Reuters
TORONTO (Reuters) – A lack of blockbuster films hit Imax Corp's box office in the first quarter, and it posted a loss on Thursday, but it said it was encouraged by solid demand for its big-screen movie theaters.
The Toronto-based company said that during the first quarter it installed 43 of its oversized-screen theaters. It also signed new deals for 101 theaters, and raised its forecast for installations for the full year.
Analysts seemed unfazed by the quarterly results as Imax prepares for the peak summer blockbuster season. Street car-racing film "Fast Five" opens in North America on Friday and fantasy epic "Thor" opens internationally.
Imax takes an oversized portion of ticket sales for blockbuster films such as "Avatar". Its screenings of Disney's "Tron: Legacy" generated almost a quarter of the science-fiction film's U.S. box office receipts with only 2 percent of its screenings, Imax said last quarter.
"It was a tale of two quarters," Imax CEO Richard Gelfond said. "The basics of Imax for a long-term shareholder have dramatically improved. If you're looking at the short run, the quarter was a disappointing box office quarter," he said.
The stock hit its highest price in more than a decade on Thursday morning, up more than 5 percent.
The company reported a first-quarter loss of $1 million, or 2 cents a share, its first loss after seven quarters of gains. It had a profit of $26.5 million, or 42 cents a share, a year earlier on the back of the release of "Avatar" on its screens.
Revenue fell to $45.2 million from $72.8 million in the year-before quarter.
Excluding one-time items and stock-based compensation, earnings fell to $2.5 million, or 4 cents a share, from $35.3 million, or 53 cents a share, a year earlier.
Imax's Glefond said he expects years of growth in emerging markets such as China, where Imax balances Hollywood and local content, and Russia, where 3D is particularly popular.
"There's a lot of runway for us to grow," he said. In North America the company is moving into smaller cities, he added.
Imax signed a 75-theater revenue sharing deal with Wanda Cinema Line, China's largest cinema operator, in late March.
Imax said it now intends to install between 115 and 125 theaters in 2011, up from earlier plans for more than 100 new theaters.
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