Imax has posted lower revenues and earnings amid a record box office for Avatar: The Way of Water on its screens and a Chinese market turnaround.
Overall fourth quarter revenue came to $98 million, down 10 percent from a year-earlier $108.6 million, amid a rapid reopening of cinema screens in China, where Imax has around 800 screens. The large format technology company recorded a profit of $2.6 million, which compared to year-earlier profit of $10.1 million.
During the latest quarter, Imax recorded a tax valuation allowance loss of $2.1 million. The adjusted per share profit in Q4 came to 19 cents, which compared to a per-share profit of 31 cents a year ago.
Ahead of the release of the fourth quarter financials, analysts forecast overall revenues of $95.7 million, net income at $5.4 million and adjusted earning per-share at 19 cents, according to a FactSet consensus estimate.
During the latest three months, Imax saw technology network revenues fall 11 percent to $45.9 million, while technology sales and maintenance revenues fell 10 percent to $48 million.
To date, Avatar: The Way of Water has been the highest grossing first-run release of all time with more than $253 million in box office on Imax giant screens.
The Toronto-based company also gained during the last quarter from a rapid reopening of the Chinese box office, with the company delivering a record-breaking $61.3 million in local language ticket receipts during the Chinese New Year holiday, up 72 percent over the year-earlier performance.
In China, Wandering Earth 2 became Imax’s highest grossing local language film of all time.
Global box office in 2022 for Imax increased 33 percent year-over-year to $850 million, getting the company nearer to its highest-grossing year in 2019, when it netted $1.03 billion in box office sales pre-pandemic.