MUMBAI: Eros International Media, the pure play movie production company, has posted a consolidated net profit (after minority interest) of Rs 1.17 billion for the fiscal ended 31 March 2011, up 42.8 per cent from a year ago.
Total income rose 9.6 per cent to Rs 7.16 billion compared to Rs 6.53 billion in the previous fiscal.
The company said that increase in revenue is because of the number of high profile films “with top talent along with a focused approach”, theatrical success of films like Housefull, Golmaal 3, Endhiran and Dabangg and the “robust and dynamic business model with its unique de-risking strategy of pre-selling its film content for maximum monetisation.”
Eros’ Ebitda for the fiscal increased by 27.8 per cent to Rs 4.09 billion (FY2010: Rs 3.2 billion). It also announced that as compared to a net debt of Rs 1,106 million in FY’10, the company has now cash surplus of Rs 996 million.
The company released a total of 77 films during the fiscal. The list includes Housefull, Anjaana Anjaani, overseas release of Dabangg and Endhiran (Tamil & Telugu), Ravanan, Singham, Sura (in Tamil) and Haapus in Marathi.
Eros said it has signed, to date, Rs 2.4 billion worth television and music syndication deals that will start augmenting revenues and deliver earnings that have attractive margins in FY’11 and FY’12.
Commenting on the results Eros International Media MD Sunil Lulla said, “Our results are even more encouraging given that this is the first full year performance that we are presenting post the company’s listing and we are ahead of the plan that we set for ourselves. This performance demonstrates the success of Eros International’s distinct business position a leading global player in the Indian film entertainment industry, which places us at the forefront to capitalize on the immense potential in the entertainment sector. Our unique strategy including de-risking revenue by pre-sales, building a strong
movie slate, tapping co-production opportunities and an expanding distribution networks enables us to manage our business in a highly efficient and profitable manner, building sustained growth in value for our stakeholders.
Eros launched new initiatives such as the Digital Asset Management Platform enabling it to deliver film content globally across multiple formats, foraying into emerging areas of marketing and publicity of films. The development of innovative avenues for monetisation for film content from a 1,100 movie library has triggered the emergence of new revenue streams.
"Going forward, our visibility for growth is promising. This is driven by an expansive movie library, robust distribution network and revenue visibility through pre-sales. Furthermore, our unparalleled movie slate for FY2012 and FY2013 comprising big star cast films substantiates our future development outlook,” said Lulla.
The company said that almost 40 per cent of its FY‘12 film slate cost has been underpinned by television and music licensing pre-sales contracts. Some of the films in the pipeline are Ready, Murder 2, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, Mausam, Rockstar, Desi Boyz, Agent Vinod and Ra.One.
Meanwhile, for the quarter ended 31 March, net profit of the company fell 28.8 per cent to Rs 136 million (from Rs 190.9 million). Total income fell 28.9 per cent to Rs 1.16 billion (from Rs 1.64 billion).
Eros said the financial performance for Q4 has been reflective of its strategy to consciously limit the number of high profile movie releases due to the ICC Cricket World Cup hosted in the sub-continent. “Eros International’s performance is best monitored on an annual basis due to the dynamic nature of the operating environment,” it said.
