Pyramid Saimira cuts expansion plans, closes screens

MUMBAI, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Media company Pyramid Saimira Theatre Ltd (PYSA.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) has cut down on its expansion plans as it is losing money in northern and western India, a top official said on Monday.

The theatre chain, primarily focussed on the south Indian market, has also closed down 25 screens in western India and another eight in northern India in the last two months, Chairman P.S. Saminathan said.

"We were losing money there, so we withdrew from these areas. We expect the industry will not grow much this year," he said, referring to India's overall entertainment industry.

The Chennai-based firm, which had been planning to raise $75 million, may now defer some of the fund-raising because of the cutback, Saminathan said. The company has borrowed 1.5 billion rupees from banks, he added. The company expects consolidated revenue in 2008/09 to grow 35-40 percent to 13.5 billion to 14 billion rupees, he said. (Reporting by Jasudha Kirpalani, Editing by Ramya Venugopal)