Localised lockdowns and night curfews amid the newer wave of COVID-19 are set to take a toll on multiplexes in the country, and companies in this sector will report operating losses for the second consecutive year, a report said on Friday.
The sector, arguably one of the worst impacted by the pandemic, can look at a recovery only in the next financial year, the report by domestic credit rating agency Crisil said.
Crisil reminded that multiplexes were the first ones to close in March 2020, even before a lockdown was announced, and the last to resume operations in October.
Occupancies had started improving post-resumption and was expected to reach 18-22%, the breakeven level in terms of operating profit, in the current quarter, the agency said.
However, the recent spike in COVID-19 cases will send the estimate of a recovery asked and defer recovery to the second half of this fiscal, the rating agency said.
“A full recovery is seen only in fiscal 2023,” Crisil added.
