ITV

Tag: Kapil Agarwal

  • Q2-17: UFO Moviez ad revenue up 50 per cent

    Q2-17: UFO Moviez ad revenue up 50 per cent

    BENGALURU: Indian digital cinema distribution network and in-cinema advertising platform, UFO Moviez Limited (UFO) reported a 50.4 per cent year-over-year (y-o-y) growth in advertising revenue for the quarter ended 30 September 2016 (Q2-17, current quarter). The company reported advertising revenue of Rs 51.7 crore in Q2-17 as compared to Rs 34.4 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year (Q2-16). Average advertisement minutes sold per show per screen increased to 5.15 (Q2-16 – 3.85) minutes during Q2-17.

    Theatrical and In-Cinema advertisement (consolidated excluding new businesses) revenues grew by 6.9 per cent y-o-y to Rs 159.6 crore (Q2-16 – Rs 149.3 crore). Consolidated revenues improved by 7.4 per cent y-o-y in Q2-17 to Rs 159.21 crore (Q2-16 – Rs 148.25 crore).

    Let us look at the other numbers reported by UFO Moviez

    Total Expense in Q2-17 increased 1.8 per cent y-o-y to Rs 125.49 crore from Rs 123.22 crore in Q2-16. Ad revenue share (expense) in Q2-17 increased 25.3 per cent y-o-y to Rs 14.15 crore from Rs 11.29 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Visual Print sharing expense in Q2-17 increased 2.6 per cent y-o-y to Rs 20.51 crore from Rs 19.99 crore in Q2-16.

    The company’s expense towards purchase of digital cinema equipment and lamps in the current quarter declined 33.8 per cent y-o-y to Rs 16.25 crore as compared to Rs 24.55 crore in Q2-16.

    EBIDTA in the current quarter declined 20.3 per cent y-o-y to Rs 55.6 crore from Rs 46.3 crore in Q2-16. Profit after tax (PAT) in Q2-17 grew 23.1 per cent y-o-y to Rs 20.3 crore from Rs 16.5 crore in the corresponding year ago quarter.

    Company speak

    We are pleased to report record quarterly Advertisement revenues of 517 million,” said UFO Moviez joint managing director Kapil Agarwal. “Successful execution of our strategy has resulted in improvement in advertisement inventory utilization to 5.15 minutes per screen per show during the quarter. Theatrical business also performed quiet well on the back of increase in number of movies. The benefits from operating leverage were clearly visible which augmented the overall profitability profile of the Company.”

    “Looking ahead, we expect continued momentum in advertisement revenues on the back of a robust film slate,” said UFO Movies founder and managing director Sanjay Gaikwad. “Our focus on expanding and strengthening client relationships in both Enterprise and Government verticals are yielding results. The hyperlocal advertising initiative UFO Framez is also witnessing steady improvement, which we believe is a healthy sign. The outlook looks quiet robust and we are well underway in meeting our 30% full year advertisement growth target.”

    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.

  • Q2-17: UFO Moviez ad revenue up 50 per cent

    Q2-17: UFO Moviez ad revenue up 50 per cent

    BENGALURU: Indian digital cinema distribution network and in-cinema advertising platform, UFO Moviez Limited (UFO) reported a 50.4 per cent year-over-year (y-o-y) growth in advertising revenue for the quarter ended 30 September 2016 (Q2-17, current quarter). The company reported advertising revenue of Rs 51.7 crore in Q2-17 as compared to Rs 34.4 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year (Q2-16). Average advertisement minutes sold per show per screen increased to 5.15 (Q2-16 – 3.85) minutes during Q2-17.

    Theatrical and In-Cinema advertisement (consolidated excluding new businesses) revenues grew by 6.9 per cent y-o-y to Rs 159.6 crore (Q2-16 – Rs 149.3 crore). Consolidated revenues improved by 7.4 per cent y-o-y in Q2-17 to Rs 159.21 crore (Q2-16 – Rs 148.25 crore).

    Let us look at the other numbers reported by UFO Moviez

    Total Expense in Q2-17 increased 1.8 per cent y-o-y to Rs 125.49 crore from Rs 123.22 crore in Q2-16. Ad revenue share (expense) in Q2-17 increased 25.3 per cent y-o-y to Rs 14.15 crore from Rs 11.29 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Visual Print sharing expense in Q2-17 increased 2.6 per cent y-o-y to Rs 20.51 crore from Rs 19.99 crore in Q2-16.

    The company’s expense towards purchase of digital cinema equipment and lamps in the current quarter declined 33.8 per cent y-o-y to Rs 16.25 crore as compared to Rs 24.55 crore in Q2-16.

    EBIDTA in the current quarter declined 20.3 per cent y-o-y to Rs 55.6 crore from Rs 46.3 crore in Q2-16. Profit after tax (PAT) in Q2-17 grew 23.1 per cent y-o-y to Rs 20.3 crore from Rs 16.5 crore in the corresponding year ago quarter.

    Company speak

    We are pleased to report record quarterly Advertisement revenues of 517 million,” said UFO Moviez joint managing director Kapil Agarwal. “Successful execution of our strategy has resulted in improvement in advertisement inventory utilization to 5.15 minutes per screen per show during the quarter. Theatrical business also performed quiet well on the back of increase in number of movies. The benefits from operating leverage were clearly visible which augmented the overall profitability profile of the Company.”

    “Looking ahead, we expect continued momentum in advertisement revenues on the back of a robust film slate,” said UFO Movies founder and managing director Sanjay Gaikwad. “Our focus on expanding and strengthening client relationships in both Enterprise and Government verticals are yielding results. The hyperlocal advertising initiative UFO Framez is also witnessing steady improvement, which we believe is a healthy sign. The outlook looks quiet robust and we are well underway in meeting our 30% full year advertisement growth target.”

    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.

  • FY-2015: UFO Moviez revenue up 13%, EBIDTA up 21%

    FY-2015: UFO Moviez revenue up 13%, EBIDTA up 21%

    BENGALURU: Indian digital cinema distribution network and in-cinema advertising platform, UFO Moviez Limited (UFO) reported a 12.78 per cent growth in consolidated revenue to Rs 479.34 crore for the year ended 31 March, 2015 (FY-2015), as compared to the Rs 425.03 crore in the previous year, by increase in advertising clients and higher Virtual Print Fees (VPF) revenues.  The company reported 20.75 higher operating profit or EBIDTA, for FY-2015 at Rs 160.83 crore (33.55 per cent margin) as compared to the Rs 133.12 crore (31.34 per cent margin) in the previous fiscal.

     

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

     

    The company’s PAT in FY-2015 increased 2.42 per cent to Rs 48.81 crore (10.18 per cent margin) as compared to the Rs 47.66 crore (11.21 per cent margin in the previous year).  The company says that the increase in PAT has come about despite a FY-2014 tax expense having a deferred tax credit of Rs 10.946 crore, which is Rs 4.98 crore higher than FY-2015 deferred tax credit of Rs 5.966 crore.

     

    Further, despite lower expense towards purchase of digital cinema equipment and lamps, higher expenses towards advertisement revenue share, VPF share and depreciation eroded the profits of the company in FY-2015.

     

    UFO joint managing director Kapil Agarwal said, “Both Advertising and VPF delivered healthy growth during the fiscal. This can be attributed to improved utilisation of advertisement inventory coupled with higher number of movie releases. Our focus on delivering uninterrupted service on our technology platform to distributors and advertisers, with whom we have healthy relationship, has helped us maintain market leadership. We will continue to leverage our existing platform to drive growth. Overall, we will continue to strive to deliver strong operating performance in the Fiscal Year 2015-16.”

     

    Let us look at the other expense reported by the company:

     

    Total Expenses in FY-2015 at Rs 395.45 crore (83.11 per cent of TIO) was 10.66 per cent more than the Rs 357.35 crore (84.24 per cent of TIO) in FY-2014. The company’s expense towards purchase of digital cinema equipment and lamps in the current year dropped 16.46 per cent to Rs 40.59 crore (8.53 per cent of TIO) as compared to the Rs 48.59 crore (11.45 per cent of TIO) in the previous fiscal.

     

    The company paid a 27.23 higher amount towards advertisement revenue share in FY-2015 at Rs 39.39 crore (8.28 per cent of TIO) as compared to the Rs 30.96 crore (7.3 per cent of TIO) in FY-2014.

     

    Further, the company paid 22.91 per cent more towards VPF share at Rs 63.31 crore (13.31 per cent of TIO) in FY-2015 as compared to the Rs 51.51 crore (12.14 per cent of TIO) in the previous year.

     

    The company reported higher depreciation in FY-2015 at Rs 79.64 crore (16.17 per cent of TIO) as compared to the Rs 65.52 crore (15.45 per cent of TIO) in Fy-2014.

     

    Advertisement and VPF revenues playout during the year

     

    UFO says that its in-cinema advertising platform comprised 3,784 screens with an average weekly seating capacity of approximately 5.2 crore as on 31 March, 2015, which engaged with about 1724 advertisers during the year and delivered advertisements across 1,951 locations. Its annual advertisement revenue per screen (average) stood at Rs 316,346 in FY-2015 compared to Rs 299,711 in FY-2014. The number of minutes sold per show per advertisement screen (average) stood at 3.36 in the current year compared to 3.25 in FY-2014, while the number of in-cinema advertising clients increased to 1724 in FY-2015 from 1056 in FY-2014.

     

    The company says that its digital cinema network in India comprised 5,032 screens with a seating capacity of approximately 22.2 lakh per show as on 31 March, 2015. (Note: Nepal forms a part of the Indian Film Territory, hence the number of digital screens includes Nepal screens). The company delivered approximately 1636 movies for 1830 distributors across 1,970 locations during the year.

     

    In India, annual gross VPF revenue / screen (average) on E-Cinema stood at Rs 259,171 in FY-2015 as compared to Rs 251,308 in FY-2014, while annual gross VPF revenue / screen (average) on D-Cinema stood at Rs 586,961 in FY-2015 as compared to the Rs 603,304 in FY-2014.

     

    Internationally, annual gross VPF revenue / Screen (average) on D-Cinema stood at Rs 750,764 in FY-2015 compared to Rs 812,102 in FY-2014.

     

    UFO managing director Sanjay Gaikwad said, “We are pleased to announce a healthy operating and financial performance during the fiscal year 2014-15. The growth prospects for UFO remain robust. We believe that there is a lot of headroom for growth in advertisement revenue, given that the number of minutes sold per show per screen on our network is significantly lower than multiplex chains. We expect this to improve gradually as advertiser engagements further deepen and as we attract new advertisers. We will continue to leverage our current base by also focusing on our synergetic business initiative Caravan Talkies – cinema on wheels, to drive incremental revenues. Our technology platform, differentiated service offering, clear strategic focus and experienced execution and management teams, give us a firm foundation to capture growth in the years to come.”

  • UFO Moviez to invest Rs 2 bn for Scrabble Entertainment’s India expansion

    UFO Moviez to invest Rs 2 bn for Scrabble Entertainment’s India expansion

    MUMBAI: UFO Moviez, the Valuable Group-promoted digital cinema network, said today that it has committed an investment of Rs 2 billion to fuel the growth and expansion plans in India of Scrabble Entertainment.

    UFO Moviez recently increased its stake in the company to 52 per cent, from earlier 26 per cent. It also said that the international roll out plans of Scrabble Entertainment will entail a capex of $150 million, which is to be funded by way of “international debt” and “further equity infusion by UFO Moviez”.

    UFO Moviez joint MD Kapil Agarwal said, “The UFO-Scrabble combine is the only alliance in the world that offers non DCI satellite based digital cinema solutions as well as DCI-compliant solutions with VPF (Virtual Print Fee) deals to the global and Indian film industry. By acquiring majority stake in Scrabble, UFO Moviez has reiterated its commitment to ensuring that the Indian film industry ecosystem benefits from the resulting cost-efficiency and increased reach of content by taking Hollywood content to cinema lovers across ‘Bharat‘ and beyond its metros. We shall ensure that this Indian combine started by first generation entrepreneurs now goes global.”

    The UFO-Scrabble combine will now increase the number of DCI compliant cinemas from 300 (that Scrabble has presently installed in around 30 major cities since its inception in 2007) to 800 (single screens as well as multiplexes) within six months. This will ensure that cinema viewers in Tier II and Tier III cities in India will now get a chance to watch Hollywood content because the six Hollywood studios only give content to DCI compliant platforms, UFO said in a statement.

    Scrabble Entertainment is promoted by Sunil Patil and Ranjit Thakur and is the only aggregator in India which has Virtual Print Fee rights from Hollywood studios for providing DCI (Digital Cinema Initiatives) compliant solutions. After UFO Moviez‘ acquiring controlling stake, Patil and Thakur own 27 per cent stake in the company, while the balance equity is held by Manmohan Shetty‘s Walkwater Media.

    Scrabble Entertainment CEO Thakur said, “Scrabble is happy to partner with UFO Moviez, an organisation that has changed the landscape of the film industry in India by offering innovative technology solutions for its betterment and growth. We look forward to ensuring that more and more audiences across India can now enjoy high quality films on a digital platform.”

    Scrabble Entertainment claims that it has already signed VPF deals with Hollywood studios and is now ready to go global in 10 countries – Middle East and Eastern Europe (UAE, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Cyprus and Bulgaria). It is also looking very enthusiastically at expanding its footprints in Latin America (Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Mexico).

    “Scrabble expects to install around 2000 screens internationally in the next two years, out of which deals for over 600 screens in the Middle East have already been finalised,” the company said.