SA RE GA MA RIDES THE STAY-AT-HOME WAVE

Jyothi Venkatesh

Saregama, India’s oldest music label and the youngest movie studio, announced its financial results for the 1st Quarter of the financial year 20-21. In a quarter which was locked down due to Covid-19, the Company was able to increase its PBT 110 times on y-o-y basis. With a consolidated turnover of Rs. 765 Mn and PBT of Rs 220 Mn, the Company was able to achieve 29% PBT margin in this Quarter. The PAT for the Quarter was 158 Mn.The primary profit driver was the increased consumption of Saregama IP: Music, Films, TV Serials on digital media by people staying at home. There is more content getting consumed by more number of people in the post-Covid-19 era than the pre-Covid-19 one.These results have come despite Caravan sales slowing down in light of retail network being shut and no new shoots of our TV serials during this Quarter.

Highlights for the Quarter as follows:

1. New Licensing deals with Facebook and Spotify
2. Two Yoodlee films released on Netflix: Chaman Bahaar and Axone. Both trended on Netflix Top 10 list
3. License (remake, dubbing) deals for 2 Tamil TV serials in Telugu language
4. Carvaan sales re-started around mid-June and 15k units were sold during the Quarter. There was a steep increase in the consumption of Podcasts on Carvaan 2.0 during this period.While Saregama is concerned about the impact Covid-19 may have on the broader economy, the Company is confident of further strengthening its position as the partner of choice for platform businesses as well as consumers in the days to come.