PVR Ltd Q2 net profit at Rs 27.66 crore

NEW DELHI: Multiplex operator PVR Ltd reported consolidated net profit for the July-September quarter at Rs 27.66 crore driven by increase in the number of screens due to the acquisition of Cinemax India in January.

It had posted net profit of Rs 16.14 crore in the same quarter of the previous fiscal, 2012-13.

Net sales during Q2, 2013-14 stood at Rs 363.11 crore compared with Rs 192.12 crore in the year-ago period.

The company said the result of this year is not comparable with that of last fiscal due to the acquisition of Cinemax India.

In January, PVR had announced it will acquire 69.27 per cent stake from the promoter group of Cinemax in an all cash consideration of Rs 395 crore through its subsidiary Cine Hospitality.

"We have fared well in the quarter as we managed to improve our margins and addition in the number of screens. We expect third quarter to be better due to big movies expected to be release. There were only two big release in the second quarter," PVR Ltd CFO Nitin Sood told PTI.

PVR plans to add 90 screens in the current fiscal, of which 50 have been already added.

"We will add 20 screens in 5 multiplexes in the third quarter wit investment of about Rs 40 crore," Sood added.

PVR has 398 screens spread across 37 cities in the country.

For the half of the current fiscal, PVR's net profit stood at Rs 41.62 crore as against Rs 23.95 crore.

Net sales for the first half of the fiscal were at Rs 697.56 crore, compared with Rs 370.74 crore in the same period last year.

PVR Ltd scrip closed at Rs 554.75, up 6.45 per cent, on the BSE.