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Headline, Industry News
Imax stock plummets, $12M loss
Thursday November 09th 2006TORONTO (CP) _ Imax Corp. stock (TSX:IMX) tumbled 24 per cent Thursday to its lowest level in more than four years after a US$12-million loss in a quarter when the company installed no new movie systems and financial results missed analyst estimates by a wide margin.
In early afternoon trading, Imax shares fell to C$4.15 on the Toronto Stock Exchange, down $1.31 from their level on Wednesday ahead of the quarterly results. Thursday’s price was the lowest level since January 2002 and down from a 52-week high of $12.72.
Imax, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, reported late Wednesday that the quarterly loss resulted from a combination of disappointing box-office returns and soaring legal costs, while installations of theatre systems dropped to zero. Box-office bomb "The Ant Bully" took much of the blame for the poor theatrical performance.
Imax CEO Richard Gelfond told investors in a conference call that the computer-generated movie raked in 14 per cent of its domestic box-office on Imax screens _ the company’s highest percentage ever.
Gelfond argued that could be a sign of how weak the Warner Bros. family film performed overall, rather than Imax’s drawing power. Overall, the movie made less than US$30 million during its entire run in all theatre formats. Imax revenue fell 38 per cent to $20.7 million from $33.4 million.
The Toronto-based company’s loss amounted to 30 cents per share. That compared with a net profit of $2.3 million or six cents per share in the third quarter of 2005.
Analysts had expected, on average, earnings of five cents per share and revenue of $38 million, according to Thomson Financial.
Gelfond said that slowing construction of new theatres has pushed back several new Imax installations. The company has 24 system contracts in backlog, scheduled to be installed sometime in 2007.
"While the slippage has remained a recurring and unpredictable part of our business, we do note that as these installations fall into subsequent periods, they should prove beneficial to our numbers," he said.
New contract signings have been less-than-anticipated, mostly due to a lack of real box-office hits on Imax screens this year.
"Excitement over the film slate is a strong incentive for clients to install quickly after signing, and we did not experience that on as large a scale in the second half of this year as in the previous period," Gelfond added.
He said next year’s releases, such as sure-fire hits like "Spider-Man 3" and "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix", will hopefully boost signings and fast-track installations.
Headline, Industry News
Imax stock plummets, $12M loss
Thursday November 09th 2006TORONTO (CP) _ Imax Corp. stock (TSX:IMX) tumbled 24 per cent Thursday to its lowest level in more than four years after a US$12-million loss in a quarter when the company installed no new movie systems and financial results missed analyst estimates by a wide margin.
In early afternoon trading, Imax shares fell to C$4.15 on the Toronto Stock Exchange, down $1.31 from their level on Wednesday ahead of the quarterly results. Thursday’s price was the lowest level since January 2002 and down from a 52-week high of $12.72.
Imax, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, reported late Wednesday that the quarterly loss resulted from a combination of disappointing box-office returns and soaring legal costs, while installations of theatre systems dropped to zero. Box-office bomb "The Ant Bully" took much of the blame for the poor theatrical performance.
Imax CEO Richard Gelfond told investors in a conference call that the computer-generated movie raked in 14 per cent of its domestic box-office on Imax screens _ the company’s highest percentage ever.
Gelfond argued that could be a sign of how weak the Warner Bros. family film performed overall, rather than Imax’s drawing power. Overall, the movie made less than US$30 million during its entire run in all theatre formats. Imax revenue fell 38 per cent to $20.7 million from $33.4 million.
The Toronto-based company’s loss amounted to 30 cents per share. That compared with a net profit of $2.3 million or six cents per share in the third quarter of 2005.
Analysts had expected, on average, earnings of five cents per share and revenue of $38 million, according to Thomson Financial.
Gelfond said that slowing construction of new theatres has pushed back several new Imax installations. The company has 24 system contracts in backlog, scheduled to be installed sometime in 2007.
"While the slippage has remained a recurring and unpredictable part of our business, we do note that as these installations fall into subsequent periods, they should prove beneficial to our numbers," he said.
New contract signings have been less-than-anticipated, mostly due to a lack of real box-office hits on Imax screens this year.
"Excitement over the film slate is a strong incentive for clients to install quickly after signing, and we did not experience that on as large a scale in the second half of this year as in the previous period," Gelfond added.
He said next year’s releases, such as sure-fire hits like "Spider-Man 3" and "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix", will hopefully boost signings and fast-track installations.
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Headline, Industry News
Imax stock plummets, $12M loss
Thursday November 09th 2006TORONTO (CP) _ Imax Corp. stock (TSX:IMX) tumbled 24 per cent Thursday to its lowest level in more than four years after a US$12-million loss in a quarter when the company installed no new movie systems and financial results missed analyst estimates by a wide margin.
In early afternoon trading, Imax shares fell to C$4.15 on the Toronto Stock Exchange, down $1.31 from their level on Wednesday ahead of the quarterly results. Thursday’s price was the lowest level since January 2002 and down from a 52-week high of $12.72.
Imax, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, reported late Wednesday that the quarterly loss resulted from a combination of disappointing box-office returns and soaring legal costs, while installations of theatre systems dropped to zero. Box-office bomb "The Ant Bully" took much of the blame for the poor theatrical performance.
Imax CEO Richard Gelfond told investors in a conference call that the computer-generated movie raked in 14 per cent of its domestic box-office on Imax screens _ the company’s highest percentage ever.
Gelfond argued that could be a sign of how weak the Warner Bros. family film performed overall, rather than Imax’s drawing power. Overall, the movie made less than US$30 million during its entire run in all theatre formats. Imax revenue fell 38 per cent to $20.7 million from $33.4 million.
The Toronto-based company’s loss amounted to 30 cents per share. That compared with a net profit of $2.3 million or six cents per share in the third quarter of 2005.
Analysts had expected, on average, earnings of five cents per share and revenue of $38 million, according to Thomson Financial.
Gelfond said that slowing construction of new theatres has pushed back several new Imax installations. The company has 24 system contracts in backlog, scheduled to be installed sometime in 2007.
"While the slippage has remained a recurring and unpredictable part of our business, we do note that as these installations fall into subsequent periods, they should prove beneficial to our numbers," he said.
New contract signings have been less-than-anticipated, mostly due to a lack of real box-office hits on Imax screens this year.
"Excitement over the film slate is a strong incentive for clients to install quickly after signing, and we did not experience that on as large a scale in the second half of this year as in the previous period," Gelfond added.
He said next year’s releases, such as sure-fire hits like "Spider-Man 3" and "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix", will hopefully boost signings and fast-track installations.
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