August 10th 2022: Balaji Telefilms announced its financial results for the first quarter and three-months ended 30th June 2022.
ALTBalaji continues to produce content driven shows and we are confident that it will be regarded as one of the leading Indian OTT players in the near future as we have a strong content library catering to classes and masses alike with consistent hit shows across genres. This quarter we released Apharan- Season 2 which garnered more than a million views within a short span of time.
Some of our shows continue to be highly rated and popular amongst our audiences especially the youth and also includes our immensely popular niche reality competition show (that released last quarter) ‘Lock Upp’ which was live streamed, garnering immense popularity and in the process went on to became the highest watched reality show in OTT space, crossing 500+ million views. As a result, the Company generated a significant long-term IP as this format was never seen before in the Indian entertainment domain. The Company sold 3.1 lakh subscriptions (including 1.62 renewals) during three months ending 30th June 2022. This excludes subscribers on partner apps where the content continues to do well. The Company continues its strategy to drive deeper audience engagement by creating quality and content driven shows that is targeted at mass India seeking differentiated stories. Currently, the engagement time stands at 62+ mins, with watch time at 16.19 billion in minutes. Video views stand at 1.37 billion cumulative till date.
During the three months, TV business produced 246.5 hours of production across 8 shows for 4 broadcasters vs. 174.5 hours in Q1 FY22. ‘Apnapan’ was launched in Q1 FY23 which generated good audience response. 2 new exciting shows have been lined up and should commence telecast shortly in the next quarter.
As regards our movie business, ‘Ek Villain Returns’ starring John Abraham and Arjun Kapoor released on 29th July to positive reviews with 51 crores+ Net Box Office Collection till date. Considering that theatres are now operating at 100% capacity, we are confident that our movie business will be back on track given that we have 6 more movies up for release in FY23, out of which 2 films are in ready to release stage, 3 films in post-production stage and 1 film under production. We have pre-locked exciting revenue deals on our movies slate, thereby de-risking our movie business segment.
Mrs. Shobha Kapoor, Managing Director, Balaji Telefilms Limited said, “Our content has always resonated with audiences at large as is deeply ingrained in India’s socio-cultural fabric and this quarter has been no different given that we have continued to provide content driven and quality entertainment while simultaneously focusing on sustainable growth for our investors. We are elated that theatres are now fully operational, and that cine-goers have welcomed this move with open arms. We released ‘Ek Villain Returns’ in theatres in July to a positive audience response which also reflected in its box office collection amounting to 51+crores till date. Additionally, we have a robust pipeline of 6 more movies to be released this year. As regards our digital business ALTBalaji, we have inked some exciting deals with some of the leading content creators of our industry as well as continue to produce niche content driven shows in order to create a strong footprint in the OTT segment. We continue to have strong controls on the cash spend while driving overall profitability including some strong strategic content sharing deals which allows us to further our growth.
Our TV business continues to perform well in terms of production hours and we hope to improve this momentum as 2 new shows will commence telecast next quarter in addition to the 8 shows that we currently have on air across channels and genres. As always, we are confident that our content will strike a chord with audiences as our storytelling is backed by strong creative capabilities which drives our business growth”
OPERATIONAL and FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
- ALTBalaji total subscriptions sold in Q1 FY23 were 3.1 lakh. Direct subscription revenues stood at Rs 6Cr in Q1 FY23 cr vs Rs7.3 cr in Q4 FY22
- ALTBalaji 93+ shows live on the platform TV business continued at normal in three months with 246.5+ hours of production across 8 shows and a strong pipeline with two more exciting shows across genres for the next quarter. ‘Apnapan’ released on Sony to good audience response.
- ‘Ek Villain Returns’ released on 29th July garnering positive reviews, with 51 cr+ Net Box Office Collection till date. Current pipeline includes 6 more exciting projects with some of the top leading actors and directors of the country. Majority of our projects are already in post-production stage with two more release dates blocked for upcoming quarters.
- Overall financial performance for the three months :
o Group revenues at Rs 118.8 cr of which ALTBalaji contributed Rs 36.8 cr
o Group EBITDA loss at Rs 20.4 cr and Loss after tax at Rs 24.5 cr
