<p>Multiplex major PVR plans to invest Rs 150 crore to open up to 40 screens across the country in the next fiscal.</p>.<p>The company's target of having 1,000 operational screens has been pushed by a year due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic to the end of fiscal 2022-23, a top company official has said.</p>.<p>"We had to push back our plan by exactly a year because of the pandemic ... By the end of the financial year 2022-23, we should be able to reach 1,000 screens," Sanjeev Kumar Bijli, Joint Managing Director, PVR Ltd told PTI.</p>.<p>The company, which added 9 new screens this week in Mysuru and Kanpur, plans to add 30-40 new screens in the next financial year beginning April 1.</p>.<p>Bijli said Rs 150 crore would be outlay for the opening of new screens in the next fiscal.</p>.<p>PVR at present operates over 844 screens at 177 properties in 71 cities (India and Sri Lanka).</p>.<p>Bijli said a strong content pipeline of star-studded Indian and regional films as well as foreign language films along with an aggressive vaccination drive in the country will bring back audiences to the cinema.</p>.<p>"We have had a mixed couple of last months. Not very exciting because no big Hindi movie got released. Hindi movies will start releasing from March 11. We have a strong content pipeline. The year (next fiscal) looks very promising," he added.</p>.<p>When asked if the company is also looking for acquisition opportunities for adding screens, Bijli said the company always looks at the options available.</p>.<p>"There is no one approach for growth. We keep an eye out for all sorts of opportunities as long as they make sense in terms of numbers, location," he noted.</p>.<p>The multiplex industry has been one of the worst impacted segments due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. The government allowed cinema halls across the country to operate at full capacity from February 1 with adherence to Covid-19 safety protocols.</p>.<p>Prior to that, multiplexes and cinema halls were operating at 50 per cent sitting capacity in accordance with the Unlock-5 guidelines issued by the government following the pandemic. Multiplexes and cinema halls were closed for almost seven months and opened in October last year.</p>.<p>PVR had reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 49.10 crore for the third quarter ended December 2020, as it continued to be impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.</p>.<p>The company had posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 36.34 crore in the same quarter last fiscal.</p>.<p>Revenue from operations during the period under review stood at Rs 45.10 crore, down 95.04 per cent from Rs 915.74 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago.</p>
<p>Multiplex major PVR plans to invest Rs 150 crore to open up to 40 screens across the country in the next fiscal.</p>.<p>The company's target of having 1,000 operational screens has been pushed by a year due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic to the end of fiscal 2022-23, a top company official has said.</p>.<p>"We had to push back our plan by exactly a year because of the pandemic ... By the end of the financial year 2022-23, we should be able to reach 1,000 screens," Sanjeev Kumar Bijli, Joint Managing Director, PVR Ltd told PTI.</p>.<p>The company, which added 9 new screens this week in Mysuru and Kanpur, plans to add 30-40 new screens in the next financial year beginning April 1.</p>.<p>Bijli said Rs 150 crore would be outlay for the opening of new screens in the next fiscal.</p>.<p>PVR at present operates over 844 screens at 177 properties in 71 cities (India and Sri Lanka).</p>.<p>Bijli said a strong content pipeline of star-studded Indian and regional films as well as foreign language films along with an aggressive vaccination drive in the country will bring back audiences to the cinema.</p>.<p>"We have had a mixed couple of last months. Not very exciting because no big Hindi movie got released. Hindi movies will start releasing from March 11. We have a strong content pipeline. The year (next fiscal) looks very promising," he added.</p>.<p>When asked if the company is also looking for acquisition opportunities for adding screens, Bijli said the company always looks at the options available.</p>.<p>"There is no one approach for growth. We keep an eye out for all sorts of opportunities as long as they make sense in terms of numbers, location," he noted.</p>.<p>The multiplex industry has been one of the worst impacted segments due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. The government allowed cinema halls across the country to operate at full capacity from February 1 with adherence to Covid-19 safety protocols.</p>.<p>Prior to that, multiplexes and cinema halls were operating at 50 per cent sitting capacity in accordance with the Unlock-5 guidelines issued by the government following the pandemic. Multiplexes and cinema halls were closed for almost seven months and opened in October last year.</p>.<p>PVR had reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 49.10 crore for the third quarter ended December 2020, as it continued to be impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.</p>.<p>The company had posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 36.34 crore in the same quarter last fiscal.</p>.<p>Revenue from operations during the period under review stood at Rs 45.10 crore, down 95.04 per cent from Rs 915.74 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago.</p>