AMC Entertainment reports another quarterly loss despite higher revenue

Despite higher revenue from a year ago, AMC Entertainment still lost money in the most recent quarter.

The world's largest movie theater chain has a lot of debt and a short film release schedule. The summer box office was strong but August and September were not as good.

The company had a net loss of $226.9 million in the third quarter of this year. When it came to admissions revenue and consumer spending at its theaters, AMC said it was up.

According to a Refinitiv survey of analysts, the company reported what they said they would report.

• Loss per share:  loss of 22 cents adjusted vs. a loss of 26 cents expected
• Revenue: $968 million vs. $961.1 million expected

In after hours trading, the company's stock was down.

AMC has a lot of debt. It paid down some of its debt after completing a $400 million private offering.

Thanks to millions of retail investors, the company was able to come back from the brink of insolvency in 2021. AMC has devised several plans to raise more capital to pay down its debts and invest in acquisitions, theater upgrades, and even a gold mine.

AMC spends more than it makes on operations, including concession costs, film exhibition costs and rent, even though it has a large war chest of cash. During the third quarter, the company burned more than $170 million in cash.

AMC paid a dividend to all shareholders in the form of preferred shares. Analysts say that the company was unable to take full advantage of selling off these new shares.

The preferred shares will be sold, according to the company. Net proceeds of $36.4 million were raised by the sale of 14.9 million shares.

Audiences are spending more money on tickets and popcorn now that the coronaviruses have passed. The industry will be affected by the lack of steady theatrical releases during the last months of the year.

The domestic box office sold less tickets in the third quarter of this year than in the second. The box office saw fewer wide releases during the period compared with pre-pandemic times, with only 19 films opening in more than 2,000 locations.

AMC should be able to ride out the lack of releases until the year 2023 because of its large cash pile.

Ahead of the company's earnings report Tuesday, shares of AMC fell to a new 52 week low of $5.17 a piece.

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