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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.”
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YES Bank hands the keys to SBI veteran Vinay Tonse as it bets on a new era
Former SBI managing director appointed as YES Bank’s new MD and CEO
MUMBAI: YES Bank is done rebuilding. Now it wants to grow. The private sector lender has appointed Vinay Muralidhar Tonse as managing director and chief executive officer-designate, with RBI approval secured and a start date of April 6, 2026 confirmed. The three-year term signals the bank’s intent to shift gears from crisis recovery to full-throttle expansion.
Tonse, 60, is no stranger to scale. Most recently managing director at State Bank of India, he oversaw a retail book of roughly $800bn in deposits and advances, one of the largest in the country. Before that, he ran SBI Mutual Fund from August 2020 to December 2022, a stint that saw assets under management surge from Rs 4.32 lakh crore to Rs 7.32 lakh crore across market cycles. Add stints in Singapore and four years leading SBI’s overseas operations in Osaka, and the incoming chief arrives with a genuinely global CV.
His academic grounding is equally solid: a commerce degree from St Joseph’s College of Commerce, Bengaluru, and a master’s in commerce from Bangalore University.
The appointment follows an extensive search and evaluation process by the bank’s Nomination and Remuneration Committee. NRC chairperson Nandita Gurjar said the committee unanimously backed Tonse, citing his leadership track record, governance credentials and ability to drive the bank’s next phase of transformation.
Non-executive chairman Rama Subramaniam Gandhi was unequivocal. “I am certain that Vinay Tonse, with his vast experience as a senior banker, will propel YES Bank to its next phase of growth,” Gandhi said, adding that the bank remains focused on strengthening its retail and corporate banking franchises and expanding its branch network.
Rajeev Kannan, non-executive director and senior executive at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, the bank’s largest shareholder, said Tonse’s experience across retail, corporate banking, global markets and asset management positioned him well to lead the lender. SMBC said it looks forward to working with Tonse and the board as YES Bank pursues its ambition of becoming a top-tier private sector lender anchored in strong governance and sustainable growth.
Tonse succeeds Prashant Kumar, who took the helm in March 2020 when YES Bank was in freefall following a severe financial crisis, and spent six years painstakingly stabilising the institution, rebuilding governance and restoring operational scale. Gandhi was generous: “The bank remains indebted to Prashant Kumar, who is responsible for much of what a strong financial powerhouse YES Bank is today.”
Tonse, for his part, struck a purposeful note. “Together with the board and my colleagues, I remain deeply committed to creating long-term value for all our stakeholders,” he said, pledging to build on Kumar’s foundation guided by his personal motto: Make A Difference.
Beyond the balance sheet, Tonse played cricket at college and club level and represented Karnataka in archery at the national championships — sports he credits with teaching him teamwork, situational leadership, discipline and focus. In quieter moments, he reaches for retro Kannada music, classic Hindi songs, and the crooning of Engelbert Humperdinck, Mukesh and Kishore Kumar.
YES Bank has its steady-handed rebuilder in Kumar to thank for survival. Now it has a scale-obsessed growth banker at the wheel. The next chapter starts April 6.
