Fiction
Balaji Telefilms operating profit up; ALT Balaji subs and revenue increase in FY 2020
BENGALURU: The most successful television content and film production house in India, the Shobha Kapoor and Ektaa Kapoor-led Balaji Telefilms Ltd (Balaji) reported 34.1 percent growth in consolidated operating revenue at Rs 573.55 crore for the fiscal ended 31 March 2020 (FY 2020, year under review) as compared to the Rs 427.71 crore reported for the previous year (FY 2019). Consolidated operating revenue for the quarter ended 31 March 2020 (Q4 2020, quarter under review) also increased 21.2 percent y-o-y to Rs 107.68 crore from Rs 88.86 crore in Q4 2019. Consolidated loss of FY 2020 declined to Rs 58.96 crore from Rs 97.75 crore in FY 2019. The company reported lower consolidated loss of Rs 19.84 crore in Q4 2020 as compared to 27.97 crore in Q4 2019.
Balaji reported having completed 823 hours of commissioned programmes in FY 2020 as compared to 763 hours in FY 2019. Slightly lower programming hours were completed in Q4 2020 – 198 hours as compared to 200.5 hours in the corresponding year ago quarter. The company had halted all production on 18 March 2020 on account of the COVID2019 pandemic. The company said that the realisation per hour was lower in FY 2020 at Rs 0.37 crore per hour as compared to Rs 0.38 crore per hour in FY 2019 because of lower number of weekend shows. Realisation per hour in Q4 2020 at Rs 0.39 crore per hour was however higher y-o-y as compared to Rs 0.36 crore per hour in Q4 2019.
On a consolidated basis, the company reported operating profit (Simple EBITDA) of Rs 10.73 crore in FY 2020 as compared to a consolidated operating loss (negative EBITDA) of Rs 105.11 crore in FY 2019. For Q4 2020 also, Balaji reported positive consolidated EBIDTA of Rs 39.58 crore as compared to a consolidated operating loss of Rs 33.24 crore in Q4 2019.
ALT Balaji numbers
Though it has yet to become profitable, Balaji’s OTT platform ALT Balaji operating revenue almost doubled (increased 85.1 percent) to Rs 77.49 crore in FY 2020 as compared to Rs 41.87 crore in FY 2019. The company reported lower operating loss for ALT Balaji at Rs 92.16 crore for FY 2020 as compared to an operating loss of Rs 120.81 crore for FY 2019. Balaji says that direct subscription revenue for ALT Balaji has grown over 100 percent year on year.
ALT Balaji operating revenue increased 61.2 percent y-o-y to Rs 22.18 crore during Q4 2020 as compared to Rs 13.76 crore in Q4 2019. The company reported lower operating loss for ALT Balaji at Rs 14.44 crore for Q4 2020 as compared to an operating loss of Rs 31.75 crore for Q4 2019.
Commissioned programmes
Revenue from the company’s television programming (Commissioned programmes) increased 22.5 percent y-o-y to Rs 421.25 crore in FY 2020 as compared to Rs 344.02 crore in the previous year. Commissioned programmes business operating results increased 369.2 percent during FY 2020 to Rs 83.06 crore as compared to Rs 49.09 crore in the pervious year.
Revenue from the company’s television programming (Commissioned programmes) increased 35.6 percent y-o-y to Rs 110.89 crore in Q4 2020 as compared to Rs 81.80 crore in the corresponding year ago quarter. Commissioned programmes business operating results declined 3.5 percent during Q4 2020 to Rs 19.55 crore as compared to Rs 20.27 crore in the corresponding year ago quarter.
Films segment
Revenue from Balaji’s Films segment increased 69.2 percent in FY 2020 to Rs 172.40 crore from Rs 102.27 crore. Films segment operating results grew more than six-fold (grew 555.2 percent) at Rs 54.14 crore as compared to an operating profit of Rs 8.26 crore in FY 2019.
Revenue from Balaji’s Films segment fell 43.8 percent y-o-y in Q4 2020 to Rs 5.46 crore from Rs 9.72 crore. Films segment operating results was more than three times higher (up 259.4 percent) at Rs 4.49 crore as compared to an operating profit of Rs 1.25 crore in Q4 2019.
Some standalone numbers
Standalone PAT for FY 2020 was 63 percent lower at Rs 21.77 crore as compared to Rs 58.87 crore in FY 2019. Balaji’s Standalone PAT for Q4 2020 and Q4 2019 was Rs 10.43 crore and Rs 2.18 crore respectively.
Balaji’s standalone operating revenue for FY 2020 31 percent higher at Rs 567.63 crore as compared to Rs 438.67 crore in FY 2019. Standalone operating revenue for Q4 2020 and Q4 2019 was Rs 116.06 crore and Rs 82.12 crore respectively.
Company speak
Balaji Telefilms Limited managing director Shobha Kapoor said in the investor release, “This year has been one of the best year for Balaji Telefilms despite the partial impact of COVID-19 towards the end of March 2020. We continue to focus on creating good content and growing our digital platform. We are witnessing huge opportunity within the digital space due to COVID-19 and we are gearing ourselves to exploit this opportunity.”
Let us look at the other numbers reported by Balaji
Consolidated total income for FY 2020 at Rs 582.16 crore was 26.7 percent higher y-o-y as compared to Rs 459.48 crore. Consolidated total expenses for FY 2020 increased 9.7 percent to Rs 604.33 crore from Rs 1550.90 crore.
Consolidated cost of production declined 12.6 percent FY 2020 to Rs 349.89 crore as compared to Rs 400.45 crore in FY 2019. Consolidated marketing and distribution expenses in FY 2020 increased 40.4 percent to Rs 60.56 crore from Rs 43.12 crore in the previous year. Consolidated employee benefits expense in FY 2020 declined 26.5 percent to Rs 36.45 crore from Rs 49.57 crore in FY 2019. Consolidated other expenses in FY 2020 increased 19.1 percent to Rs 76.42 crore from Rs 36.45 crore in FY 2019.
Consolidated total income for Q4 2020 at Rs 106.09 crore was 9 percent higher y-o-y as compared to Rs 97.29 crore. Consolidated total expenses for the quarter under review reduced 5.6 percent y-o-y to Rs 118.74 crore from Rs 125.76 crore.
Consolidated cost of production declined 16.8 percent y-o-y in Q4 2020 to Rs 75.36 crore as compared to Rs 91.83 crore. Consolidated marketing and distribution expenses in Q4 2020 declined 40 percent y-o-y to Rs 5.01 crore from Rs 8.34 crore. Consolidated employee benefits expense in Q4 2020 declined 35.2 percent y-o-y to Rs 8.57 crore from Rs 13.22 crore. Consolidated other expenses in Q4 2020 reduced 27.5 percent y-o-y to Rs 20.17 crore from Rs 27.82 crore.
Fiction
Banijay merges with All3Media in $6.65 billion deal
Marco Bassetti will lead the combined company as CEO
PARIS: Six years after acquiring Endemol Shine at the height of the pandemic, Banijay has struck again. The European production heavyweight is merging with All3Media in a deal that will create a television titan with $6.65 billion in revenue and redraw the contours of a fast-consolidating market.
The combined company will trade under the Banijay name and be owned 50 per cent each by Banijay Group and RedBird IMI, which acquired All3Media in 2024. The transaction is expected to close by autumn, subject to regulatory approvals.
Banijay Entertainment CEO Marco Bassetti, will take the top job at the enlarged group. All3Media CEO Jane Turton becomes deputy CEO. RedBird IMI CEO Jeff Zucker will serve as chairman.
The logic is scale. Broadcasters are commissioning less, streamers are tightening budgets and global buyers are fewer but bigger. Against that backdrop, heft matters. The merged entity will generate roughly $6.65 billion in revenues based on 2024 figures, giving it sharper elbows in rights negotiations and deeper pockets for franchise-building.
“Entrepreneurialism, ambition and creativity” remain core to Banijay’s DNA, Bassetti said, flagging plans to invest more heavily in new intellectual property, live events and emerging platforms. Turton struck a similarly bullish note, pointing to All3Media’s journey from a 2003 start-up to a global supplier of hit formats and high-end drama.
Between them, the two groups control a formidable slate. Banijay’s catalogue spans MasterChef, Big Brother, Survivor, Black Mirror, Peaky Blinders and Deal or No Deal. All3Media’s labels include Studio Lambert, producer of The Traitors and Squid Game: The Challenge; Two Brothers, behind The Tourist; and Neal Street, currently producing the forthcoming Beatles biopics directed by Sam Mendes for Sony.
The back catalogue is equally muscular. Banijay Rights holds some 220,000 hours, while All3Media International adds around 35,000 hours, forming one of the industry’s largest libraries.
Banijay, controlled by French entrepreneur Stéphane Courbit and listed in Amsterdam, counts more than 130 production companies across 25 territories. All3Media operates over 40 labels, with strong positions in the UK, US and Germany. The enlarged group will also lean into live entertainment, building on Banijay’s Balich Wonder Studio, which produced the opening ceremony of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, and the Independents.
The deal marks a shift in tone. As recently as October, Bassetti suggested that mergers and acquisitions were not a priority. But the drumbeat of consolidation has grown louder. Mediawan has moved for Peter Chernin’s North Road. David Ellison’s Paramount has agreed to a $110 billion takeover of Warner Bros, with plans to combine HBO Max and Paramount plus. ITV has explored selling its media and entertainment arm to Comcast-owned Sky, though talks have reportedly slowed.
