The country’s largest multiplex operator, PVR Inox, swung to a net profit of nearly Rs 106 crore in the September quarter (Q2) of FY26, compared to a net loss of nearly Rs 11 crore in the year-ago period, driven by higher audience turnout and a stronger slate of films. Consolidated revenue rose 12.3% year-on-year to Rs 1,823 crore, its results released Friday showed. In an interview with Viveat Susan Pinto, Sanjeev Kumar Bijli, executive director, PVR Inox, highlights the firm’s strategy and future outlook. Excerpts:
What helped PVR Inox swing into the black in Q2?
It is a combination of factors. But mostly, a focus on maximising admissions, increasing footfalls, and keeping an eye on costs to expand margins. At the cinema level, we have done a number of price promotions such as Super Saver Tuesdays, Cinema Lovers Day, where consumers can buy movie tickets at reduced price (Rs 99). We are also doing free-refill weekends, where we are bundling food and beverages (F&B) with movie tickets at a reduced price. Of course, all of this works when the movies work at the box office. The second quarter has seen 12 films across genres and languages cross Rs 100 crore in collections. This has taken the first half (of FY26) total to 22 hits, which is the highest since Covid-19.
PVR Inox’s net debt has fallen to Rs 6,188 crore, its lowest level since the merger, representing a 57% reduction. How did you achieve this?
We have reduced our capital expenditure (capex) intensity. Earlier, a lot of cash generated was being spent on growth capital. That has come down. While we are still building cinemas and growing our screens — we have 1,761 screens across 354 cinemas in 111 cities — we don’t need exponential growth anymore. We’ve become selective about cinema openings.
What is your capex for FY26?
Capex is about Rs 400 crore this year. We would earlier average around Rs 550-600 crore per annum. Capex is now down by about 27-33%. While we are adding 100 screens this year, we are also exiting screens that are not performing. In the first half of FY26, we opened 42 screens and exited 8 screens (all in Q2), taking our net screen additions to 34 screens. We may exit some 10-20 (screens) more this year.
What explains for the higher audience turnout in Q2, admissions were the highest in two years at 44.5 million. What contributed to this growth?
There is fatigue creeping in with OTT viewership. People are craving immersive, community experiences that cinemas can give you. The GST and income tax cuts have also put more money in the hands of people, which is contributing to the growth in discretionary and out-of-home consumption.
What is future outlook for the business? Does it concern you that there are no big Diwali releases from Bollywood this year?
Audiences have become language-agnostic. If one language does not have a strong calendar, there are other languages contributing to the Indian box office. As far as we see it, the outlook for the remainder of FY26 remains encouraging. The upcoming quarters promise diverse and high-quality content across languages, and is expected to continue driving strong footfalls and revenue momentum. Both Hindi cinema and regional films will be key pillars of growth. Hollywood will be led by global franchises.