Shares of Cinemark Holdings Inc. climbed 0.8% in premarket trading Friday, after the movie theater operator reported a wider-than-expected first-quarter loss but revenue that fell less than expected, as admissions and concessions revenue both topped forecasts. The net loss widened to $208.2 million, or $1.75 a share, from $59.6 million, or 51 cents a share in the year-ago period. The FactSet consensus for net per-share losses was $1.44. Total revenue dropped 79% to $114.4 million, but beat the FactSet consensus of $92.6 million. Admissions revenue fell 80.8% to $56.1 million, but topped expectations of $45.8 million, while concessions revenue declined 79.3% to $39.5 million to beat expectations of $28.9 million. “We are highly optimistic about theatrical exhibition’s resurgence in the U.S. over the coming months on account of a range of factors, including the rapid pace of the vaccine rollout, improving consumer sentiment about returning to movie theaters, recent box office successes and confirmation of consistent product supply,” said Chief Executive Mark Zoradi. The company said its screen count was 5,872 as of March 31, and it had commitments to open six new theaters with 72 screens this year, and 13 new theaters with 123 screens after 2021. The stock has advanced 17.7% year to date through Thursday, while the S&P 500 has gained 11.9%.
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