Malay film "Don't look back" Exclusiv Trailer

‘We want to become a giant theatre chain globally’ :PSTL MD P.S.Saminathan

"We believe in taking risk. This is something we have communicated to all our stakeholders. We are not shy about it. We do leverage really high"

Mr P. S. Saminathan, Managing Director,

Pyramid Saimira Theatres Limited.

Pyramid Saimira Theatres Ltd (PSTL), which went public in late 2006, has almost overnight become a company that straddles multiple segments of the film world, from production to exhibition. It has done so by being unconventional from the sta rt, be it leasing old single-screen theatres to ramp up its screen presence or acquiring theatre chains overseas even as all other players remain focussed on domestic markets.
In an interview with Business Line, Mr P. S. Saminathan, Managing Director, PSTL, is unabashedly confident of the company’s prospects, although sceptics may still consider some of its targets ambitious, considering that PSTL is still in its early growth phase.

Excerpts from the interview:

Pyramid Saimira’s IPO in December 2006 raised funds for expansion and digitalisation of theatres across India. Now the company appears to have expanded far beyond film exhibition. What is your strategy?

Digitalisation was part of the agenda to agglomerate the theatre chain. Now, we have climbed up the value chain. We have become the largest exhibitor in India and we are possibly the third largest exhibitor in the world. We have almost eliminated the distribution segment and have become an exhibitor-cum-distributor. We have climbed up the value chain further by entering film production. Secondly, we are also expanding laterally. We operate out of the US, Malaysia and Singapore and are expanding into other countries as well. There is a geographical as well as a value chain spread.

How is the company structured? Do all your businesses come under the PSTL fold?
PSTL is engaged in film exhibition and is the holding company of Pyramid Saimira Production (PSPL) and Pyramid Saimira Entertainment (PSEL). PSPL produces films and TV content. Singapore-based PSEL is a content agglomeration unit. The model is akin to Eros International. Eros buys films and distributes it abroad. PSEL not only buys films and distributes them abroad but also buys Hollywood films and distributes them in the Asia-Pacific region. PSEL is a 100 per cent subsidiary of PSTL. PSPL is majority-owned by PSTL and the balance is held by some individuals and venture capitalists.

Your move into production, distribution and other areas have taken place at a tremendously fast pace. What resources do you have to execute these projects?

Fortunately, we have been profitable from the beginning. We entered at a time when the industry was on an upswing. Second, we raised Rs 400 crore on our convertible bond issue. Third, each of our units is raising funds, both debt and equity, independently and no longer rely on the parent companyPSTL. Our Singapore-based unit PSEL has raised capital and debt and our production unit Pyramid Saimira Production is going public. Now we have multiple entities. In Malaysia, we have Pyramid Saimira Malaysia. There we have a partner and we have raised some debt. We have an US-based company called Pyramid Saimira America. That will raise funds in the US for its expansion.

You straddle across production, distribution and exhibition and have set big targets across all three streams. Are you not spreading yourself too thin?

This company believes in taking risk. This is something we have communicated to all our stakeholders. We are not shy about it. We do leverage really high. In my view, the critical difference between this group and others is the speed with which we execute our projects.If you look at any company that has grown quickly in the last ten years, it is because of the speed of execution. It is not because they were structurally sound. Most of the companies be it Google, Jump TV, Reliance, Mittal group….each of their moves were independently not justifiable. They had a high-risk element. L. N. Mittal took over sick companies and made them profitable.

Reliance’s execution speed is flawless. We also believe in that speed. We need to ramp up very fast. That is the core focus.
We have reached a stage where we have become big. We are actually doubling in size every three months.
Today we have more than 500,000 seats. We are spread across five countries. We have 703 screens. We produced close to 38 films this year and we think only Paramount Studios and Universal Studios would have beaten this number. We have distributed over 90-100 films. We have started TV serial production.
We will beat Balaji Telefilms in the next one or two months in terms of hours of programming. We have targeted eight channels. Our focus is to go to niche areas and control everything. We will also enter Hindi genre in the satellite television market.
To an extent, we are not communicating this pace of growth. But every film in India has to pass through our hands, either at the production stage or at the distribution stage. We are present everywhere, so, without us, no film can be released at the exhibition stage.

How are you backed in terms of management bandwidth?

PSTL is one company that believes not just in taking business risks but in taking risks on people as well. We have a concept called network management in Tamil Nadu. We have removed the top management in TN. The divisional management is given the powers of the top management. And the powers are quite extensive. The Tamil Nadu division alone, on a year-on-year basis, will have a Rs 600 crore turnover. It spends Rs 400-500 crore. Everyday, it spends Rs 1.5-2 crore. Everyday, it adds a theatre. The growth necessitates some kind of innovation in management practices also.

What is your strategy of going international? Are not those markets already saturated with multiplexes?

Yes, but there is no focus on the Asian population. We have two goals. The first is to be a giant in Asia-Pacific. Here we do not focus on Indian films alone but on the respective region’s appetite. For instance, in Malaysia, we do not focus on Indian films but on Malay, Chinese, English, and so on. We want to become a giant theatre chain here, so that we can agglomerate Hollywood content here.
The second is to go abroad and focus on Indian films, and target Asian audiences in the western territory. There is no company that has, so far, focussed on the ground level. They have focussed on the middle level, that is, distribution. No one has built the required infrastructure.

We believe in ground level strength, and not on in trading alone. So we are building infrastructure so that we have a sustainable base.

What is the progress on the digitalisation front?

We have started digitalising. We have digitalised about 200-250 theatres. As a percentage of overall screens it is still low. We were not focussed on cost cutting. We are using digitalisation as an expansive mechanism. Digitalisation to me is like banks computerising their core banking operations. It is a technology solution that enables you to manage better. By 2009-10 most of the screens will be digitalised. Because by then we won’t be able to grow further. I cannot expand more than 1000-1200 screens in South India. The focus will then shift to quality, digitalisation, improving network, and so on.

How does your margin profile differ from other multiplex players? Most of the names are focussed on the premium end.

Our ticket admission rates are lower and we have not focussed on improving infrastructure and raising the admission rate. Those improvements will happen only in 2009. We will still want to have low-margin high value on the box office. But that does not mean we will have low margins in foods and beverages. F&B is a very high margin business.
It gives you 100-250 per cent margin even without fleecing the public. You go to a theatre expecting coffee to be expensive, and popcorn that is available for Rs 5 outside to be Rs 10 inside. Your price expectations are higher. So if we sell it for Rs 7.50, it will be seen as cheap.
We want people to see our F&B as an independent business. We want more footfalls. Our operating margins will always be less than 20 per cent for our theatre business.

What would the typical occupancy rates be?

In the first quarter it was about 44 per cent, and in second quarter, around 34 per cent.

Is it because it has been a good year for South Indian films?

No, not really. Honestly, whether a film is good or bad does not make a difference to us. This Diwali, every Pyramid theatre had a new film. Nearby theatres did not. That is because we distribute all films. We have effectively denied content to competition.

Interviewed by Shanthi Venkataraman, Business Line.

Exclusive Trailer of Malay film "BoA"(カン・ドンウォン BoA ボア )

"My first break": PSTL Chairman Natarajan

(To see full version please click on image)

Jessica Tan owns title "Miss Singapore Univerce-2007"

Our Chiolings were rooting for Tay Yi Ming but eventually Jessica Tan was crowned "Miss Singapore Univerce-2007" (and Miss Body Beautiful). Joey Fung was Miss Photogenic.

Bruce Wills daughter owns title "Miss Golden Globe-2008"

Photos from the Beverly Hilton Hotel press conference to announce Bruce Willis' 19-year-old daughter, Rumer Willis, will be the 2008 Miss Golden Globe.

Menjadi Rangkaian Teater India Pertama yang memasuki pasaran U.S.

Pyramid Saimira mengembangkan penerokaan sejagat dengan mengambil alih FunAsia yang berpangkalan di US

Menjadi Rangkaian Teater India Pertama yang memasuki pasaran U.S.

Chennai, 31 Oktober, 2007: Pyramid Saimira Theatre Limited, (NSE: PSTL, BSE: 532791 dan SGX: XS0306488890) syarikat rangkaian teater terbesar India, telah mengembangkan penerokaan sejagatnya dengan pengambilalihan FunAsia yang berpangkalan di Texas hari ini melalui anak syarikatnya, Pyramid Saimira Entertainment America, Inc., dan akan berpangkalan di luar Richardson, Texas. Pyramid Saimira merancang untuk memasang 60 skrin di US & Kanada sehingga akhir fiskal ini. Pyramid Saimira juga mengambil alih teater semasa dan jam pandu masa radio di Chicago dan masa radio di Houston. Pengambilalihan ini menjadikan jumlah keseluruhan skrin bawah tajuk rentang Pyramid Saimira kepada 703 seluruh dunia.

Kemasukan ke pasaran US ini membenarkan Kumpulan Pyramid Saimira untuk mengadakan pameran di seluruh dunia terutamanya di tempat tumpuan kehadiran penduduk India / Asia. Ia telah beroperasi melalui anak syarikat di Malaysia dan Singapura.

Menurut Mr. P.S. Saminathan, Pengarah Urusan, Pyramid Saimira Theatre Limited " 'Geografi adalah sejarah' sebagai mana kata mereka. Kami berbesar hati mencetuskan anjakan paradigma ini. Menurut Biro Banci U.S.(berdasarkan kepada 2000 penemuan), Orang Asia Selatan di Amerika Syarikat Melebihi 2.1 juta, menjadikan mereka kumpulan etnik U.S keenam terbesar yang terpelajar, Mewah ( Per kapita $64,000, 50 peratus lebih tinggi daripada pendapatan isi rumah median penduduk keseluruhan). Pyramid Saimira mempunyai rangka masa agresif bagi membawa nama FunAsiA dan konsep hiburan ke bandar raya utama U.S. dan Kanada. Konsep di sini bukan semata-mata pawagam tetapi ekosistem holistik”

FunAsiA kompleks terdiri daripada 17 skrin dengan 4,765 tempat duduk, kompleks Chicago yang telah ditambah oleh , Pyramid Saimira Entertainment America, Inc., akan mempunyai 6 skrin dengan kapasiti tempat duduk seramai 1,763. Di Texas, FunAsiA mengendalikan teater Bollywood di Irving dan Richardson, dan dua multipleks di Houston. Konsep FunAsiA adalah secara uniknya memenuhi citarasa orang Asia Selatan di Amerika Utara, yang terdiri daripada keturunan India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh dan Sri Lanka. Konsep Pyramid Saimira di USA bukan hanya hiburan skrin perfileman tetapi persekitaran seimbang termasuk gerai makanan, dewan Bankuet, dan mod tambahan media massa, seperti saluran radio dan Majalah Komuniti. Pyramid Saimira juga merancang untuk membuka Gerai Video di kompleks FunAsiA di Chicago, Texas dan di mana-mana sahaja yang menyokong pelan pengembangan. Khidmat penjodohan video ini membenarkan pasangan yang terpisah beribu batu jauhnya melihat dan bercakap sesama mereka.

Dr. Farrukh, John dan Shariq Hamid iaitu pengasas FunAsiA akan dihubungkan dengan Pyramid Saimira Entertainment America, Inc sebagai Penasihat Eksekutif, membantu Pyramid Saimira membawa konsep hiburan multimedia ke seluruh Amerika Syarikat dan Kanada.

Elara Capital Plc London bertindak sebagai penasihat kepada PSTL dalam menyempurnakan proses pengambilalihan.

Sorotan keputusan Q2 PYRAMID SAIMIRA:

Mencatat perolehan di Q2 sebanyak Rs.146 Crores
Pendapatan untuk 12 bulan pada fiskal sebelumnya (FY06-07) adalah Rs.164.31 crore
Keuntungan Selepas Cukai untuk Q2 (FY 07-08) adalah Rs 15.11 crore

PYRAMID SAIMIRA Theatre Limited, Syarikat Hiburan Multinasional Pertama India mencatat perolehan yang memberangsangkan sebanyak Rs.146 Crore, untuk suku tahunan kedua berakhir 30 September, 2007. Perolehan untuk tempoh 12 bulan pada fiskal sebelumnya (FY 2006 – 07) adalah sebanyak Rs.164.31 crores. Keuntungan bersih selepas cukai adalah Rs.15.11 crore untuk suku tahunan kedua 2007-08 berbanding PAT (Keuntungan Selepas Cukai) sebanyak Rs.13.4 crores untuk fiskal 2006 -07 terdahulu. Pihak Syarikat juga menambah 116 skrin baru untuk menayangkan wayang pada suku ini, menambah sehingga 487 skrin di seluruh negara. Pendapatan tahunan setiap saham berada pada 22. Kapasiti tempat duduk rangkaian bertambah kepada 3.23 Lakh dan rangkaian menyaksikan jumlah keseluruhan sebanyak 361.97 Lakh, dan purata pendapatan bagi setiap kemasukan adalah Rs. 39.83.

Syarikat mempunyai beberapa anak syarikat dalam pengeluaran Filem, pengedaran dan pameran antarabangsa yang tidak menyumbang kepada keputusan angka di atas.

Mengenai Pyramid Saimira

Syarikat milik awam (NSE: PSTL ; BSE: 532791; SGX:XS0306488890) dan berpangkalan di Chennai, India, Pyramid Saimira Theatre Ltd. Pada masa kini mengendalikan 44 multipleks beserta 703 skrin di seluruh India, Malaysia, Singapura, dan Amerika Utara. Syarikat merancang untuk mengandalikan 175 multipleks dengan 2,000 skrin di India sahaja menjelang 2010. Mengikut anggaran mereka sendiri, Pyramid Saimira tersenarai sebagai pengendali pawagam ketiga terbesar di dunia berdasarkan bilangan tempat duduk dan kemasukan hampir 435,000 tempat duduk sehingga Oktober 2007. Kemasukan untuk tempoh antara Julai dan Oktober 2007 adalah dianggarkan 53 juta.

Lebih maklumat boleh didapati di www.FunAsiA.net dan www.pstl.in.