AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc (AMC)

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🔥🩳🔥 AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2023 Results
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Aron continued, “What is particularly noteworthy is how much AMC benefited from our trailblazing industry leading efforts with our highly successful distribution of two concert movies TAYLOR SWIFT | THE ERAS TOUR and RENAISSANCE: A FILM BY BEYONCÉ.

Despite a diminished box office overall, in the fourth quarter compared to the same quarter a year ago, AMC’s Revenue grew by 11.5% and AMC’s Adjusted EBITDA almost tripled. Literally, all of that increase in AMC’s Revenue and EBITDA is attributable to our having shown these two movies in our theatres in the U.S. and internationally. If that is not enough, both movies played to rave critical acclaim:

Each received a rare A+ CinemaScore, and the Rotten Tomatoes response was astronomical with Taylor‘s film scoring 99/98 and Beyoncé’s film 97/99. Theles across our entire industry, as just these two films represented fully one ninth of the complete fourth quarter dse two movies added greatly to movie theatre ticket saomestic industry-wide box office. This is a stunning result given that neither of these films were on anyone’s drawing board until mid-year, and that they were the first movies ever distributed by AMC in our entire 103-year history. To that end, our praise for Taylor Swift and Beyoncé Knowles Carter has no limit, and we offer our boundless thanks to these two world class artists for entrusting AMC to collaborate with them as to the theatrical exhibition of their two masterpiece creations.”

Aron added, “Among AMC’s most important accomplishments in 2023 resulted from the attention we devoted to strengthening our balance sheet and bolstering our cash reserves. In full year 2023, AMC reduced the principal balance of its debt by $448.1 million.

We also paid off the lion share of our remaining deferred rent obligations which dated back to the early pandemic years. Of enormous significance, in 2023 AMC also raised $865 million of gross cash proceeds through the sale of equity. Along with similar actions to reduce debt and increase cash in prior years, at year-end 2023, AMC actually had less net debt than it had at the start of the pandemic.

AMC also had some $884.3 million of year-ending cash reserves. We believe that sizable cash position puts AMC in an enviable position to tackle the challenges that will come our way this year. And looking ahead to 2024, we will not hesitate to continue in our efforts to reduce debt, extend debt maturities and bring in more cash to our treasury as opportunities to do so arise.” Aron concluded, “It is hardly a secret that the multi-month writers and actors strikes of 2023 crippled Hollywood for months on end, and seriously hurt theatre operators who were forced to wait for delayed movie titles. After three years of hard work by one and all, the domestic industry-wide box office finally was in sight of pre-pandemic levels. In the peak of summer, July 2023, it was up 6% to July of 2019.

Clearly, moviegoers flocked to theatres when Hollywood released films in quantity and of quality. Just think BARBIE, OPPENHEIMER and TAYLOR SWIFT | THE ERAS TOUR among so many others. But the strikes clearly interrupted that momentum. The fourth quarter domestic industry-wide box office was down 35% versus pre-pandemic 2019. The January/February 2024 domestic industry-wide box office was down about 45% versus the same months of pre-pandemic 2020. We point this out, because importantly we think the strike impacts will only be short-term in nature.

AMC believes that the box office will start to strengthen again as soon as this coming month of March, in some of the summer months and especially in the latter third of this year. And over the medium term, we are both bullish and optimistic. With all the caveats that no one’s crystal ball is perfect, we currently expect that the industry box office in 2025 will grow by $1 to $2 billion, or more, in size over 2024.” Aron said in summary, “Knowing though that there will be strike-caused challenges, especially early in 2024, we have implemented decisive measures to strategically position the company to successfully navigate what we believe is only a temporary setback and reestablish our longer-term recovery trajectory. AMC has tightened operating hours, mitigated costs, right-sized our theatre portfolio, pushed the innovation envelope in merchandise and food & beverage sales, as well as established a new revenue stream with concert movie distribution.

Most importantly, we have increased our liquidity and strengthened our balance sheet through equity capital raising, debt exchanges and debt repurchases at a discount. As a result of our capital markets activities, since the beginning of 2023 AMC raised $865 million in gross cash proceeds and reduced the principal balance of our debt and deferred rent liabilities by $566 million, or nearly $1 billion over the last two years. Given AMC’s proven ability to thread the needle in coping with one Herculean challenge after another, we are confident in our company’s future.”

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