IMAX and Comcast are both celebrating the shared successes of “Jurassic World” and “Furious 7” Thursday morning.
The huge-screen company just posted its top sales quarter ever thanks to a record box office of $343 million entering the summer months. IMAX’s $107.2 million revenue take in the second quarter of 2015 was up 35 percent from last year. Earnings per share (EPS) was $0.40 — up 60 percent from Q2 2014 — on adjusted net income of $28.7 million.
The sales figure topped Yahoo Finance’s revenue expectations and EPS matched the consensus forecast. Zacks predicted the EPS would be a penny lower, so per that organization, IMAX actually topped earnings estimates by $0.01 per share.
The company’s per screen average this quarter was an impressive $415,000. Domestically, that was up 41 percent year over year; internationally, the increase was 33 percent.
“The second quarter of 2015 was one of the strongest in IMAX’s history, delivering our highest revenue ever, growing adjusted EPS by 60 percent compared to the same period last year, record box office and quarterly per screen averages that we have not seen since ‘Avatar’ in 2010,” stated IMAX CEO Richard L. Gelfond. “We believe the strength of this quarter clearly demonstrates the impact that a strong slate of blockbuster films can have on IMAX and the operating leverage that results.”
“Momentum also continued to build on the network side of our business with higher than expected installations and strong signings activity in the quarter,” said Gelfond, who was in Vienna for the world premiere of “Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation.” “Tonight’s ‘M:I5’ event is the continuation of the transformation of IMAX’s brand from the smaller successes onto center stage. More agreements to use IMAX cameras as well as IMAX premieres such as ‘Furious 7’ and ‘Jurassic World’ are a powerful marketer for our brand and also signal the increasingly important role IMAX plays in the entertainment ecosystem.”
The total IMAX theater network consisted of 976 systems as of June 30, 2015. In Q2, the company signed contracts for 30 theaters, of which 28 were for new locations and 2 were for upgrades. IMAX also installed 35 theaters, all of which were for new theater locations.
The company will host a conference call today at 8:30 AM ET to discuss its second quarter 2015 financial results.