Crest Animation eyes Rs 100 cr turnover by 2011
The animation company is gearing up to develop content for long series, including feature films, reports Saurabh Turakhia.
Crest Animation is gearing up to develop animation content for long series, including feature films. Speaking to Hindustan Times, AK Madhavan, CEO of Crest Animation said, “The film’s production will be completed by late 2009.
The film is a part of a three movie co-production deal that Crest has struck with Lions Gate Films. Its working title is 'Alpha and Omega' and is based on a love story between an alpha wolf and an omega wolf, set on a backdrop of migration of wolves.”
According to Madhavan, post 2010, the company will look at delivering at least one feature film every year. Crest, which clocked a turnover of Rs 40 crore last year, will take a huge leap in earnings, thanks to its foray in feature films, says Madhavan. He estimates that the company might cross the Rs 100 crore mark in turnover by 2011.
Crest received an investment of $40 million dollars from D E Shaw group in 2006, for a 14.99 per cent stake of the company.
Madhavan says that the Indian animation industry began with outsourcing for US and other markets and will take some time to develop its own intellectual properties. In his opinion, while there are a lot of Indian characters that have potential, they would need to be projected and styled in a manner that would appeal to the global audience.
The Indian animation industry- the outsourcing business is about close to 300 million dollars, in Madhavan’s opinion. Crest has an employee strength of 650. The employees work across 13 specialised verticals.
Crest has stayed away from the domestic market and Madhavan feels the right time to focus on it would be four to five years hence.
Tapaas Chakravarti, chairman and CEO of DQ Entertainment, which got listed on London Stock Exchange in December 2007 said that Crest would certainly have a first mover advantage as far as the feature film projects are concerned. He added, “Crest is pursuing feature film projects with a big company. They also have a good business model.”