Hindi
PVR numbers up on higher ticket price in third quarter
BENGALURU: Despite lower admits and occupancy during the quarter ended 31 December 2017 (Q3 2018, the quarter under review), Indian entertainment and exhibition company PVR Ltd (PVR) reported higher revenue due to higher ticket prices. In its investor presentation, the company reported 2.8 per cent year-on-year (yoy) drop in admits during Q3 2018 at 1.74 crore as compared with Rs 1.79 crore in Q2 2017 and a yoy decline in occupancy to 29.1 per cent from 32 per cent. The company reported an increase in average ticket price per show to Rs 212 during the quarter under review from Rs 199 during the corresponding year ago quarter. PVR says that the top-five movies contributed 50 per cent to the gross box office in Q3 2018 as against 52 per cent in Q3 2017. The occupancy of top-five movies in Q3 2018 was 37 per cent as against 41 per cent in Q3 2017.
PVR’s revenue from operations increased 5 per cent yoy in Q3 2018 to Rs 557.25 crore from Rs 530.88 crore. Total Income increased 3.4 per cent yoy to Rs 560.46 crore in Q3 2018 from Rs542.02 crore. The company says that other operating income in Q3 2017 included government subsidy of Rs 8.61 crore provided by various state governments. In the quarter under review, this component has not been accounted for on account of lack of clarity on refund mechanism for the tax exemptions under the new GST regime.
PVR’s EBIDTA (including other income) increased 13.7 per cent yoy during the quarter under review to Rs 103.55 crore (18.8 per cent margin of total revenue) from Rs 91.10 crore (16.8 per cent margin of Total revenue). Net profit after tax (PAT) increased 24 per cent yoy in Q3 2018 to Rs 29.16 crore from Rs 23,52 crore. Total comprehensive income during the quarter under review increased 20.8 per cent yoy to Rs 28.87 crore from Rs 23.89 crore.
Let us look at the other numbers reported by PVR
PVR reports revenue from two segments–movie exhibition and others. The movie exhibition segment saw 6.9 per cent yoy increase in operating revenue to Rs 546.01 crore from Rs 510.94 crore. The segment had 17.4 per cent yoy increase in operating results at Rs 41.44 crore from Rs 35.27 crore. Others segment revenue saw 51.9 per cent yoy decline in revenue to Rs 17.85 crore from Rs 37.08 crore. Others segment operating profit grew 220.8 per cent to Rs 3.08 crore from Rs 0.96 crore during corresponding year ago quarter.
PVR’s total expenditure during the quarter under review was up by 1.9 per cent yoy at Rs 515.55 crore as compared to Rs 505.77 crore. Finance cost was up 3.8 per cent yoy to Rs 21.17 crore in Q3 2018 from Rs 20.40 crore.
Movie exhibition cost in Q3 2018 increased 13.4 per cent yoy to Rs 132.28 crore from Rs 116.69 crore. Cost of consumption of food and beverages in the quarter rose by 9.3 per cent yoy to Rs 37.90 crore from Rs 34.66 crore.
Employee benefits expense in Q3 2018 increased by 8 per cent yoy to Rs 62.17 crore from Rs 57.57 crore. Rent expenses during the quarter were almost flat (increased by 0.2 per cent) yoy to Rs 99.356 crore from Rs 99.13 crore. Other expenses in Q2 2018 declined by 12.4 per cent yoy to Rs 125.21 crore from Rs 142.87 crore.
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.
