Advanced Television

IMAX: Box office up 64%

April 22, 2016

By Chris Forrester

Giant screen specialists IMAX report extremely solid numbers for its 1066 cinema screens, up 64 per cent to $272 million for its Q1.

IMAX CEO Rich Gelfond reported that the cinema operator had a backlog of orders of 388 screens, and allayed fears that the Chinese slowdown was badly affecting numbers. In Q1 the Company signed contracts for 36 theatres, of which 35 were for new locations and one was an upgrade.  In the quarter, the Company also installed 19 theatres, of which 10 were for new theatre locations and nine were upgrades.

“We continue to see substantial signings momentum in key geographical areas including China, Japan and India,” continued Gelfond. “This sustained international expansion, coupled with a North American outlook about which we are very optimistic, reflects the strong opportunity within our business moving forward.”

IMAX is continuing with its share buy-back programme, spending $50.5 million on 1.6 million shares during Q1. IMAX has allocated another $50 million for this quarter-year for share re-purchases.

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