AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc (NYSE:AMC) fell after the company posted a first-quarter loss bigger than analysts had expected amid a 10% decline in movie attendance.
The movie theater chain posted a loss of $1.21 per share, a bigger hit than the $0.54 loss analysts expected. Revenue declined 13.2% from the previous year to 1.2 billion, in line with Street expectations.
One reason for the year-over-year decline was an unusually strong start to 2018, CEO Adam Aron said, thanks to Black Panther’s dominance at the box office.
READ: AMC stock propelled by Avengers: Endgame's record-setting opening weekend
That said, the company managed to outperform a struggling industry. While AMC's attendance dipped 10%, US movie attendance as a whole fell 16%.
Looking ahead, the second quarter is off to a strong start as Avengers: Endgame has already grossed more than $2 billion globally.
“We continue to be excited about the remainder of 2019, which we believe might be the highest grossing 9-month period in cinema history,” Aron said. “We are optimistic that the full year 2019 box office will be at least as strong as 2018, and potentially could be the first year ever that the domestic box office breaks $12 billion.”
Shares tumbled 9.6% to $13.24.
Contact Andrew Kessel at andrew.kessel@proactiveinvestors.com
Follow him on Twitter @andrew_kessel