MUMBAI: Balaji Telefilms Limited (Balaji) reported triple the (2.9 times) consolidated PAT at Rs 10.56 crore in the quarter ended June 2014 (Q1-2015) as compared to Rs 3.62 crore during the previous quarter ended June 2013 (Q1-2014) and versus loss of Rs 27.36 crore in the preceding quarter ending March 2014 (Q4-2014).
Consolidated PAT expanded on the steep increase in revenue from operations which rose 61 per cent to Rs 135.34 crore against Rs 84.03 crore in Q1-2014, and was almost same as revenue from operations in the preceding quarter Q4-2014.
Three major segments contribute to Balaji’s revenue - Commissioned Programmes, Sponsored Programmes and Films. While the revenue from films for the company stood at Rs 89.33 crore, 44 per cent more than Rs 61.65 crore in Q1-2014, the revenue from commissioned programmes was Rs 46 crore in Q1-2015 as against Rs 22.77 crore in Q1-2014 and Rs 39.86 crore in Q4-2014. The profit made by the film segment was 23 per cent down to Rs 26.06 crores y-o-y.
Revenue from Sponsored Programs in Q1-2015 was nil.
EBITDA for the company was in positive at Rs 14.71 crore as against negative in the preceding quarter (Q4-2014) at Rs 5.01 crore.
Let us look at the other numbers reported by the company.
The company’s total expenditure rose 35 per cent in Q1-2015 to Rs 123.49 crore as compared to Rs 91.33 crore in Q1-2014 and 13 per cent as against Rs 109 crore in Q4-2014.
Cost of production/acquisition and telecast fees contribute 44 per cent to the Balaji’s total expense, while marketing and distribution expense was 14 per cent of the total expenditure. The Cost of production/acquisition and telecast fees fell 19 per cent to Rs 55.49 crore in Q1-2015 versus Rs 69.26 crore in Q1-2014 and Rs 52.73 in Q4-2014.
Balaji’s expenditure for marketing and distribution fell 27 per cent in Q1-2015 to Rs 18.07 crore as against Rs 24.96 crore in Q1-2014 and Rs 20.30 crore in Q4-2014
Finance costs for Q1-2015 have been drastically reduced by the company to Rs 0.02 cr as compared to Rs 1.37 crore last quarter (Q4-2014)
Let us look at Balaji’s subsidiary companies.
Balaji Motion Pictures Limited (BMPL), a subsidiary of Balaji posted a profit growth of 147 per cent at Rs 8.84 crore versus Rs 3.57 crore in Q1-2014. Revenue for BMPL stood at Rs 89.39 crore, 44 per cent more than Rs 61.66 crore
BMPL released three movies in the current quarter, among which ‘Ek Villain’ crossed the 100 crore mark.
Bolt Media Limited (BML), another subsidiary of Balaji, reported a loss of Rs 0.25 crore versus loss of Rs 0.22 crore in Q1-2014. Revenue of the company increased to Rs 2.5 crore from Rs 0.83 crore in Q1-2015.
Cost of Production/Acquisition and Telecast Fees for BMPL and BML was at Rs 74.88 crore and Rs 2.45 crore respectively in Q1-2015.
BML is commissioning serials such as “Dharma-Kshetra” (26 episodes) and “Rakht” (10 episodes) for EPIC Television Networks Private Limited (Expected launch by Q2 of FY15).
