Imax blew past Wall Street forecasts with sales up 32% at $98 million for the second quarter ended in June. Adjusted EPS was 26 cents a share – up 271%.
The company swung to a net profit of $8.35 million (15 cents a share) from a loss of $2.85 million (negative 5 cents) the year before. Shares popped 3% in after-market trading.
A diverse mix of Hollywood and local language content helped powered the company’s global box office performance of $268.3 million, up 8% year-on-year. The company, in the midst of a blockbuster run with Oppenheimer that will buoy its financials in the current third quarter, also said signings for new and upgraded Imax systems around the world climbed to 84 through July.
“IMAX continues to be a winner in a dynamic global marketplace for entertainment, as demonstrated by our strong results in the second quarter,” said CEO Richard Gelfond. “We again proved that IMAX can drive results in virtually any business environment thanks to our global scale, asset-lite model, and diversified revenue mix across technology licensing and Hollywood and local language global box office.”
He said this past weekend “demonstrates the paradigm shift at hand in moviegoing, as IMAX drove strong double-digit market share with a trio of Hollywood and local releases — led by the stunning performance of ‘Oppenheimer’ — lifting the Company to one of its best weekends of all time at the global box office.”
Imax has benefitted from a consumer shift to premium formats post-Covid.
“We remain confident we will continue to drive growth in 2023 across global box office, system signings, installations, and adjusted EBITDA. And the accelerated pace of system signings and installations we’re seeing globally this year are a very positive long-term growth indicator for our business,” Gelfond said.