Movies
PVR Inox shares plunge 8 per cent after report of alleged Rs 200 crore kickbacks
Senior executive Pramod Arora was asked to leave in April following an internal probe, ET reports
MUMBAI: PVR Inox’s shares took a sharp hit on Monday after a report alleged that the country’s largest film exhibitor had asked a senior executive to leave following an internal investigation into alleged kickbacks of up to Rs 200 crore from developers involved in building cinema properties.
The stock fell more than 8 per cent in morning trade on the NSE, touching a more than one-month low of Rs 1,126.60 per share, after The Economic Times reported that the company had removed Pramod Arora, its chief executive officer for growth and investment, along with a few others in April.
People familiar with the matter told ET that the exits followed an internal probe into alleged irregularities. The investigation sought to determine the extent of the alleged wrongdoing and whether other individuals were involved, the report said. The company’s board is also understood to have discussed the matter at recent meetings.
According to the report, the senior executive was close to PVR Inox’s promoters, raising questions about the duration of the alleged payments and whether others were aware of the purported malpractices.
The allegations could also bring greater scrutiny on PVR Inox co-promoters Ajay Bijli and Sanjeev Bijli, who have led the company since the merger of PVR and INOX became effective in February 2023.
ET said it could not independently establish the identities of the developers allegedly involved in the matter.`
The development comes shortly after PVR Inox announced a tender-offer buyback at Rs 1,450 per share, with the total consideration capped at Rs 300 crore. Promoters and members of the promoter group plan to participate in the buyback, while Friday was the record date.
JM Financial called the buyback a notable capital-return milestone and raised its earnings estimates for PVR Inox. It also increased its target price to Rs 1,270 per share while retaining an ‘Add’ rating.
The revised target price represented about 3.5 per cent upside from PVR Inox’s previous close of Rs 1,227.20 on the NSE.
PVR Inox shares were down around 4 per cent over the previous week before Monday’s sharp fall. Despite the latest decline, the stock had gained about 15 per cent in 2026 and 2 per cent over the past year.
Longer-term returns have remained weak, with the stock down about 37 per cent over three years and 14 per cent over five years.
The company’s operating performance has shown some improvement. PVR Inox reported consolidated net profit of Rs 56.5 crore for the June quarter of FY27, compared with a loss of Rs 47.3 crore in the same quarter a year earlier.
Revenue from operations rose to Rs 1,622.2 crore in the June quarter from Rs 1,449.6 crore a year earlier.
The alleged kickback investigation, however, now puts the spotlight on PVR Inox’s governance and internal controls even as the company works to strengthen its financial performance and returns to shareholders.
