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Tag: Omicron

  • Thomas Cook India posts consolidated income growth of 46% to Rs 3,573 mn

    Thomas Cook India posts consolidated income growth of 46% to Rs 3,573 mn

    Mumbai: India’s leading omnichannel travel services, Thomas Cook announced its financial results for the quarter ended 31 March 2022 reflecting a strong rebound with sustained improvement in profitability despite the third wave of Covid-19 (reducing the effective quarter to 45 days), growing geopolitical concerns and a highly delayed restart of India’s scheduled commercial flights.

    TCIL has reported consolidated operating earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (Ebitda) of Rs 239 million, a 19 per cent growth over Rs 201 million in Q3 FY22 against a previously reported loss of Rs 361 million in Q4 FY21. The consolidated income from operations for the quarter grew by 46 per cent from Rs 3,573 million for Q4 FY21 to Rs 5,221 million in Q4 FY22. The cash and bank balances of the company at a consolidated level as on 31 March 2022 are at Rs 6,399 million. The company continued its focus on cost prudence with reduced costs for Q4 FY22 at Rs 2,754 million, registering 37 percent saving at pre-pandemic levels in Q4 FY20.

    According to the reports, TCIL standalone operating Ebitda of Rs 28 million against a loss of Rs 74 million in Q3 FY22 was led by strong sales recovery by Forex 56 percent and business travel 50 percent. The trend continued in April 2022 with foreign exchange, corporate travel and domestic holidays registering a recovery of 62 percent, 81 percent and 85 percent of pre-pandemic sales respectively.

    TCIL income from operations for the quarter grew by 25 per cent from Rs 636 million in Q4 FY21 to Rs 794 million. The margins for the holiday business & foreign exchange grew by 326 bps and 29 bps, respectively.

    The company continued its focus on cost prudence with reduced costs for Q4 FY22 at Rs 767 million, registering a 51 per cent saving from pre-pandemic levels of Q4 FY20.

    The company’s sustained focus on technology delivered end-to-end digitization across its businesses, including B2C and B2B self-booking/servicing tools and dynamic customization, vendor management and automated accounting/payment solutions. The digital acceleration serves to further augment the company’s omnichannel model towards an enriched customer experience, cost and efficiency benefits.

    Thomas Cook’s managing director Madhavan Menon said, “Despite the Omicron wave reducing the quarter to 45 days and the reopening of Indian skies for scheduled international flights only on 27 March, our teams have delivered a commendable performance this quarter with an operating Ebitda of Rs 239 million. The group’s strong performance was led by foreign exchange, business travel, sterling holidays, DEI & desert Adventures. With other markets opening up, we expect the other group companies to stage quick recoveries too.”

    “Our focus on sustainable cost management balanced with a thrust on technology over the past three years is delivering results in the form of speed, productivity and improved customer experience. Recovery is accelerating continually, with our foreign exchange, corporate travel and domestic holidays businesses registering an estimated sales recovery of 57 percent, 81 percent and 99 percent of pre-pandemic levels as of the end of May 2022 and strong pipelines for the coming quarter and beyond,” Menon added.

  • News18 Rajasthan & MP/CG launch ‘Vaccine Kavach Ko Na Nahi’ campaign

    News18 Rajasthan & MP/CG launch ‘Vaccine Kavach Ko Na Nahi’ campaign

    Mumbai: News18 Rajasthan and News18 Madhya Pradesh/Chhattisgarh on Monday launched a special campaign called ‘Vaccine Kavach Ko Na Nahi’ to urge viewers to get fully vaccinated and alongside, take mandatory precautions like wearing masks and maintaining social distance.

    As India enters the third wave, immunising the entire population resonates as the only solution to tackle the coronavirus scare efficiently. The increase in cases in the last few days and the spread of the new variant ‘Omicron’ is a sign that the country’s vaccination drive needs further reinforcement. Booster shots to health and frontline workers including those above 60 years of age have already begun, Meanwhile, vaccinations for children between 15 to 18 years are also on. Fostering the objective to share the pressing health and wellness goals among its viewers, News18 Rajasthan & News18 MP/CG have launched a special campaign ‘Vaccine Kavach Ko Na Nahi.’

    Through the campaign, the channels urge viewers to get fully vaccinated and alongside, take mandatory precautions like wearing masks and maintaining social distance. The channels through its special episodes will highlight the tireless efforts of medical teams and local administration during the peak of the pandemic period of respective states. There will be stories around bursting myths that are still prevailing in rural areas of states. 

    The campaign will also help the viewers comprehend the unwelcome consequences of the pandemic that aggravate because of ignorance and unpreparedness.

  • Omicron surge: Uncertainty prevails at theatrical box office worldwide

    Omicron surge: Uncertainty prevails at theatrical box office worldwide

    Los Angeles: With the boom in box office grosses from ‘Spiderman: No Way Home’ beginning to subside and the Omicron surge taking its toll, movie theatres worldwide are facing a sobering reality that the first two months of the 2022 box office could turn out to be a gloomy dry spell.

    In the past week, according to TheWrap.com, Sony moved its next Marvel movie, the Jared Leto-led, ‘Morbius’ from late January to 1 April. Then, on Friday, Disney pulled the early-March Pixar film, ‘Turning Red’ from theaters entirely, instead of making it the third straight feature film from the animation studio to get an exclusive release on Disney+.

    That means that the US theaters will soon be lacking all three of the major ingredients for box office riches at this time of year — holiday holdovers, Oscar contenders, and major new releases — with only the prospect of Sony’s Tom Holland action film ‘Uncharted’ on 18 February and Warner Bros.’ ‘The Batman’ on 4 March is on the horizon to lure audiences in large numbers.

    Even prior to the pandemic, box office performances in January and February have been mixed. On one hand, films like ‘Hidden Figures’, ‘Bad Boys for Life’, and Marvel’s ‘Black Panther’ found success with audiences in these early-year slots, combined with December releases like ‘Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle’ and Oscar contenders like ‘La La Land’ to provide a solid start for the year. However, for the next four to eight weeks, the 2022 box office appears unlikely to see those levels of success play out again.

    To complicate matters, Omicron is beginning to play havoc in Hollywood as a surge in cases is causing production delays. As reported in the Los Angeles Times, despite a rebound in film and TV production in late 2021, as the Covid-19 crises began to subside, the recent emergence of the highly contagious Omicron variant now threatens production output as studios push back work once again. “We’re not seeing the typical level of rebound of production,” FilmLA President Paul Audley told The Times. “We’re hearing from people who are asking to cancel or postpone their permits right now.” FilmLA is the nonprofit group that handles film permits for the Hollywood region.

    The International Box Office faces similar yet unique challenges as the new Omicron variant causes concern around the globe. The new year begins as did the previous one, with cinema closures in several markets. Europe has been particularly affected, with Netherlands and Denmark in complete lockdown and restrictions in many others. Meanwhile, a slowdown in Hollywood productions due to Omicron could eventually hit the International Box Office’s bottom line.  Although Q1 is looking soft, some studio executives are hopeful that the overseas landscape, particularly in the northern hemisphere, will settle down by spring with moviegoers ready to return in Q2 with some normalcy.

    A unique international box office wildcard, as reported by Deadline, is China. With a powerhouse 44 per cent of the 2021 worldwide box office haul, China has been more ornery to navigate than usual, notably not approving a single movie with a Marvel character in 2021, from Disney’s ‘Black Widow’ straight through to Sony’s ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ and having a huge influence on the International Box Office in the process.

    In general, China appears to be putting the brakes on Hollywood. 2021 already saw fewer than 20 revenue-sharing movies allowed in, versus 30-plus in 2019. There are varying theories as to why this is happening, which include the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party, which put the focus on local so-called “propaganda” movies like the $900 million-plus grosser ‘The Battle at Lake Changjin’. There also appears to be the targeted blackballing of Marvel. Some believe it may be linked to Black Widow’s depiction of communism, while some think the slate of films was a no-go as years-old comments allegedly made by ‘Eternals’ helmer Chloé Zhao surfaced last year.

    However, notable Hollywood titles that did release in China in 2021 include ‘A Quiet Place Part II’, ‘F9’, ‘Godzilla vs Kong’, ‘Dune’, and ‘Free Guy’. China also allowed films such as ‘Jungle Cruise’ and ‘Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins’ which had already been out elsewhere for months. In doing so, USC professor and China expert Stanley Rosen told Deadline, “They are showing that they’re not closed off, but they are telling Hollywood, ‘We don’t really need you and we will pick and choose for whatever reasons we want to’.”

    Does it matter to China that it left potentially hundreds of millions of dollars on the table by not releasing the Marvel movies? While an oft-heard refrain is that China doesn’t care about money, it’s also said the country does care about cultural power. And, though it may be entirely capable of churning out local films that gross well over $500M at home, without Hollywood products, sources believe it will not be able to feed its ever-growing number of screens (currently 82,248 and eyed at 100K by 2025).

    Rosen stated, “They don’t need Hollywood as much as they used to, that’s very clear. But, they want to be the number one film market in the world and want to show themselves as a global power and not close off. That includes film, so they need to have Hollywood products to show that.”

    As both the Domestic and International Box Offices eye a hopeful Q2, uncertainty remains as Covid-19 (including the Omicron strain) and China appear to hold blind cards to handing 2022 a winning box office prize.

  • GUEST COLUMN: Social media will play critical role in building brand awareness in 2022

    GUEST COLUMN: Social media will play critical role in building brand awareness in 2022

    Mumbai: As India continues to fight Covid-19 and Omicron, and people continue to fear venturing out, digital initiatives in both advertising and marketing will become more prevalent in 2022.

    According to the most recent statistics, there are around 3.78 billion social media users globally. The number of such users is expected to climb again next year. Social media trends will rule the advertising and brand strategies in the coming year. Marketing and business will become more varied, inclusive, and responsive to real client requirements in the future. While AI and data-driven marketing will continue to advance, the primary focus will remain on people rather than technology.

    Using social media for brand recognition

    Traditional in-person events and promotions have given way to virtual spaces in brand awareness initiatives. We live in a world of social media marketing, and every company understands the value of social media. Whether you are leveraging influencers, referrals, or simply providing good content, social media has proven to be an important part of building brand recognition. This is due to the fact that social media is an excellent venue for brands to maintain client interactions while also increasing their chances of discovering new leads. In reality, many people become aware of new businesses after hearing about them via a friend on social media. Social media sites are a place where people may interact with one another. As a result, it’s an excellent area for you to interact with clients and build a relationship with them.

    Going ahead, 2022 will witness a greater emphasis on highly personalised one-to-one advertising, mobile advertising with in-app and in-game ads, video advertising, video-embedded display banners, native advertising, accelerated automation, programmatic advertising, and even cookie-less advertising, among other things.

    Here are the top 3 social media trends to watch out for in 2022.

    Metaverse and its virtual universe

    Facebook’s name has been changed to Meta. The company has planned a range of new products for virtual and augmented experiences as part of Metaverse. This is a major gamble on the web’s future, and it has the potential to change social media space. Companies will be able to benefit from new features which Meta will introduce. With the help of new emerging social media trends, they will be able to expand their product reach and visibility.

    Influencers market will continue to grow

    Influencer marketing is expected to reach $13.8 billion in 2021, with growth expected to continue in 2022. Influencer marketing efforts add a personal touch to the product, making it more relevant to the user. Thus, B2B brands will continue to embrace influencers in light of current trends.

    LinkedIn will grow in importance as a social networking platform

    In the digital world, LinkedIn is still a growing star. The company just launched a Hindi version to cater to the 600 million Hindi speakers throughout the world. With 82 million members in a global community of 800 million, India is a key market for LinkedIn’s growth and the second-largest market in terms of members after the United States. Since the pandemic, India’s member base has expanded by more than 20 million (15 percent year-over-year), and participation and talks on the platform have increased dramatically. This will continue to be a great way for brands to reach out to their target demographic.

    In conclusion

    Building brand recognition may require some trial and error, but having a dedicated awareness plan will surely help in your brand’s visibility. By following the latest social media trends, you may position yourself to become a brand that stands out in the eyes of your customers.

    (Rishi Kajaria is MD Kajaria Bathware and JMD of Kajaria Ceramics. The views expressed in this column are personal and Indiantelevision.com may not subscribe to them.)

  • The 2022 Grammy Awards postponed amid Omicron surge

    The 2022 Grammy Awards postponed amid Omicron surge

    Mumbai: The 2022 Grammy Awards have been postponed indefinitely, weeks before the planned Los Angeles ceremony over what organisers called “too many risks” from the Omicron variant.

    The Recording Academy on Wednesday said it made the decision to postpone the ceremony “after careful consideration and analysis with city and state officials, health and safety experts, the artist community and our many partners. Given the uncertainty surrounding the omicron variant, holding the show on January 31 simply contains too many risks.”

    The attempt at a back-to-normal show had been scheduled for 31 January at the newly renamed Crypto.com Arena with a live audience and performances, but no new date is on the books.

    Jon Batiste is the leading nominee for this year’s honours, grabbing 11 nods in a variety of genres including R&B, jazz, American roots music, classical and music video. Justin Bieber, Doja Cat and H.E.R. are tied for the second-most nominations with eight apiece.

    The Grammys move could be the beginning of another round of award-show rescheduling after another winter coronavirus surge, with the Screen Actors Guild Awards planned for February and the Academy Awards for March. The announcement was made around the same time the Sundance Film Festival cancelled its in-person programming set to begin on 20 January and shifted to an online format.

    Last year, like most major awards shows in early 2021, the Grammys were postponed due to coronavirus concerns. The show was moved from late January to mid-March and held with a spare audience made up of mostly nominees and their guests in and around the Los Angeles Convention Center, next door to its usual home, the arena then known as Staples Center.

    It was a big night for Beyonce and Taylor Swift, but the live performances that set the Grammys apart from other awards shows were set separately with no significant crowds, many of them pre-taped.

    “We look forward to celebrating Music’s Biggest Night on a future date, which will be announced soon,” the academy statement said.

    With two professional basketball teams and a hockey team occupying the arena, finding that date could be complicated. The Recording Academy made no mention of a possible venue change in its statement.

  • News18 India’s special campaign urges people to get fully vaccinated

    News18 India’s special campaign urges people to get fully vaccinated

    Mumbai: As India speculates the probability of a third wave, immunising the entire population resonates as the only solution to tackle the coronavirus scare efficiently. Fostering the objective to share the pressing health and wellness goals among its viewers, News18 India has launched a special campaign – ‘Vaccine Se Rukegi Teesri Lahar.’ Starting from 3 January, the campaign involves medical practitioners and expert panelists to discuss key interventions that can be taken at both the policy and individual level. 

    The increase in cases in the last few days and the spread of the new variant Omicron is a sign that the country’s vaccination drive needs further reinforcement. Through the campaign, the channel urges its viewers to get fully vaccinated and alongside, take mandatory precautions like wearing masks and maintaining social distance. 

    The channel will also highlight the tireless efforts of medical teams and local administration during the peak of the pandemic period. This will help the viewers comprehend the unwelcome consequences of the pandemic that aggravate because of ignorance and unpreparedness.

    Being the country’s leading Hindi news channel, News18 India has been raising pertinent issues impacting the citizens. India will start giving booster shots to health and frontline workers including those above 60 years of age from next week. Meanwhile, vaccinations for children between 15 to 18 years have already begun. 

    News18 India, through an innovative approach to raising awareness, has garnered unflinching support from viewers in its previous campaigns. The channel aims to further its efforts through regular engagement and high-quality relevant content across various subjects.

  • Omicron Surge: Cinema halls, multiplexes shut in Delhi, ‘Jersey’ release put on hold

    Omicron Surge: Cinema halls, multiplexes shut in Delhi, ‘Jersey’ release put on hold

    Mumbai: Just when the theatrical business was limping back to normal, a sudden surge in Covid-19 cases has once again put a halt to the recovery plans, with fresh restrictions across several states. On Tuesday, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) announced the closure of cinema halls and multiplexes across the national capital with immediate effect.

    The decision was taken after Delhi recorded the highest single-day spike in Covid-19 cases since 9 June. As many as 331 fresh cases and one death was reported on Tuesday, while the positivity rate mounted to 0.68 per cent.

    Soon after the announcement, the makers of actor Shahid Kapoor starrer “Jersey” issued a statement regarding their decision to postpone the release of the film to a later date. The sports drama based on the life of a middle-aged cricketer who returns to the game for the love of his child was set to be released in theatres on 31 December.

    “In view of the current circumstances and new Covid guidelines, we have decided to postpone the theatrical release of our film ‘Jersey.’ We have received immense love from you all so far and want to thank you all for everything. Until then everyone please stay safe and healthy, and wishing you all the best for the new year ahead,” said the makers in a statement.

    Apart from cinemas, and theatres, schools, colleges as well as gyms have been directed to close with immediate effect. The restrictions have also been put on the functioning of shops, and public transport as a yellow alert was sounded under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) in Delhi. Under the ‘yellow’ alert restrictions, shops and establishments of non-essential goods and services and malls will open based on odd-even formula from 10 a.m to 8 p.m.

    Also, the Delhi Metro will run at 50 per cent of its seating capacity, and buses too will ply at 50 per cent of capacity with exempted category passengers. Private offices can function with up to 50 per cent of the staff. “As the Covid-19 positivity rate has been above 0.5 per cent for the past few days, we are enforcing Level-I (Yellow alert) of the Graded Response Action Plan. A detailed order on restrictions to be implemented will be released soon,” said Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, adding that the decision was taken after a high-level meeting on Tuesday.

    According to the health ministry, India has logged 653 cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus across 21 states and UTs so far out of which 186 people have recovered or migrated. Maharashtra recorded the maximum number of 167 cases followed by Delhi at 165, Kerala 57, Telangana 55, Gujarat 49 and Rajasthan 46.