Social Media engagement. We at Eulogy would be changing the dynamics of Digital PR which no agency in the APAC is offering and that is because no one still understands what Digital PR truly is.” Cyrus further added.

     

    The London based award-winning agency was established in 1996 and has steadfastly been racing to be amidst the top 20 independent public relations consultancies around the world today; known for attention grabbing award campaigns such as Royal Mail Gold Medal Integrated Campaigns (2014.)

  • ‘Consolidation in the multiplex sector will happen when the real value of the business is captured’ : Cinemax India senior vice president business strategy Devang Sampat

    ‘Consolidation in the multiplex sector will happen when the real value of the business is captured’ : Cinemax India senior vice president business strategy Devang Sampat

    Cinemax India Ltd entered into the multiplex business with a cluster approach, concentrating on Mumbai and the Maharashtra market. Running a cinema chain with 76 screens, it has a load of 40 screens in Mumbai and 18 across rest of Maharashtra.

     

    The thrust now is to build a national footprint with focus on locations that would give it an advantage. The expansion plan is to have 300 screens over a period of three years.

     

    Facing a slowdown, the immediate task is to add 60 screens in FY‘11 with an investment of Rs 1 billion. Cinemax will also push digital technology and expand its gaming zones.

     

    Cinemax has plans to raise funds but is not in a hurry. Promoted by real estate developers, it has an asset bank and can leverage it to raise debt. The company has a debt of Rs 750 million and the debt to equity ratio is 1:2.

     

    Cinemax is not keen on film distribution as it is a risky business. But it is readying to enter into film production and is waiting for the right script.

     

    In an interview with Indiantelevision.com‘s Sibabrata Das and Ashish Mitra, Cinemax India senior vice president business strategy Devang Sampat says consolidation will take time as average occupancy needs to rise from 24 per cent to 32 per cent and profit margins improve.

     

    Excerpts:

     
     
    Cinemax had indicated earlier that it would expand its screens to 300 over a period of three years. Has the economic downturn affected the growth plans?
    There is a slowdown for all multiplex operators as the mall developers are not pacing up. We will be taking our total number of screens to 100, from 74 in the year-ago period (earlier guidance was addition of 40 screens during the fiscal). We have closed down three screens in Faridabad as the mall wasn‘t taking off. But we are not revising our three-year target of 300 screens.
     
     

    Are you scaling down your investments in the short run?
    For the current fiscal, we are investing Rs 600 million. We will be adding 60 screens in FY‘10 and our investment requirement is Rs 1 billion.
     
     

    Will you be raising funds for this?
    We will take a call in December. We are not in a hurry and will raise money when we need it. With the promoters being real estate developers, we also have an asset bank which we can leverage.
     
     

    Wouldn‘t you like to retire some of the high-cost debt?
    We have a debt of Rs 750 million. The debt to equity ratio is 1:2. There is room to leverage and we are not facing any fund constraints.
     

     
    Cinemax has concentrated its multiplexes in Mumbai and Maharashtra. Will the spread out now be more national?
    Initially when we ventured into the business, we took a cluster approach in Mumbai. Now during the course of our expansion, the focus will be on going to good locations. In the multiplex business, location is king.
     
     

    ‘We will definitely get into film production. We are ready and are waiting for the right script. We feel this will complement our exhibition business‘
     

     
    Will you look at acquisitions or you feel the industry is not ready yet for consolidation?
    The industry has an average occupancy rate of 24 per cent. Unless this goes up to 32 per cent, the real numbers don‘t come up. The profit margins stay low. Consolidation will happen when the real value of the business is captured. Being real estate developers, the promoters decided to foray into multiplex as part of their retail business. The capital cost for Cinemax will, thus, be comparatively lower and the promoters have a better understanding of locations.
     
     

    How could Cinemax achieve operational break-even during the quarter when film producers froze fresh Bollywood content to multiplexes?
    This was primarily due to three reasons. Our presence is predominantly in Mumbai and Maharashtra. Secondly, there were some Marathi films that released during this period and they fared well at the box office. Thirdly, we own some properties, reducing the impact of the expenditure on lease rentals.

     

    We expect to clock Rs 2 billion this fiscal, up from Rs 1.54 billion a year ago.
     
     

    But the first quarter turnover was weak?
    We expect contributions to come from the new properties in the third and fourth quarters. The existing properties should give us a revenue of Rs 500 million in each quarter. Don‘t forget that the Khans (Salman, Shah Rukh and Aamir) will make their appearance from the third quarter onwards. As for profitability, we will maintain the same percentage as the last fiscal.
     
     

    Do you see a change in the revenue mix in the near future?
    We expect the Food & Beverage (F&B) segment to contribute 20-22 per cent in FY‘11, up from 18 per cent. Advertising income should go up from 8 per cent to 10 per cent. Currently, box-office collections account for 69 per cent of our total revenues and gaming zone and others six per cent.
     
     

    Having entered into film distribution, is Cinemax also looking at venturing into production?
    We will definitely get into film production. We are ready and are waiting for the right script. We feel this will complement our exhibition business.

     

    We distributed two films – Kismat Konnection and Singh Is Kinng. We managed to break even. But this is a risky business and we are not keen on it.
     

     
    What are the digital steps Cinemax is taking?
    Digital technology helps reduce piracy and enables 3D viewing. This will lead to an increase in the share of Hollywood movies released in India and, in turn, to higher ticket prices. We have introduced digital technology in 24 screens.

     

    We are also looking at augmenting our revenues from gaming. We have introduced gaming zones in six places and are planning to expand it to our other theatres.
     

     

    Does Cinemax have plans to set up cinema theatres overseas?
    We have no such plans.