AMC Theatres on Thursday reported a net loss of $54.8 million for the third quarter, a 45% improvement over the $100.4 million loss the company reported during the same period a year ago.
That net loss was equivalent to a 53-cent loss per share for the quarter, which was an improvement over the 82 cents loss per share from the year prior, but was a wider loss than analysts tracking the stock via Yahoo Finance forecasted. Analysts were expecting AMC to report a loss of 42 cents per share.
The theater chain reported Q3 revenues of $1.32 billion, up nearly 8% compared with the $1.22 billion AMC reported for the third quarter in 2018. Analysts were expecting AMC to report revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter.
AMC shares were up as much as 2.5% in early trading on Thursday.
AMC reported that admissions revenue in the quarter increased to $797.3 million from the $751.4 million reported during the same quarter a year ago. AMC said that the third-quarter total attendance of 87.1 million tickets sold set an all-time high for a quarter. During the same quarter, however, U.S. average ticket price increased 3.3% to $9.45.
Concessions revenue also increased in the quarter, with AMC reporting revenue of $420 million, up from $384.8 million during the same quarter a year ago. AMC added that food and beverage revenue per patron grew 4.7% to a third quarter record of $5.35 per person.
“We outperformed the industry by 220 basis points on attendance per screen and 450 basis points of admission revenue per screen,” AMC CEO Adam Aron said in a statement. “AMC is achieving real momentum, as we gain market share and outperform our industry in attendance and revenue growth.” Aron continued, citing the chain’s theater renovation efforts and online marketing efforts.