Imax Revenues Get Lift From China Moviegoing Revival, but COVID-19 Takes a Toll
Brent Lang, provided by
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Imax’s quarterly revenue beat Wall Street’s expectations even as its losses were steeper than expected. The theater company reported revenues of $56 million, a 55% drop from the prior-year quarter’s revenues of $124.3 million. It also logged a net loss attributable to common shareholders of $21.2 million, or 36 cents per diluted share. That’s down from a profit of $18.2 million or 29 cents per share in the prior-year period, a time before coronavirus upended moviegoing.
Imax was projected to record a loss of 20 cents on revenue of $47.14 million. The company attributed its stronger than expected sales to the return of moviegoing in China and Japan. Movies like “Detective Chinatown 3” have done huge business in China, fueling a box office revival in the country and potentially setting the stage for positive news in an industry that has been battered by the public health crisis. The results goosed Imax shares, causing the stock to rise more than 2.4% in after-hours trading.