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** Shares of Imax IMAX.N rise 3% to $21
** Wedbush raises price target on Imax to $26 from $24; rates stock "outperform"
** Brokerage says co is gaining market share as moviegoers increasingly prefer IMAX screens
** "IMAX is diversifying with more alternative content to boost revenue further," Wedbush says
** Brokerage raises Q4 revenue estimates to $122 mln, based on higher expectations for content heading into the quarter
** Nine of 11 brokerages rate IMAX stock "buy" or higher, one "hold" and one "sell" or lower; their median PT is $26 - LSEG data
** As of previous close, IMAX stock up 41% YTD
(Reporting by Anshuman Tripathy in Bengaluru)
** Wedbush raises price target on Imax IMAX.N to $26 from $24; rates stock "outperform"
** Brokerage says co is gaining market share as moviegoers increasingly prefer IMAX screens
** "IMAX is diversifying with more alternative content to boost revenue further," Wedbush says
** Brokerage raises Q4 revenue estimates to $122 mln, based on higher expectations for content heading into the quarter
** Nine of 11 brokerages rate IMAX stock "buy" or higher, one "hold" and one "sell" or lower; their median PT is $26 - LSEG data
** As of previous close, IMAX stock up 41% YTD
(Reporting by Anshuman Tripathy in Bengaluru)
Key Takeaways:
By Lau Chi Hang
It once wowed investors with a story of riches from the potent combination of its big-screen technology and a booming Chinese box office with potential to become the world’s largest. But these days Imax China Holding Inc. (1970.HK) looks far less promising, as its technology that once looked so hot has failed to catch on and growth at China’s box office also slows.
The China unit of Canada’s Imax Corp. has also been far from a crowd pleaser among investors, with its shares now trading 72% below what they fetched when the company made a Hong Kong IPO in 2015.
The disappointment continued this year, as Imax China reported its revenue fell 3.2% in the first half of 2024 to $43.9 million, while its profit also sagged nearly 9% to $12.65 million. The company’s gross margin also fell 6.1 percentage points to 57.2% from 63.3% a year earlier.
Imax is known for its film production and projection systems with higher resolution, sharpness, greater contrast and more complete color than traditional movie technology. Imax China gets its revenue from two sources, namely, “content solutions” that convert movies and other content into the Imax format; and other technology products and services that include rentals, sales and maintenance for Imax systems used by third-party cinema operators.
Content solutions is the smaller of that pair, taking a beating as its revenue tumbled 34% in the first half to $9.35 million. It blamed the decline on weak Imax movie ticket sales, which fell to $108 million during the six months from $165 million a year earlier. Its technology products and services fare better, with revenue up 10% to $34.1 million year-on-year.
Unsuitable Films
One of Imax’s strongest selling points is the high-resolution and 3D qualities it brings to films. But the format isn’t necessary for all movies, and is generally best suited to genres like science fiction, fantasy or movies with very visually distinct scenes. Other genres, such as art-house, romance, comedy or daily life-themed movies, benefit little from the format.
Accordingly, years with more visually attractive films tend to bring a strong box office for Imax China. Last year was a case in point with the release in China of a series of sci-fi, fantasy and other visually notable blockbusters, including “Avatar: The Way of Water,” “Oppenheimer,” and “The Wandering Earth 2.” Audiences often preferred to watch such films in Imax theaters and willingly paid a premium for the more expensive tickets, generating a revenue bonanza for the company. But this year so far has failed to produce a similar string of suitable big hits for Imax’s big-screen format, pressuring the company’s ticket sales.
Waning Box Office Boom
Another factor hitting the company is the fading of a movie-going boom after China lifted its strict pandemic restrictions at the start of last year. People flocked to theaters at first in their eagerness to get out and about again, fueling a surge in ticket sales.
But that boom has subsided lately as China’s slowing economy causes consumers to rein in their spending. China’s box office took in 1.53 billion yuan ($214 million) during this year’s five-day Labor Day holiday at the beginning of May, similar to the previous year. If the remaining two months of the summer holidays are similar to July’s box office of 7.5 billion yuan, the summer box office is likely to total less than 20 billion yuan this year, also flat from last year’s 20.6 billion yuan.
Such a slowdown doesn’t bode well for Imax China’s prospects, at least not in the near-term. When it went public in 2015, investors were mesmerized with a Chinese box office that grew 30.7% in the period from 2010 to 2014. At that time, a growing preference for premium viewing experiences by China’s growing middle class also convinced investors that demand for Imax movies would continue to grow. 。
But the fast growth slammed to a halt during the pandemic, and has failed to return since then, with demand for Imax movies falling far short of expectation. While things picked up after the end of pandemic restrictions last year, the new normal characterized by an economic slowdown and consumer caution is hurting demand for more premium products like Imax films.
Privatization Story
Imax China’s stock fell nearly 7% after the interim results were announced, and the stock is now down 86% from the HK$60 it reached not long after its listing.
Last July, its Canadian parent attempted to take the company private and offered to purchase the shares for HK$10 apiece, representing a 40% premium to the price before the offer. But the Canadian fund Letko rejected the offer as too low, and also opposed the privatization as the Chinese box office seemed to be coming back to life. Its opposition and a subsequent shareholder revolt ultimately caused the privatization bid to fail.
To get its way, Imax threatened that its China offspring might stop paying dividends if minority shareholders didn’t approve the privatization. That left a bad taste in the mouth of many investors, surprised at how far the company was willing to go to complete the delisting.
The privatization bid’s collapse sent Imax China’s stock into a tailspin, though it has started to recover since May. That’s fueling speculation that some investors may be returning to the stock in anticipation of a new privatization bid with a similar premium to the first one.
Imax China’s price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio currently stands at 13 times, which looks relatively strong considering that many rivals like AMC and Orange Sky Golden Harvest Entertainment (1132.HK) are still losing money. But it could have room to grow further if a new privatization offer may be coming. That said, the stock really doesn’t seem to offer much for investors right now purely based on the company’s fundamentals, given the slowdown in China’s movie market and growing consumer caution that may dampen demand for its pricier Imax movie tickets.
This article is from an unpaid external contributor. It does not represent Benzinga's reporting and has not been edited for content or accuracy.
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Walt Disney Co and Marvel Studios’ “Deadpool & Wolverine” continue dominating the box office, grossing $824 million globally after two weekends in release.
The movie raked $38.5 million in Thursday previews, reaching a record for an R-rated film.
The comic book sequel, featuring Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman reprising their roles, has already surpassed the entire theatrical runs of 2016’s “Deadpool” ($783 million) and 2018’s “Deadpool 2” ($786 million), Variety reports.
Also Read: Disney Plans More Layoffs in TV Unit, Focuses on Streaming Investments: Report
“Deadpool & Wolverine” is now the second-highest grossing movie of 2024, trailing only “Inside Out 2” ($1.555 billion), and ranks as the third-biggest R-rated movie in history after “Joker” ($1.07 billion) and “Oppenheimer” ($975 million). It’s on track to cross the $1 billion mark soon.
This weekend, Disney became the first studio in 2024 to surpass $3 billion in worldwide ticket sales with only four nationwide releases: “Deadpool & Wolverine,” “Inside Out 2,” “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” ($397 million), and “The First Omen” ($53 million).
The film has also performed well in premium formats like Imax Corp , contributing $17.5 million in global weekend ticket sales and $64.5 million.
Disney purchased Marvel for $4 billion in 2009. According to the Hollywood Reporter’s March reports, Marvel has added approximately $13.2 billion in value to Disney.
In May, Disney reported revenue growth of 1% year-on-year to $22.08 billion, lagging the analyst consensus estimate of $22.11 billion.
Investors can gain exposure to Disney through SPDR S&P 500 and Vanguard S&P 500 ETF .
Price Actions: DIS shares closed lower by 3.74% at $89.57 on Friday. IMAX closed higher by 0.57% at $21.30.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
Image via Marvel Entertainment
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
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