Mumbai: In-cinema advertising platform UFO Moviez on Friday announced its financial results for the quarter ended 31 December 2021. The media company has reported consolidated revenue and PAT of Rs 521 million (Q3FY21 – Rs 274 million), and minus (-) Rs 130 million (Q3FY21– Rs 282 million), respectively, for the quarter.

Theatrical revenues have witnessed a steady uptick from November 2021 onwards led by release of Bollywood movies. Advertisement revenues, however, continued to remain subdued.

Towards the end of December 2021, major metropolitan cities in India were under the grip of the third wave of Covid-19, led by the Omicron variant. Because of this surge and ensuing restrictions, theatres in Delhi, Haryana, Bihar, Tripura and Himachal were once again fully closed while certain other states re-imposed seating restrictions.

“During the quarter under review, the financial performance of the company witnessed recovery led by steady release of movies across genres and languages,” said UFO Moviez joint managing director Kapil Agarwal. “The release and success of ‘Sooryavanshi’ in November was a defining moment as it restored everyone’s conviction in Cinema as a social entertainment avenue. Other releases like ‘Annaathe,’ ‘Spiderman,’ ‘Eternals,’ ‘Pushpa: The Rise’ and ‘83’ also performed extremely well at the box office.”

“The impact of the third wave of Covid-19 felt towards the end of December 2021 is expected to be short-lived as the majority of India’s population is vaccinated, cases have also begun to decline, and restrictions are being eased in various states. In light of easing restrictions and the release slate being extremely robust, we expect big movies to start releasing in theatres soon, thus resuming the Industry’s full recovery,” he added.

In a recent announcement, theatres in Delhi are allowed to re-open and operate with 50 per cent occupancy. Theatres in Haryana and Tripura have also opened up.