Production Co Dharma Posts Fourfold Rise in Revenue

Javed Farooqui (THE ECONOMIC TIMES; March 28, 2024)

Mumbai: Dharma Productions, promoted by film producer Karan Johar, reported a nearly four-fold increase in revenue to Rs. 1040 crore for the fiscal year ending March 2023, compared to Rs. 276 crore in the previous fiscal.

The company’s revenue growth was driven by Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt’s Brahmastra: Part One: Shiva. The film collected Rs. 418 crore in worldwide gross box office collections. Apart from Brahmastra, the company also released Govinda Naam Mera and Selfiee, featuring Vicky Kaushal and Akshay Kumar, respectively, during the fiscal.

The company’s net profit decreased by 59% to Rs. 11 crore due to a 4.5-times increase in expenses to Rs. 1,028 crore. Karan Johar owns a 90.7% stake in the company, while his mother, Hiroo Johar, owns 9.24%.

Business intelligence platform Tofler has obtained the financials from the company’s regulatory filings.

In FY23, Dharma’s income from distribution, digital, satellite, and music rights stood at Rs. 656 crore, Rs. 140 crore, Rs. 83 crore, and Rs. 75 crore, respectively. In the year-ago period, the four revenue streams contributed Rs. 19 crore, Rs. 167 crore, Rs. 34 crore, and Rs. 21 crore, respectively, to the company’s top line.

In 2020, Dharma received a show cause notice from the GST department seeking an explanation as to why GST amounting to Rs. 117 crore, including interest and penalty, for the period July 2017 to August 2020 should not be levied due to GST rate differential on certain taxable services.

Email sent to Dharma Productions CEO Apoorva Mehta didn't elicit any response till press time.