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AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. reported its 12th consecutive quarterly loss and revenue that topped analysts’ estimates after market close on Tuesday, sending shares lower in after-hours trading.
The movie-theater chain and meme-stock phenomenon reported a third-quarter net loss of $226.9 million, or a net loss of 22 cents a share, compared with a net loss of $224.2 million, or a net loss of 22 cents a share, in the same period last year. On an adjusted basis, AMC
AMC,
reported a net loss of 20 cents a share, better than an adjusted loss of 22 cents a share a year ago. The company has not reported a profitable quarter on a GAAP basis since nearly a year before the pandemic, in the second quarter of 2019.
AMC’s second-quarter sales were $968.4 million, compared with $763.2 million in the same period last year. Analysts surveyed by FactSet were looking for sales of $961 million and a net loss of 20 cents a share, or a net loss of 23 cents a share on an adjusted basis.
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The company’s stock fell between 3% and 6% in after-hours trading following the release of the results. Shares of the meme-stock darling, which skyrocketed to a high of $72.62 on June 2, 2021, have fallen 66.5% this year. AMC’s stock, which has a 52-week high of $27.30, closed up 5.4% to $5.62 on Tuesday.
“Exactly as anticipated and foreshadowed on our last quarterly earnings call, our third-quarter results were impacted by a particularly soft industry-wide box office in the latter two-thirds of the 2022 third quarter,” said AMC CEO Adam Aron, in a statement.
However, AMC’s admissions revenue and food and beverage spending remain well above prepandemic levels, growing 12% and 30%, respectively, compared with the third quarter of 2019, according to Aron.
AMC, which describes itself as the largest movie-theater company in the world, reported adjusted EBITDA of a $12.9 million loss, compared with a loss of $5.4 million in the same period last year.
See now: Are you tempted to buy AMC’s new APEs? Be prepared to lose everything, the company warns
AMC ended the third quarter with just under $895.8 million of liquidity. “We will use it to continue to grow but also to continue to de-lever,” said Aron during a conference call to discuss the results.
Aron also explained that AMC is in the “final throes” of developing an AMC-branded credit card. The card, he said, will be launched in the first quarter of 2023, “if not sooner.”
The CEO also provided an update on the company’s plans for its branded popcorn. “AMC Perfectly Popcorn will be in grocery stores across the U.S. in the first half of 2023,” he said.
The movie-theater chain has been on a roller-coaster ride over the past two years that took it from beleaguered pandemic victim to meme-stock phenomenon. AMC used the steep rise in its share price to tap into equity and debt markets, raising $917 million in January 2021.
The company’s AMC Preferred Equity Units
APE,
or APEs, made their trading debut in August, sparking volatility.
With its APE equity unit, AMC created something like a 2-for-1 stock split, marking the company’s latest effort in a fight over stock issuances. AMC is also taking aim at its massive debt burden with the APE special dividend. The name is a nod to the investors who turned the company into a meme stock, who often refer to themselves as “apes” or “ape nation.” AMC issued an APE for each of its roughly 517 million shares outstanding.
The APEs, which hit an intraday low of $1.41 on Monday, have fallen 73.3% since their debut. The dividend hit an intraday high of $10.50 on Aug. 22.
See Now: AMC stock lifted by ‘Zoom Rooms’ partnership with Zoom
As of Tuesday, AMC has sold approximately 14.9 million shares
of its APEs and has raised net proceeds of approximately $36.4 million, the company said.
