Cinemark’s stock ticked up over 3% in pre-market trading on Thursday as the company’s Q1 earnings beat Wall Street expectations with $579 million in revenue, only a 5% dip from 2023’s $611 million despite a sluggish start to 2024’s box office. Zacks anticipated an 8.6% drop to $558 million, but the Texas-based chain managed to deftly maneuver a tricky first quarter.
“Dune: Part Two,” “Kung Fu Panda 4” and “Godzilla x Kong” have been the primary bright spots at the box office so far, in contrast to 2023’s Q1 which was lifted by Marvel’s “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” and Lionsgate’s “John Wick: Chapter 4.”
Here are the key figures:
Earnings per share: Cinemark reported a diluted earnings per share of $0.19, beating expectations from Zacks of estimated $0.21 loss per share.
Attendance: There was a 7.5% decrease in attendance to 39.7 million patrons due to the lower volume of blockbusters compared to 2023 and lackluster performance of those that did open this year, like “Madame Web” and “Argylle.”
Concessions: Concession revenue dipped 4.9% to $224.2 million, driven by the decrease in attendance.
Net income for Q1 was $24.9 million compared with a loss of $3.1 million in 2023 and included a $27.7 million tax benefit primarily related to the release of valuation allowances.
Adjusted EBITDA for the three months ended March 31, 2024 was $70.7 million compared with $86.2 million in 2023.
“During the quarter, our sensational team once again demonstrated their skillful ability to navigate a dynamic operating environment, delivering results that outpaced the market,” Cinemark’s president and CEO Sean Gamble said in a statement.
“As we look ahead, encouraging indicators pertaining to consumer moviegoing patterns, film volume recovery, and strength of content appeal continue to provide a positive long-term outlook for our industry. Moreover, we believe Cinemark is uniquely positioned to thrive on account of our advantaged competitive strengths and numerous levers to drive value creation.”
