Film Production
Eros International Q1 FY15 Net Profit Jumps 22.2 per cent to Rs 358 million
MUMBAI: Eros International Media Limited (Eros International), a leading global Company in the Indian film entertainment industry, today announced its consolidated financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2014 (Q1 FY2015).
Financial Highlights:
CONSOLIDATED RESULTS FOR Q1 FY2015
· Total Income increased by 26.0% to Rs. 2,446.1 million (Rs. 1,942.1 million in Q1 FY2014)
· EBIT increased by 29.9% to Rs. 599.3 million (Rs. 461.3 million in Q1 FY2014)
· Profit after tax (after minority) increased by 22.2% to Rs. 358.4 million (Rs. 293.4 million in Q1 FY2014)
· Diluted EPS stood at Rs. 3.88 (Rs. 3.19 in Q1 FY2014)
Executive Comment:
Eros International Media MD Sunil Lulla said, “The fiscal year commenced on a positive note led by healthy performance of our film portfolio across revenue streams along with the ongoing monetization of library films. We continue to work towards expanding our film content through a diversified approach of acquiring a mix of high, medium and low budget movies across Hindi and other regional languages.
We are focused on driving our new media content distribution strategy through ErosNow and took various strategic initiatives to further strengthen the platform. The acquisition of a controlling stake in Techzone, a leading mobile value added services provider, brings on board expertise in technology and solid distribution reach of mobile digital content. Our partnership with Hathway Cable to launch a subscription based movie streaming service will enable their broadband subscribers to watch our library films from the ErosNow platform.
Given our well-defined business model, unique offerings and an extensive film library, we are best positioned to leverage existing and emerging opportunities in the Indian Media and Entertainment industry.”
Highlights:
· 9 films released during Q1 FY2015: Including 5 Hindi and 4 Tamil films as compared to 12 films during Q1 FY 2014, which included 7 Hindi, 5 Tamil and other regional language films.
o Of the total movies released during the quarter, 1 movie was high budget & 8 were medium & low budget movies.
· Strong financial performance: Revenues during Q1 FY2015 were primarily driven through library film monetization across multiple platforms and the release of new movies in Hindi, Tamil and other regional languages.
o The Company is witnessing growth in new platforms for monetization of catalogue movies along with increasing demand on existing platforms.
o Kochadaiiyaan, a high profile movie starring Rajinikanth, also contributed positively to overall performance through various revenues streams. In-line with the Company’s de-risking strategy, the movie registered strong pre-sales from satellite rights in multiple languages, audio and music rights exploitation, brand tie ups and others.
· Acquisition of Techzone: Eros International acquired a controlling stake in Techzone, a leading mobile value added services provider.
o Techzone has executed an average of 25 million SMS, WAP or IVR transactions per month over the past three years across 12 major telecom operators in India and bills the customers directly through its billing platform.
o The acquisition is in sync with Eros International’s focus on building its new media content distribution strategy through ErosNow to participate in the massive opportunity which exists in India with 870 million mobile subscribers (including over 60 million internet enabled smart phones) as of year-end 2013.
· ErosNow’s partnership with Hathway Cable: ErosNow, the Company’s dedicated online entertainment platform offering full length movies and music videos, launched a movie streaming service ‘Broadband Movies’, in partnership with Hathway Cable, one of the leading cable television services provider in India.
o The streaming service will enable Hathway Broadband customers to watch high quality movies from the ErosNow platform on multiple devices like smart- TVs, PCs, laptops, tablets and mobiles.
o The subscription-based service will be available to Hathway Broadband customers across India.
· Eros Plc follow on equity offering: Eros Plc successfully closed a follow- on equity offering on July 15, 2014.
o The Company has received US$ 90 million as net proceeds from this offering based on the offer price of US$ 14.50 per share.
Film Production
Priyanka Kaur Dhillon joins SVF Entertainment as lead for music distribution
A seasoned content dealmaker with 16 years in digital and satellite media joins the Bengali entertainment powerhouse as it pushes into the pan-India music market
Mumbai: Priyanka Kaur Dhillon has made her move. The content acquisitions and commercials veteran, most recently commercial manager at Sony Pictures Networks India, has joined SVF Entertainment as lead for music distribution, stepping into one of the more interesting briefs in regional entertainment right now.
SVF is no ordinary regional label. Over 30 years it has built a formidable legacy in Bengali cinema and music, driven by culturally resonant storytelling and a catalogue that consistently punches above its weight. Its recent success with Chiraiya underlines the point. But the Kolkata-based powerhouse now has its sights firmly set beyond Bengal, most visibly through Legacy, a rap reality series produced in collaboration with hip-hop label Kalamkaar that signals a deliberate push into the pan-India music ecosystem.
Dhillon brings precisely the kind of muscle SVF needs for that expansion. At Sony Pictures Networks India, she led film acquisition and commercials and handled music licensing across the entire satellite network. Before that, she spent nearly 15 years at Hungama, rising to assistant general manager and leading strategic content licensing for the platform’s digital entertainment business, with a particular focus on international markets. Her label relationships span the full roster: Sony Music, Universal Music, Warner Music, Believe International, Tunecore, The Orchard and a clutch of smaller aggregators. She has negotiated and closed deals with Hollywood studios, Bollywood production houses and regional content players alike, building pricing models and deal structures off data analysis rather than instinct.
Announcing the appointment, Dhillon said she was “thrilled to begin this journey with an iconic Bengali music label and content powerhouse,” adding that SVF’s “constant drive to push boundaries” was what drew her to the role.
SVF has spent three decades proving that regional does not mean limited. With a sharp commercial operator now steering its music distribution, its bid to go national just got a good deal more serious.
