Srinivasan has taken over as the chairman of Chennai Super Kings Cricket Limited (CSKCL), the owner of the popular IPL (Indian Premier League) franchise Chennai Super Kings.
Srinivasan was appointed as an Additional non-executive director on February 10, 2025. A member has now given notice to propose at the upcoming annual general body meeting his appointment as a promoter non-executive director. As the chairman of the company, he attended one board meeting during the year. He holds 4,27,400 equity shares in the company.
Srinivasan has held leadership positions in various sporting bodies, including the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
Ever since Srinivasan and his family were bought out in The India Cements by Ultratech of the Birla group, speculations were rife in the industrial world of Tamil Nadu as to what his next move could be. Long before he sold The India Cements, he fortified Chennai Super Kings, which was functioning as a division of The India Cements. Somewhere down the line due to assorted factors (primarily because of the conflict of interest issue), he hived off Chennai Super Kings into a separate company. While doing so, he managed to structure it in such a way that the shareholding of Chennai Super Kings Cricket Ltd. became a mirror-image of The India Cements.
His daughter Rupa Gurunath was appointed as an additional director on February 10, 2025. A notice has now been given to appoint her as a whole-time director. She holds 36,440 equity shares. She was the past president of Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA)
Significantly enough, a notice has also been given to the shareholders to amend the Memorandum of Association to allow the company to lease out its properties (play fields, courts, stadia, lands, grounds, multi-purpose utility centers) to generate additional revenue.
Also, shareholder approval is also being sought to increase the company’s borrowing limit to ₹750 crore from the existing ₹500 crore for expansion plans, including global franchise participation and academy development.
K.S. Viswanathan, whose tenure as whole-time director ended on January 18, 2025, has been appointed Managing Director for three years starting January 19, 2025.
Rakesh Singh has been reappointed as director.
Net profit down
CSK, in the meanwhile, has reported a net profit of ₹18,094.22 lakhs for FY2025, a decline from ₹22,910.70 lakhs in the previous year, according to its annual report released on its website today.
The company’s total revenue stood at ₹64,399.98 lakhs compared to ₹67,640.25 lakhs in FY2024, with the management attributing the dip to the absence of prize money received last year. Profit before interest, depreciation and exceptional items stood at ₹25,210.27 lakhs, down from ₹31,671.02 lakhs in FY2024.
After accounting for finance costs (₹150.96 lakhs), depreciation/amortization (₹758.87 lakhs) and tax expenses, the franchise posted a total comprehensive income of ₹18,091.22 lakhs, compared to ₹22,909.19 lakhs last year.
For the first time ever in the annals of CSK, the board has recommended a dividend of Re. 1 per equity share of Rs 0.10, amounting to ₹3,794.25 lakhs.
Mixed show by subsidiaries
Superkings Ventures Pvt. Ltd. (SKVPL), a subsidiary of CSK, reported strong growth with a turnover of ₹1,814.87 lakhs, up from ₹547.68 lakhs last year, and a profit after tax of ₹552.52 lakhs, reversing a loss of ₹161.10 lakhs in FY2024.
Joburg Super Kings (JSK), CSK’s South African T20 franchise, saw revenue increase to ₹4,530.38 lakhs from ₹4,023.06 lakhs last year. However, operating losses widened to ₹3,279.96 lakhs due to higher player costs.
Super Kings International Inc. (SKI) posted consolidated revenue of ₹614.40 lakhs, up sharply from ₹117.04 lakhs last year, but slipped into a loss of ₹217.53 lakhs against a profit of ₹22.57 lakhs in FY2024.