Mukta Arts or MAL started business as a production and distribution company in 1985, but over the past six years it has gradually moved itself to stable revenue-generating and higher-margin film exhibition and film education businesses which together contributed ~85% to its revenues in FY17. We had a meeting with Mr.Rahul Puri, CEO of MAL recently to get an update on the growth plans of both these businesses discussed during our earlier meetings with him. We came away with the feeling that while its Whistling Woods (film education) business, which contributes ~30% to total consolidated revenues, has grown well in the recent past, there is limited scope for growth left in it post FY19 when it will be running at full capacity (~1,300...

We met Mr. Rahul Puri, CEO of Mukta Arts (MAL) recently to get an update on the growth plan discussed during our earlier meeting with him (Mukta Arts- Looking To Attain Critical Mass In Its 'Affordable' Positioning). While PVR, the industry leader, is focused on attracting the top end of Tier-1 city customers, MAL is focused more on value-for-money customers in mostly Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities and sometimes in Tier-1 cities. Thus, while PVR's average ticket price (ATP) is ~Rs200, average F&B; spending per head (SPH) is Rs85 and advertisement revenue per screen is ~Rs4.5mn, the corresponding numbers for MAL are ~Rs120, Rs33 and ~Rs0.4mn, respectively. However, the occupancy rate is ~35%-40%, resulting in revenue per screen of...

We had a meeting with Mr Rahul Puri, CEO of Mukta Arts (MAL) to understand its plans in the film exhibition business. Despite starting out as a film production house of Mr. Subash Ghai in 1982, in FY16 its consolidated revenues were dominated by film exhibition (50%) and education (31%). The film exhibition business was started in 2011. While players like PVR, Inox Leisure and Cinepolis cater to the mid to premium end customers in Tier-1 and Tier-2 cities, MAL is focused on providing affordable movie viewing in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities (as well as in Tier-1 cities selectively). While PVR's current average ticket price (ATP) is ~Rs200 and average F&B; spend per head (SPH) is Rs85, the corresponding...

We met the management of Mukta Arts (Mukta) to get a deeper insight into its strategies for the coming years. Mukta was one of the leading production houses but has now shifted its focus towards business interests in the exhibition as well as education space. Multiplex focus, expansion to augur well; execution remains key The company recently reached a screen count of 49 post opening a six screen property in Bahrain and is targeting 100 screens by FY17E. Average ticket prices (ATPs) commanded by Mukta is in the range of...