BENGALURU: The Sunil Lulla-led Indian film and media company Eros International Media Ltd (Eros) reported a 12.8 percent jump in total revenue for the year ended 31 March 2018 (FY 2019, period or fiscal or year under review) as compared to the previous year FY 2018. Operating revenue for the period increased 7.4 percent in FY 2019 as compared to FY 2018. Profit after tax (PAT) and total comprehensive income (TCI) for the year under review jumped 15.2 percent and 37.2 percent respectively as compared to FY 2018. Arising from this the company has once again crossed the Rs 1,000 crore annual operating revenue mark.
Eros reported operating revenue of Rs 1,031.30 crore for FY 2019 as compared to Rs 960.16 crore for the previous eyar. Total revenue during the year under review was Rs 1,138.69 crore as compared to Rs 1,010.01 crore in FY 2018. PAT in FY 2019 was Rs 266.48 crore as compared to Rs 231.22 crore in FY 2018. TCI in FY 2019 was Rs 317.82 crore as compared to Rs 231.71 crore in the corresponding year ago quarter. TCI includes items that will be reclassified under profit and loss later to the extent of Rs 59.02 crore and Rs (-) 2.22 crore for FY 2019 and FY 2018 respectively. The revenue split across segments for FY 2019 was: Theatrical – 28.0 percent, Television and Others – 53.5 percent and Overseas segment – 18.5 percent.
The company says that it released 16 films across languages and 7 digital series in the quarter ended 31 March 2019. Its OTT platform had reached a subscriber base of 1.59 crore (15.9 million, 159 lakh) by the end of December 2018.
Eros reported 13.8 percent increase in total expenditure in FY 2019 at Rs 822.06 crore from Rs 722.66 crore in FY 2018. Films rights costs including amortization costs increased 18.5 percent to Rs 473.19 crore from Rs 399.27 crore in the previous fiscal. Employee benefits expense in FY 2019 declined 13.8 percent to Rs 50.79 crore from Rs 58.94 crore in FY 2018.
Finance costs reduced 3.8 percent in FY 2019 to Rs 77.48 crore from Rs 80.53 crore in the previous year. Other expenses increased 21.5 percent in FY 2019 to Rs 212.65 crore from Rs 175.05 crore in FY 2018.
Consolidated simple EBITDA without other income declined 9.9 percent to Rs 295.81 crore in FY 2019 from. Rs 328.31 crore in the previous year. Simple EBITDA including other income increased 6.9 percent to Rs 404.20 crore from Rs 328.31 crore in the previous year.
Company speak
Eros executive chairman and managing director Lulla said, “Our investments are focused on enhancing our position as a premium content owner of Indian film and digital content while maintaining a conservative balance sheet. We have a strong focus on films that don’t just rely on box office performance and therefore we invested on expanding our presence in digital content creation. In this quarter we released 7 original series - Operation Cobra, Meri Khoj Mere Haath, Flip, Ennaya, Metro Park, Tum Se Na Ho Paayega and The Investigation on Eros Now, parent Eros International Plc’s OTT platform and a total of 16 films across languages. A mix of film content across languages and an increase in digital content creation, together with catalogue revenues contributed to the quarterly performance and definitely enhanced the year-on-year growth.”
He further added, “ Our margin is expanding with content-driven films, strong pre-sales strategy, catalogue monetisation and now with additional presence & focus on digital it will only enhance our offerings. We hope to take entertainment to the audience which is no longer bounded by geographical boundaries, and for that content creation with strong distribution will definitely strengthen our balance sheet and margins for shareholders in the future.”
