AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. Announces Record Second Quarter 2015 Results

Guest Experience Initiatives Help Drive $158 million in Adjusted EBITDA –
Highest Quarterly Adjusted EBITDA on Record

LEAWOOD, Kan.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. (“AMC” or “the Company”), one of the world’s leading theatrical exhibition companies and an industry leader in innovation and operational excellence, today reported results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2015.

Highlights for the second quarter 2015 include the following:

  • Total revenues were a record $821.1 million compared to total revenues of $726.6 million for the three months ended June 30, 2014.
  • Admissions revenues were a record $533.4 million compared to $478.7 million for the same period a year ago. Average ticket price was a record $9.91 compared to $9.55 for the same period a year ago.
  • Food and beverage revenues were a record $250.5 million, compared to $211.6 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2014. Food and beverage revenues per patron increased 10.2% to $4.65, representing the highest in the history of the Company.
  • Adjusted EBITDA(1) was a record $157.8 million and Adjusted EBITDA Margin(1) was 19.2%, compared to $131.8 million and 18.1%, respectively, for the three months ended June 30, 2014.
  • Net earnings and diluted earnings per share were $43.9 million and $0.45, respectively, compared to $31.4 million and $0.32, respectively, for the three months ended June 30, 2014.

“The second quarter of 2015 continued AMC’s record setting pace, proving once again that our innovative approach to delivering superior guest experiences is creating significant value for both movie-goers and shareholders alike,” said Gerry Lopez, AMC president and chief executive officer. “While the slate of second quarter films resonated with movie-goers, it is the guest connections we are making through our strategic initiatives that are driving our industry outperforming admission revenue per screen growth of 10.0%, our record $4.65 food and beverage revenue per patron and our all-time high $158 million in Adjusted EBITDA. These outstanding results confirm our belief that this strategy is differentiating AMC from the rest of the industry and with years of meaningful runway left for additional deployment, our future continues to look as bright as ever.”

    (1)   (Reconciliations and definitions of non-GAAP financial measures are provided in the financial schedules accompanying this press release.)

CFO Commentary

Commentary on the quarter by Craig Ramsey, AMC's executive vice president and chief financial officer, is available at http://investor.amctheatres.com

Conference Call / Webcast Information

The Company will host a conference call via webcast for investors and other interested parties beginning at 4:00 p.m. CDT/5:00 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, July 29, 2015. To listen to the conference call via the internet, please visit the investor relations section of the AMC website at http://investor.amctheatres.com for a link to the webcast. Investors and interested parties should go to the website at least 15 minutes prior to the call to register, and/or download and install any necessary audio software.

Participants may also listen to the call by dialing (877) 407-3982, or (201) 493-6780 for international participants.

A podcast and archive of the webcast will be available on the Company’s website after the call for a limited time.

About AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc.

AMC (NYSE:AMC) is the guest experience leader with 350 locations and 5,031 screens located primarily in the United States. AMC has propelled innovation in the theatrical exhibition industry and continues today by delivering more comfort and convenience, enhanced food & beverage, greater engagement and loyalty, premium sight & sound, and targeted programming. AMC operates the most productive theatres in the country’s top markets, including No. 1 market share in the top three markets (NY, LA, Chicago). www.amctheatres.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words such as “forecast,” “estimate,” “will,” “project,” “intend,” “expect,” “should,” “believe,” “continue,” and other similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. These forward-looking statements are based on information available at the time those statements are made and/or management’s good faith belief as of that time with respect to future events, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual performance or results to differ materially from those expressed in or suggested by the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, execution risks related to our pending acquisition, including obtaining regulatory approvals and satisfying closing conditions; our ability to achieve expected synergies from our pending acquisition; our ability to realize expected benefits from our pending acquisition; decreased supply, quality and performance of, and delays in our access to, motion pictures; risks relating to our significant indebtedness; our ability to utilize net operating loss carry forwards to reduce future tax liability; increased competition in the geographic areas in which we operate and from alternative film delivery methods and other forms of entertainment; continued effectiveness of our strategic initiatives; the impact of shorter theatrical exclusive release windows; our ability to attract and retain senior executives and other key personnel; the impact of governmental regulation, including anti-trust review of our acquisition opportunities and investigations concerning potentially anticompetitive conduct, including film clearances and participation in certain joint ventures; unexpected delays and costs related to our optimization of our theatre circuit; and failures, unavailability or security breaches of our information systems.

Forward-looking statements should not be read as a guarantee of future performance or results, and will not necessarily be accurate indications of the times at, or by, which such performance or results will be achieved. For a detailed discussion of these risks and uncertainties, see the section entitled “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 10, 2015, and our other public filings. The Company does not intend, and undertakes no duty, to update this information to reflect future events or circumstances, except as required by applicable law.

           
AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Operations
For the Fiscal Periods Ended 6/30/15 and 6/30/14
(dollars in thousands, except per share data)
(Unaudited)    
Quarter Ended Six Months Ended
June 30, June 30,
 
  2015     2014     2015     2014  
Revenues
Admissions $ 533,382 $ 478,667 $ 952,076 $ 887,687
Food and beverage 250,516 211,597 451,040 393,361
Other theatre 37,181 36,309 71,087 68,283
       
Total revenues   821,079     726,573     1,474,203     1,349,331  
 
Operating costs and expenses
Film exhibition costs 295,416 257,220 518,504 469,320
Food and beverage costs 35,807 30,341 64,315 55,464
Operating expense 205,414 189,283 392,672 368,976
Rent 115,022 113,861 232,943 228,805
General and administrative:
Merger, acquisition and transaction costs 261 572 1,839 934
Other 17,737 15,149 22,678 33,369
Depreciation and amortization 57,249 51,750 115,026 106,527
       
Operating costs and expenses   726,906     658,176     1,347,977     1,263,395  
 
Operating income 94,173 68,397 126,226 85,936
Other expense (income)
Other expense (income) 9,273 (4,157 ) 9,273 (8,386 )
Interest expense:
Corporate borrowings 24,717 27,989 50,796 57,647
Capital and financing lease obligations 2,331 2,486 4,704 5,011
Equity in earnings of non-consolidated entities (9,362 ) (9,597 ) (10,686 ) (4,213 )
Investment (expense) income (59 ) 172 (5,202 ) (7,685 )
       
Total other expense   26,900     16,893     48,885     42,374  
 
Earnings from continuing operations before income taxes 67,273 51,504 77,341 43,562
Income tax provision 23,350 20,090 27,280 16,990
       
Earnings from continuing operations 43,923 31,414 50,061 26,572
Gain (loss) from discontinued operations, net of income taxes   -     (21 )   -     313  
 
Net earnings $ 43,923   $ 31,393   $ 50,061   $ 26,885  
 
Diluted earnings per share:
Earnings from continuing operations $ 0.45 $ 0.32 $ 0.51 $ 0.27
Earnings from discontinued operations   -     -     -     0.01  
Net earnings per share $ 0.45   $ 0.32   $ 0.51   $ 0.28  
 
Average shares outstanding diluted   98,037     97,628     97,987     97,628  
 
         
Balance Sheet Data (at period end):
(dollars in thousands)
(unaudited)      
  As of
June 30, December 31,
2015 2014
Cash and equivalents $ 179,340 $ 218,206
Corporate borrowings 1,758,319 1,791,005
Other long-term liabilities 437,402 419,717
Capital and financing lease obligations 105,878 109,258
Stockholders' equity 1,521,052 1,512,732
Total assets 4,739,325 4,763,732
 
               
Other Data:
(in thousands, except operating data)
(unaudited)
Quarter Ended Six Months Ended
June 30, June 30,
 
2015 2014 2015 2014
Net cash provided by operating activities 171,352 107,823 192,915 106,248
Capital expenditures (74,167 ) (59,609 ) (143,757 ) (115,208 )
Screen additions 12 12 12 12
Screen acquisitions 32 11 40 12
Screen dispositions - 13 - 26
Construction openings (closures), net 28 13 32 (6 )
Average screens-continuing operations 4,943 4,878 4,914 4,865
Number of screens operated 5,031 4,955 5,031 4,955
Number of theatres operated 350 340 350 340
Screens per theatre 14.4 14.6 14.4 14.6
Attendance (in thousands) 53,818 50,139 98,576 94,964
 
               
Reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA:
(dollars in thousands)
(unaudited)
   
Quarter Ended Six Months Ended
June 30, June 30,
 
  2015   2014   2015   2014
Earnings from continuing operations $ 43,923 $ 31,414 $ 50,061 $ 26,572
Plus:
Income tax provision 23,350 20,090 27,280 16,990
Interest expense 27,048 30,475 55,500 62,658
Depreciation and amortization 57,249 51,750 115,026 106,527
Certain operating expenses (2) 3,350 7,982 7,414 14,138
Equity in earnings of non-consolidated entities (9,362 ) (9,597 ) (10,686 ) (4,213 )
Cash distributions from non-consolidated entities 1,285 1,793 15,771 18,618
Investment expense (income) (59 ) 172 (5,202 ) (7,685 )
Other expense (income) (3) 9,273 (4,157 ) 9,273 (8,386 )
General and administrative expense-unallocated:
Merger, acquisition and transaction costs 261 572 1,839 934
Stock-based compensation expense (4)   1,439     1,311     7,178     7,668  
Adjusted EBITDA (1) $ 157,757   $ 131,805   $ 273,454   $ 233,821  
Adjusted EBITDA Margin (5)   19.2 %   18.1 %   18.5 %   17.3 %
 

(1) We present Adjusted EBITDA as a supplemental measure of our performance that is commonly used in our industry. We define Adjusted EBITDA as earnings (loss) from continuing operations plus (i) income tax provision (benefit), (ii) interest expense and (iii) depreciation and amortization, as further adjusted to eliminate the impact of certain items that we do not consider indicative of our ongoing operating performance and to include any cash distributions of earnings from our equity method investees. These further adjustments are itemized above. You are encouraged to evaluate these adjustments and the reasons we consider them appropriate for supplemental analysis. In evaluating Adjusted EBITDA, you should be aware that in the future we may incur expenses that are the same as or similar to some of the adjustments in this presentation. Our presentation of Adjusted EBITDA should not be construed as an inference that our future results will be unaffected by unusual or non-recurring items. Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure commonly used in our industry and should not be construed as an alternative to net earnings (loss) as an indicator of operating performance or as an alternative to cash flow provided by operating activities as a measure of liquidity (as determined in accordance with U.S. GAAP). Adjusted EBITDA may not be comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies. We have included Adjusted EBITDA because we believe it provides management and investors with additional information to measure our performance and liquidity, estimate our value and evaluate our ability to service debt.

Adjusted EBITDA has important limitations as an analytical tool, and you should not consider it in isolation, or as a substitute for analysis of our results as reported under U.S. GAAP. For example,

Adjusted EBITDA:

  • does not reflect our capital expenditures, future requirements for capital expenditures or contractual commitments;
  • does not reflect changes in, or cash requirements for, our working capital needs;
  • does not reflect the significant interest expenses, or the cash requirements necessary to service interest or principal payments on our debt;
  • excludes income tax payments that represent a reduction in cash available to us; and
  • does not reflect any cash requirements for the assets being depreciated and amortized that may have to be replaced in the future.

(2) Amounts represent preopening expense, theatre and other closure expense, deferred digital equipment rent expense, and disposition of assets and other gains included in operating expenses.

(3) Other income for the quarter ended June 30, 2015 was due to a net loss on extinguishment of indebtedness related to the cash tender offer and redemption of the Notes due 2020. Other income for the quarter and six months ended June 30, 2014 was due to net gains on extinguishment of indebtedness related to the cash tender offer and redemption of the Notes due 2019.

(4) Non-cash expense included in General and administrative: Other

(5) We define Adjusted EBITDA Margin as Adjusted EBITDA divided by Total Revenues.

AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc.
Investor Relations:
John Merriwether, 866-248-3872
InvestorRelations@amctheatres.com
or
Media Contacts:
Ryan Noonan, (913) 213-2183
rnoonan@amctheatres.com

Source: AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc.