Imax Corp. reported earnings for the third quarter on Wednesday that were improved compared with the same period last year, though revenue fell slightly below Wall Street expectations.
“We are on track for our best year ever at the global box office,” Imax CEO Richard Gelfond said in a statement. “In China our box office is up 27% in RMB through early October and we recently grew our box office by more than 160% during the pivotal National Day holiday. And we look forward to the highly anticipated ‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,’ final installment of the Star Wars saga, in December.
“Looking ahead to 2020, we continue to build out a strong slate headlined by a record number of releases filmed in Imax and proven franchise properties — demonstrating our longstanding relationships with world-class creators, our ability to create new opportunities to drive Imax market share on key titles, and growing demand for our end-to-end technology,” Gelfond continued.
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The premium format film exhibitor reported adjusted earnings per share of 21 cents which was an improvement compared with the the 14 cents per share the company reported during the same three-month period a year ago. Analysts tracking the company via Yahoo Finance expected Imax to report per-share earnings of 20 cents.
Revenue for the quarter was $86.4 million, up 5% from $82.1 million last year, but just below analysts expectations for $87.6 million in revenue. Imax said this its global box office increased 19% in the quarter, which was driven by a roughly 40% increase in international box office, not including China.
“Building on the strength of our core business, we are developing new opportunities for future growth while maintaining cost discipline,” Gelfond said. “In partnership with leading manufacturers and streaming platforms, we are leveraging our strong brand and technology to extend our offerings into the home through Imax Enhanced.
Additionally, we continue to partner with innovative artists across genres to create truly unique events that drive increased utilization throughout our global network,” he continued. “We believe that the powerful combination of momentum in our attractive core business and new potential levers of growth under development, position us well for the future.”
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