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AMC Entertainment, the top movie theater circuit, gave investors a preview of its first-quarter financial results late Friday, with key metrics beating Wall Street expectations.
The company is scheduled to release final quarterly numbers on May 8th. From time to time, public companies release preliminary numbers, but AMC in particular is under scrutiny as it recovers from the 2023 double strike. Like other companies in the industry exhibiting at trade shows, the company has suffered from: On top of a tough recovery from a long pandemic-induced shutdown, box office grosses have been weak this year and the entire production pipeline has slowed.
Revenue for the quarter ended March 31 was $951.4 million, down slightly from $954.4 million for the same period in 2023. Diluted loss per share was 62 cents, compared with a loss of $1.71 per share in the year-ago period. Wall Street analysts' consensus is for revenue of $861.1 million and loss per share of 79 cents.
CEO Adam Aaron said, “While we expect second-quarter box office revenues to continue to be affected by the 2023 Hollywood strike, we remain encouraged by our upcoming film schedule and as the year progresses. We expect the box office revenue to continue to be strong.” In the earnings preview release.
AMC also announced that it had raised $41.8 million as of Thursday from the sale of up to $250 million in Class A stock, an initiative that began in March.
In a separate development, Bloomberg reported Thursday that a group of AMC's lenders has proposed pushing back short-term debt maturities, a goal of the company's management.
AMC Entertainment has about $4.5 billion in long-term debt, including more than $2.8 billion due in 2026, according to regulatory filings.