FAST NEWS: IMAX China’s half-year profit jumps 17-fold

The latest: Greater China cinema operator IMAX China Holding Inc. (1970.HK) on Thursday reported a 38.6% year-on-year increase in first-half revenue to $45.32 million, with net profit jumping 17.1 times to $13.88 million.

Looking up: As the cinema industry continues to rebound from the Covid outbreak, the reopening of theatres and the resumption of normal film release schedules has allowed the company to return to normal operations in the first half of the year, which has positively contributed to revenues.

Take Note: The company stated that it is experiencing, or may continue to experience, delays in collecting payments from its exhibitor customers because of financial difficulties.

Digging Deeper: IMAX China, the separately listed Chinese subsidiary of big-screen theater giant IMAX Corp. (IMAX.TO), owned 779 IMAX theaters in Greater China as of the end of June this year, with most of its revenue coming from film remastering, as well as system sales and maintenance of big-screen technology. About two weeks ago, IMAX Corp. announced that it would buy all of the Hong Kong-listed shares of IMAX China that it did not already own at a price of HK$10 per share, a premium of nearly 50% over the share price 30 trading days before the plan was announced, which at one point spurred a surge in IMAX China’s stock price.

Market Reaction: IMAX China shares fluctuated slightly on Thursday and closed down 0.1% at HK$9.5 by the midday break. The stock now trades near the upper end of its 52-week range.

Translation by A. Au

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