Recouping some of the losses made last week when the broader market was on a weak wicket, the stock of Inox Leisure gained 2 per cent. The multiplex operator, which has been expanding both through the organic and the inorganic route, took over the operations of some movie theatres in Gujarat last week. This has helped Inox Leisure expand its screen count from 377 to 389 and the number of seats from 99,000 to slightly over a lakh. It is the second largest multiplex operator after PVR Cinemas and operates 100 multiplexes across several cities.
The stock has in fact gained 26 per cent since the start of the year. After a not-so-good 2014-15 on account of a lacklustre show at the box office, Inox Leisure had put up an impressive performance in the June 2015 quarter.
Driven by successful movie releases, the company reported 50 per cent growth in revenue to 349 crore in the June quarter compared with the same period a year ago. Profit, both at the operating and net levels, improved. Operating profit more than doubled to 67 crore, while net profit grew five-fold to 25 crore.
Thanks to big hits such as Baahubali and Bajrangi Bhaijaan, one can look forward to a good show in the September quarter too. With more star studded movies such as Prem Ratan Dhan Pay and Dilwale, slated for release later this year, it can hope for better box office collections in the subsequent quarter too.
Given that Inox Leisure is in an expansion mode, it is well placed to gain from successful movie releases.
It has plans to expand to 110 properties with 429 screens and 1.1 lakh seats by the end of this fiscal.