Holiday hits such as “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” and “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” pushed AMC Entertainment’s revenues up 2.3 percent during its first quarter as a publicly traded company.
Revenues at the movie chain for the three months ending in December rose to $713 million, up from a year ago when company earned $697 million. AMC had its initial public offering last winter.
“Our year-over-year revenue improvement in 2013 was fueled by the progress we are making in our efforts to further set ourselves apart as the guest experience leader in movie exhibition,” AMC CEO Gerry Lopez said in a statement. “Our five strategic action fronts, led by innovations in comfort and convenience as well as our enhanced food and beverage offerings, are changing industry standards.”
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AMC’s earnings per share hit $3.58. Adjusted EBITDA fell slightly to $112.9 million, compared to $114.8 million for the year-ago period. The company attributed the drop to costs related to a management profit sharing plan it terminated and a retirement program it managed in conjunction with its public offering.
Net income rose to $279.6 million, or $3.62 a share, up from $373,000, or 1 cent, in the year-ago period. Both revenue and earnings figures surpassed Wall Street expectations.
Admissions revenues climbed 2.1 percent and food and beverage revenues were virtually flat. Average ticket price spiked 5.5 percent, which helped offset a 3.2 percent decline in attendance, the company said.
For the fiscal year, AMC’s revenues rose 3.6 percent to $2.7 billion — from $2,6 billion in 2012. The adjusted EBITDA jumped 2.2 percent to $448.1 million up from $438.3 million.
Shares of AMC increased 0.36 percent to $22.47 in after-hours trading.