Movie theater owner Cinemark reported mixed fourth-quarter results, missing Wall Street forecasts for earnings per share but posting better-than-expected revenue.
Earnings of 33 cents a share on a diluted basis represented an improvement from the year-ago period, which saw a loss of 15 cents a share. Analysts’ consensus outlook was for earnings of 41 cents.
Revenue increased 28% from a year ago to hit $814.3 million, well ahead of analysts’ expectations.
The quarter saw particularly strong box office for family movies, including Moana 2, Wicked, Mufasa and Sonic 3. Despite the solid results to end the year, lingering impact from the dual strikes of 2023 and secular declines in theatrical moviegoing kept total revenue of $8.8 billion well short of pre-pandemic levels.
In a positive sign of recovery from Covid, Cinemark said it was restoring its dividend, a perk offered by many companies as a reward for investors. Dividends were abandoned early in the pandemic as exhibitors looked for every way they could to conserve their cash reserves.
“Based on the strength of our company and our positive future outlook, we are thrilled to reinstate our annual cash dividend at $0.32 per share, which marks another major milestone in our recovery from the pandemic,” CEO Sean Gamble said.
The first quarterly dividend will be payable on March 19 to shareholders of record on March 5.
For the full year, Cinemark pointed to its resilience despite the impact of the dual Hollywood strikes of 2023 on the movie pipeline. Revenue dipped a fraction of a percentage point in 2024 to $3.049.5 billion, with admissions revenue falling 2% to $1.5 billion and attendance dipping 4% million to 201.1 million ticket buyers.
