IMAX Q3 tops expectations
November 1, 2019
By Chris Forrester
Giant screen operator IMAX enjoyed revenue increases for its Q3 trading period up 5.2 per cent and helped by a 9 per cent rise in income from its commercial theatre network.
“We are on track for our best year ever at the global box office. In China our box office is up 27 per cent in [Chinese currency] through early October and we recently grew our box office by more than 160 per cent during the pivotal National Day holiday. And we look forward to the highly anticipated Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, final instalment of the Star Wars saga, in December,” said IMAX CEO Richard Gelfond.
Gelfond reported that its global box office receipts were up 19.1 per cent, and with a 11.7 per cent increase in gross profit. Net income, at $10.9 million, was up 45.2 per cent.
IMAX has 1473 commercial theatres in 81 countries and territories, up 127 theatres y-o-y.
“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 added.
“Building on the strength of our core business, we are developing new opportunities for future growth while maintaining cost discipline. 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 utilisation throughout our global network.”
IMAX signed contracts for 22 new theatres and 8 upgrades in third quarter 2019, reflecting the continuing strong demand for the Company’s technology and systems. There were 607 theatres in backlog, including 125 upgrades, as of September 30th 2019, compared to 635 in backlog, including 112 upgrades, as of September 30th 2018.
For this full year IMAX now says that its global box office is likely to experience low double-digit growth on 2018’s $1.032 billion achieved.