PVR Inox shares slide 6% in two days despite strong Q4 earnings. Do Motilal Oswal, Nuvama see any upside?

Shares of PVR INOX fell 2.5% to the day’s low of Rs 1,000 on the BSE on Tuesday, even as the company returned to profitability in the March quarter, reporting a consolidated net profit of Rs 187 crore versus a loss of Rs 125 crore in the same period last year.

The multiplex operator said strong performance from blockbuster titles, including Dhurandhar – The Revenge, Border 2 and Project Hail Mary, supported the earnings recovery.

With Tuesday’s decline, the stock is down 6% in two sessions.

Revenue from operations for Q4FY26 rose 26% year-on-year to Rs 1,547 crore, up from Rs 1,230 crore reported in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year. On a sequential basis, profit after tax rose 95% to Rs 187 crore from Rs 96 crore in Q3FY26, even as revenue declined 16% quarter-on-quarter to Rs 1,850 crore in the October–December period.

During the quarter, the company recorded 31 million admissions, reflecting a 2% year-on-year increase. Average ticket price (ATP) stood at Rs 315, up 22% from a year ago, while spend per head (SPH) rose 32% year-on-year to Rs 165.

PVR Inox share price: Should you buy, sell, or hold?

Nuvama Institutional Equities has maintained its “Buy” rating on PVR INOX, with a revised target price of Rs 1,620 from Rs 1,605 earlier, implying 58% upside potential. The brokerage expects FY27 to remain strong, driven by a healthy Bollywood and regional film pipeline along with a steady slate from Hollywood. It has retained its earnings estimates and noted that at the current market price, the stock trades at 13x and 11x FY27E and FY28E earnings, respectively. Nuvama noted that the company’s net debt has declined 90% since the 2023 merger, marking its lowest level since the consolidation.
Elara Capital has maintained its “Buy” rating on PVR INOX with a target price of Rs 1,300, implying an upside potential of 27%. The brokerage said occupancy levels could sustain in the 25-27% range, supported by a stronger near-term content pipeline that includes titles such as Drishyam 3, Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu, Ramayana Part 1, King, Avengers: Doomsday, Dune: Part 3, Toy Story 5, Toxic and Jailer 2. Elara Capital, however, expects growth in ATP and SPH to moderate after the normalisation seen in FY26. It added that the company’s FOCO and asset-light expansion strategy is likely to support lower capital expenditure intensity and improve free cash flow generation going ahead.
Motilal Oswal Financial Services has maintained a “Neutral” rating on PVR INOX with a target price of Rs 1,125, indicating a potential upside of 10%. The brokerage said a recovery in Hollywood box office collections, along with a strong content pipeline across multiple languages, is expected to support the company, particularly given its higher exposure to premium screening formats.

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Motilal Oswal also noted that PVR INOX has made significant progress in controlling operating costs, optimising capital expenditure and reducing debt on its balance sheet. However, it cautioned that the business remains highly sensitive to occupancy levels. While management remains optimistic about the CY26 content slate, the brokerage warned that even a 200-300 basis point decline in occupancy could materially hurt screen-level economics and EBITDA performance, creating downside risks to its current estimates.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)