Mukta Arts FY 2025-26: Broader growth, better margins, and a clearer path to profitability

Mukta Arts Limited used FY 2025-26 to reset its operating base across a diversified entertainment portfolio. Consolidated revenue from operations rose to ₹17,391 lacs, up from ₹16,672 lacs, while consolidated EBITDA increased to ₹2,644 lacs from ₹1,742 lacs. That lifted EBITDA margin from 10 percent to 15 percent, a sign of operating leverage across the group rather than a single segment carrying results. The consolidated net loss narrowed to ₹1,180 lacs from ₹1,732 lacs, a material improvement that puts the company closer to sustained profitability.

The year also played out against a supportive sector backdrop. The investor presentation points to a global entertainment and media market at $3.5 trillion and growing, with India’s media and entertainment growth in 2025 described at 9 percent. Domestically, the box office set a record at ₹13,395 crore and live events surged 44 percent, both of which matter directly to Mukta’s cinema and live entertainment initiatives. In other words, Mukta Arts improved internally at the same time the cycle turned favourable externally.

Across segments, the story is one of breadth. Mukta Arts Production returned to active production while exploring animation, OTT and live entertainment. Whistling Woods International posted steady revenue growth and faster profit growth, while also highlighting a pending land matter that could unlock expansion. Mukta A2 Cinemas delivered the sharpest operating swing, with revenue up, EBITDA more than doubling, and a partnership model aimed at reducing cyclicality.

The industry cycle turned, and Mukta leaned into it

Mukta’s FY 2025-26 narrative is easier to understand when set against the sector context the company highlighted. India’s domestic box office reaching ₹13,395 crore gross in FY 2025-26 is not just a headline number. It signals that theatrical revenues regained momentum, and that original, content-led films improved the long tail beyond large tentpole releases. For a group that spans production and exhibition, the direction of that cycle matters.

The company also called out live events as one of the fastest-growing segments, with a 44 percent surge in India. That provides a commercial rationale for Mukta’s decision to build a live entertainment slate rather than treating it as an occasional side activity. This matters because live events can diversify revenue away from film release timing, and can be designed as repeatable properties.

What stands out is that Mukta’s FY 2025-26 improvements were not described as one-off gains. The company framed its EBITDA margin expansion as genuine operating leverage. That is an important distinction for investors because it suggests structural cost discipline and better unit economics across segments.

Group performance: three segments improving at once

Mukta Arts described FY 2025-26 as a broad-based operating improvement. The consolidated results show stronger profitability, and management also emphasised that each key operating entity strengthened its EBITDA performance.

Mukta Arts Production reported a standalone EBITDA margin of 49 percent and positioned FY 2025-26 as a return to production, with a slate spanning an original film and franchise-linked projects. Whistling Woods International delivered a smaller but steadier improvement, with revenue up 7 percent and EBITDA up 29 percent, expanding margin from 9 percent to 11 percent. Mukta A2 Cinemas stood out with revenue up 18 percent and EBITDA more than doubling, alongside a shift to a more capital-light model.

Even without a full segment P and L in the presentation, the directional message is consistent. The group is no longer dependent on a single performance driver. The production business is restarting with discipline, the education business is improving margins, and the cinema business is showing operating recovery plus strategic reshaping.

Mukta Arts Production: returning to films, and broadening beyond films

The production division is being repositioned around two priorities. First, return to active film production at a time when theatrical-first releases are again viewed as viable. Second, expand into adjacent content formats that can smooth volatility.

On films, the company outlined three initiatives. Maanya is under production and is described as a small but meaningful project with a social message, intended to demonstrate a cost-efficient model. Taal 2 is positioned as a key focus built on a well-known musical franchise, with production planned to begin next year. Khalnayak 2 is framed through a rights deal designed to secure profitability while demonstrating the value of Mukta’s existing IP through syndication opportunities.

For investors, the key point is less about any single title and more about capital discipline and IP strategy. The company signalled a mix of original and franchise-linked projects, plus a preference for structures like rights deals that can improve the probability of acceptable returns. This approach can matter in an industry where cost overruns and uncertain monetisation have historically hurt smaller studios.

The second priority is diversification. Through SGM Studios, the Green Gold Animation partnership is progressing, with development work aimed at adult and young-adult audiences and the use of AI tools alongside human creativity. The company also described active conversations with platforms for reimagined IP, suggesting that distribution planning is being treated as part of development rather than an afterthought.

In OTT and streaming, Mukta said an experienced team is in place and ready to deliver for OTT platforms. The strategy is built around owned IP while also developing original fiction and non-fiction, including a documentary on the 50th year of Subhashji as a director. The company’s framing acknowledges that OTT platforms have become more selective and cost-disciplined, and uses that point to reinforce why owned IP is important.

Finally, live entertainment is being built into the slate. The company announced Eva Live x Mithoon, described as a celebration of Subhash Ghai’s musical legacy, planned as an outdoor extravaganza at Jio Gardens in December 2026 with expected attendance in excess of 20,000. It is positioned as one property within a broader live slate, with potential to move to other cities and countries.

This initiative fits the industry statistic the company cited, that live events surged 44 percent in India last year. It also fits a portfolio logic: live entertainment can be scaled across venues and geographies if the property works, and it can create an additional monetisation channel for music-driven IP.

Whistling Woods International: steady growth, improving margins, and an expansion lever

Whistling Woods International delivered a more predictable performance profile in FY 2025-26. Revenue from operations rose to ₹5,842 lacs, aided by the July 2025 batch and growing KEM project video production income. EBITDA increased from ₹506 lacs to ₹652 lacs, expanding margin from 9 percent to 11 percent.

Admissions data supports the momentum. New student admissions for the July intake increased from 368 in July 2025 to 440 in July 2026. That is a meaningful base-level change because education businesses often show operating leverage when fixed costs are spread over higher enrolments.

The company also highlighted a land matter, noting that final hearings on review petitions before the Bombay High Court are expected shortly and that it remains confident of a favourable outcome. Management framed the outcome as a potential unlock for significant campus expansion.

For investors, this is an important variable. The current results show margin improvement even before any expansion catalyst. If admissions continue to grow and campus capacity constraints ease, WWI could become a stronger earnings contributor over time. But the land matter remains an execution and timing risk, and the company’s wording suggests it is not yet resolved.

Mukta A2 Cinemas: operational recovery plus a model shift

Mukta A2 Cinemas was described as the standout performer of FY 2025-26. Revenue from operations rose 18 percent, adding ₹1,324 lacs to the top line. EBITDA more than doubled to ₹1,477 lacs from ₹650 lacs. On an IND-AS 116 adjusted basis, EBITDA margin swung from -2 percent to +7 percent.

Losses also improved. Reported net loss narrowed to ₹941 lacs from ₹1,609 lacs, and PBT losses narrowed 58 percent.

The presentation also emphasised that improvement came from healthier operating metrics, not only pricing. Footfalls increased from 30.95 lacs to 31.81 lacs. Average ticket price rose from ₹194 to ₹213.60. Food and beverage spend per head rose from ₹60 to ₹79. The company also exited a modest number of underperforming properties, which is consistent with portfolio sharpening rather than growth at any cost.

Those unit metrics matter because they indicate a more balanced recovery. Pricing helped, but footfalls also moved in the right direction. And the rise in F and B spend suggests a stronger non-ticket revenue layer, which can support margins even when box office trends are uneven.

The more strategic piece is the partnership with One Cinemas. Mukta framed the deal as a way to safeguard the business from box office cyclicality by moving toward a management-contract model. This approach aims to build a capital-light, profitable business by managing cinema properties rather than relying only on ownership economics. Mukta A2 intends to keep its strong-performing cinemas while managing new and upcoming properties for partners.

In practice, this strategy could reduce capital intensity and smooth earnings, assuming Mukta can win and retain management mandates and maintain operating standards. It also aligns with the company’s acknowledgement that footfall recovery, not pricing alone, remains the central industry task.

FY 2026-27 outlook: priorities that connect to the new base

Mukta’s FY 2026-27 priorities are framed around sustaining momentum and building resilience.

For Mukta A2, the focus is to sustain operating momentum through content quality, footfall growth, and food and beverage margin gains. For WWI, management expects to build on the improving revenue and margin trajectory, supported by record admissions and the land matter nearing resolution. Bahrain is positioned around consolidating a profitability turnaround as regional conditions stabilise. In production, the company plans to progress animation, film, OTT and live entertainment initiatives, naming Maanya, Taal 2, and Khalnayak 2 among the slate.

The through-line is that Mukta is trying to reduce dependence on any single revenue stream. Cinemas are being reshaped toward management contracts. Education is scaling with admissions and margin gains. Production is using IP and partnerships while building newer verticals. Live entertainment adds another revenue pathway that fits the industry tailwind the company highlighted.

For investors, the main takeaway from FY 2025-26 is not just that losses narrowed. It is that the company appears to be building a broader earnings base with clearer levers in each segment. Execution remains the key variable, especially on production monetisation and the WWI land matter. But the year shows that multiple parts of the group are now moving in the same direction, which improves the odds that profitability can become more durable.