AMC Entertainment’s revenues rose 6.8 percent in the first quarter of 2014, driven by a 5.1 percent increase in movie theater attendance and a 1.7 percent hike in average ticket prices, the giant exhibition chain reported Tuesday.
Box-office hits including “Ride Along” and “The Lego Movie” helped drive the revenues to $622.8 million, up from $577.8 million a year ago, in the company’s second quarter as a publicly traded company. AMC’s net loss for the quarter was $4.5 million compared to $10.3 million during the same period in 2013. Net loss per share was $0.05 compared to $0.13 from last year’s first quarter.
“For the quarter, our per-screen admissions were up 7 percent, outpacing the industry by a very robust 2 percentage points,” said Gerry Lopez, the company’s president and chief executive.
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AMC made its debut on the public market late last year, roughly one year after being bought by China’s Dalian Wanda Group. On Monday, the company unveiled its first quarterly dividend –20 cents a share — since going public.
Food and beverage revenues increased 8.2 percent in the quarter, driven by the attendance improvement and a 2.8 percent increase in food and beverage revenues per patron.
Losses from continuing operations were $4.8 million compared to $15.2 million for the same three months a year ago. The loss per share from continuing operations was $0.05 compared to $0.20 for the same period a year ago.
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Shares closed Tuesday at $22.48, down slightly but up from their December IPO price of $18 a share.