Hindi
Higher numbers push up financials; ‘Padmaavat’ top grosser for PVR
BENGALURU: Higher box office, food and beverages (F&B) and sponsorship revenues, higher occupancy, higher average ticket prices (ATP) have helped push up Indian exhibitor PVR Ltd’s (PVR) overall numbers for the quarter and year ended 31 March 2018 (Q4-2018, quarter under review, FY-2018, year under review) as compared with the corresponding year ago quarter (Q4-2017) and financial year (FY-2017) respectively. Net box office collections (NBO) at Rs 75.15 crore for Padmaavat, the top grosser for PVR in Q4-2018 were more than double the NBO of the Q4-2017 top grosser Dangal, which had netted Rs 32.23 crore. This was despite lower theatre admits in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Gujarat which were impacted due to non-release of Padmaavat in these states, says the company.
PVR reported 19 per cent yoy increase in consolidated revenue for the quarter under review at Rs 572.88 crore as compared to Rs 483.01 crore in Q4-2017. Profit after tax for Q4-2018 increased to Rs 25.89 crore as compared to Rs 0.01 crore in Q4-2017. EBITDA (including other income) in the quarter under review increased 60 per cent to Rs 101.93 crore from Rs 63.84 crore in the corresponding year ago quarter.
For FY-2018, the exhibitor reported an eight per cent increase in revenue at Rs 2365.45 crore as compared to Rs 2181.68 crore in FY-2017. PAT for FY-2018 was 29 percent higher at Rs 124.02 crore as compared to Rs 95.84 crore in FY-2017. EBITDA for the year under review increased 15 per cent to Rs 433.17 crore from Rs 375.87 crore in FY-2017.
Q4-2018 revenue numbers
Total NBO collections increased 18 per cent yoy in Q4-2018 to Rs 312.40 crore from Rs 264.60 crore. Revenue from F&B increased 22 per cent yoy to Rs 157.10 crore from Rs 128.49 crore. Advertising revenue increased 37 per cent yoy in Q4-2018 to Rs 72 crore from Rs 52.74 crore in Q4-2017. Convenience income declined two per cent yoy to Rs 14.46 crore from Rs 15.72 crore. Other operating income declined 19 per cent yoy to Rs 13.95 crore from Rs 17.24 crore. The company says that other operating income in Q4-2017 included government subsidy of Rs 7.62 crore provided by various state governments. In Q4-2018, this component has not been accounted for on due to lack of clarity on refund mechanism for the tax exemptions under GST regime claims the company in it investor presentation. Other income declined 43 per cent yoy to Rs 2.97 crore from Rs 5.22 crore.
FY-2018 revenue numbers
Total NBO collections increased 11 per cent yoy in FY-2018 to Rs 1248.06 crore from Rs 1125.64 crore. Revenue from F&B increased 10 per cent to Rs 607.66 crore from Rs 550.54 crore. Advertising revenue increased 20 per cent in FY-2018 to Rs 294.86 crore from Rs 245.02 crore in Q4-2017. Convenience income increased three per cent to Rs 59.71 crore from Rs 58.15 crore. Other operating income declined 14 per cent to Rs 55.14 crore from Rs 64.26 crore. Other income declined 45 per cent to Rs 10.22 crore from Rs 18.58 crore.
Box-office numbers
Admits in Q4-2018 increased by five per cent to 1.90 crore from 1.82 crore in corresponding quarter of fiscal 2017. Occupancy was fractionally lower in Q4-2018 at 31.5 percent as compared to 31.6 percent in Q4-2017. ATP increased by Rs 19 during the year under review to Rs 209 as compared to Rs 190 in Q4-2017. The company says that the top five movies in Q4-2018 contributed to 52 percent of the gross box office with an occupancy rate of 38 per cent.
Admits in FY-2018 increased by one per cent to Rs 7.61 crore from Rs 7.52 crore in fiscal 2017. Occupancy was up at 32.9 per cent in FY-2018 as compared to 31.3 per cent in the previous year. ATP increased by Rs 15 during the year under review to Rs 210 as compared to Rs 196 in FY-2017.
Hindi
India’s telecom subscribers cross 1.32 billion in February 2026
Broadband base swells past 1.06 billion as Jio and Airtel tighten grip on the market.
MUMBAI: India’s telecom sector is ringing in steady growth once again adding millions of new connections every month while the race for broadband supremacy continues to heat up like a fiercely contested cricket match. According to the latest data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on 1 April 2026, the total telephone subscriber base in the country reached 1,321.31 million at the end of February 2026. This marked a net addition of 7.31 million subscribers during the month, translating into a monthly growth rate of 0.56 per cent.
Wireless subscribers (including mobile and Fixed Wireless Access) stood at 1,273.31 million, registering a net addition of 6.97 million and a growth rate of 0.55 per cent. Within this, urban wireless connections grew to 730.75 million (growth 0.70 per cent), while rural wireless subscribers reached 542.56 million (growth 0.35 per cent).
Wireline subscribers, though much smaller in scale, showed slightly faster growth. The total wireline base increased to 47.99 million, with a net addition of 0.34 million and a monthly growth rate of 0.70 per cent. Urban areas continued to dominate wireline connections with a share of 89.41 per cent.
Overall tele-density in India improved to 92.66 per cent. Urban tele-density stood at 150.68 per cent, while rural tele-density edged up to 60.02 per cent.
The broadband subscriber base crossed a significant milestone, reaching 1,059.05 million at the end of February 2026. This reflected a healthy net addition of 6.33 million subscribers and a monthly growth rate of 0.60 per cent from January’s figure of 1,052.72 million.
Segment-wise, mobile wireless access continued to drive the majority of growth with 996.52 million subscribers. Fixed Wireless Access (including 5G FWA) added 16.51 million, while wired broadband stood at 46.02 million.
Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. maintained its commanding lead with 519.64 million broadband subscribers. Bharti Airtel Ltd. followed with 364.14 million, Vodafone Idea Ltd. with 129.36 million, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. with 28.70 million, and Atria Convergence Technologies Ltd. with 2.38 million.
Together, these top five players command a massive 98.60 per cent share of the total broadband market.
In the wireless (mobile) segment, private operators continued to dominate with 92.59 per cent market share, leaving public sector undertakings (BSNL and MTNL) with just 7.41 per cent.
Out of the total 1,257.29 million wireless (mobile) subscribers, 1,177.60 million were active on the peak Visitor Location Register (VLR) date, representing an impressive 93.66 per cent activity rate. Bharti Airtel led in this metric with 99.42 per cent of its subscribers active.
Meanwhile, 14.47 million subscribers submitted requests for Mobile Number Portability (MNP) in February, indicating healthy competition and customer churn across zones.
While urban areas still lead in absolute numbers, rural connectivity is slowly catching up. Rural wireless tele-density stood at 59.46 per cent, compared with the much higher urban figure of 142.32 per cent.
Fixed Wireless Access using 5G technology also showed promising traction, growing to 11.93 million subscribers. Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel are the primary players driving this segment.
The data paints a picture of a maturing yet still rapidly expanding telecom ecosystem. With total telephone subscribers now well past the 1.32 billion mark and broadband users comfortably above 1.06 billion, India continues to solidify its position as one of the world’s largest and most dynamic digital markets.
From bustling city streets to remote villages, more Indians are staying connected than ever before proving that when it comes to telecom, the country’s appetite for growth shows no signs of hanging up anytime soon.
