Film Production
Q3-2015: Mukta Arts’ PAT Rs 21.21 crore despite drop in y-o-y revenue
BENGALURU: Mukta Arts Limited (MAL) reported a Profit after Tax (PAT) of Rs 21.21 crore for the quarter ended 31 December, 2014 (Q3-2015, current quarter) as compared to the Rs 0.92 crore in Q3-2014 and a loss of Rs 0.03 crore in the immediate trailing quarter Q2-2015. However for the nine month period ended 31 December, 2014 (9M-2015, YTD), MAL reported a loss of Rs 3.45 crore as compared to PAT of Rs 1.83 crore in 9M-2014. The higher profit for the current quarter could be attributed to the lower distributors and producer’s share paid by the company, which in most quarters equals or exceeds 90 per cent of the company’s operating income (TIO)
Notes: 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10 million = 1 crore
The company’s TIO for Q3-2015 at Rs 44.40 crore was 42.1 per cent lower than the Rs 76.67 crore in the corresponding year ago quarter, but 85.4 per cent more than the Rs 23.95 crore in the preceding quarter. MAL’s 9M-2015 TIO was a massive 60 per cent lower at Rs 93.33 crore versus the Rs 233.27 crore in the corresponding period of last year. TIO for Q3-2015 includes sale of certain rights by the company for Rs 3.5 crore.
The company’s total expenditure (TE) in the current quarter was 70 per cent lower at Rs 23.05 crore (51.9 per cent of TIO) as compared to the Rs 76.16 crore (99.9 per cent of TIO) in Q3-2014 and 2.9 per cent lower than the Rs 23.74 crore (99.1 per cent of TIO) in the trailing quarter. In 9M-2015, TE at Rs 96.54 crore (103.2 per cent of TIO) was 58.4 per cent lower than the Rs 231.55 crore (99.3 per cent of TIO) in 9M-2014.
A major component of MAL’s TE is distributors and producer’s share (distributors share). For Q3-2015, MAL spent Rs 13.23 crore (29.8 per cent of TIO), less than a fifth (19.2 per cent) of the Rs 69.98 crore (90 per cent of TIO) spent in Q3-2014, but more than double (2.3 times) the Rs 5.74 crore (24 per cent of TIO). For 9M-2015, distributors share at Rs 43.02 crore (45 per cent of TIO) was again a fraction less than a fifth of the Rs 212.13 crore (90.9 per cent of TIO) in 9M-2014.
Other expense in Q3-2015 at Rs 4.92 crore (11.1 per cent of TIO) was 26.4 per cent higher than the Rs 3.89 crore (5.1 per cent of TIO) in Q3-2014, but 5.1 per cent lower than the Rs 5.19 crore (21.7 per cent of TIO) in Q2-2015. During 9M-2015, the company’s other expense at Rs 13.72 crore (14.7 per cent of TIO) was 45.7 per cent higher than the Rs 9.42 crore (4 per cent of TIO) in 9M-2014.
MAL paid 61.9 per cent more towards finance costs in Q3-2015 at Rs 2.43 crore (5.5 per cent of TIO) as compared to the Rs 1.50 crore (2 per cent of TIO) in Q3-2014 and 15.2 per cent more than the Rs 2.11 crore (8.8 per cent of TIO) in Q2-2015. For 9M-2015, finance cost at Rs 6.51 crore (7 per cent of TIO) was 54.4 per cent more than the Rs 4.22 crore (1.8 per cent of TIO) in 9M-2014.
Four divisions contribute to MAL’s numbers – Software division; Equipment Division; Theatrical Exhibition Division; others (Rent). Software and ‘Others’ divisions contributed positive results – operating profits, while the other two reported operating loss. Software division is a major contributor to revenue and results. In Q3-2015, MAL’s Software division reported revenue of Rs 33.56 crore, which was 44.3 per cent lower than the Rs 60.24 crore in Q3-2014, but almost 2.5 times (2.42) the Rs 13.89 crore in Q2-2015. For 9M-2015, Software Division revenue at Rs 64.21 crore was less than a third (1/3.35) the Rs 214.83 crore in 9M-2014.
Software division reported operating profit of Rs 21.35 crore in Q3-2015 as compared to an operating loss of Rs 0.73 crore in Q3-2014 and an operating profit of Rs 0.33 crore in Q2-2015. For 9M-2015, operating loss from this division was Rs 3.35 crore as compared to an operating profit of Rs 0.31 crore in 9M-2014.
Equipment division contributed a very small amount to revenue and operating results of MAL. Theatrical division reported revenue of Rs 8.91 crore, which was 9.8 per cent more than the Rs 8.11 crore in Q3-2014 and 72.6 per cent more than the Rs 5.16 crore in Q2-2015. 9M-201 revenue from this segment at Rs 23.35 crore was 88.8 per cent more than the Rs 12.36 crore in 9M-2014.
Theatrical division reported operating loss of Rs 0.16 crore in Q3-2015 as compared to operating profit of Rs 0.37 crore in Q3-2014 and an operating profit of Rs 0.07 crore in Q2-2015. For 9M-2015, this division reported operating loss of Rs 0.23 crore as compared to an operating profit of Rs 0.21 crore in 9M-2014.
Revenue and operating results from ‘Others’ division was Rs 1.84 crore and an operating profit of Rs 1.49 crore in Q3-2015; revenue of Rs 2.18 crore and operating profit of Rs 1.7 crore in Q3-2014; Revenue of Rs 1.85 crore and operating profit of Rs 1.68 crore in Q2-2015; Revenue of Rs 5.55 crore and operating profit of Rs 4.74 crore in 9M-2015; revenue of Rs 5.67 crore and operating profit of Rs 4.64 crore in 9M-2014.
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.
