The summer box office hasn’t lived up to analysts expectations. B. Riley analyst Eric Wold is again lowering expectations for Imax Corp.’s second-quarter box office after previously doing so on June 4. Wold expects Imax box office for the second quarter to come in at $265 million, down from his $381 million forecast heading into the quarter and his most-recent $302 million updated forecast. Wold also lowered second-quarter estimates for profit and revenue. He lowered per-share earnings expectations to 14 cents from 20 cents and revenue to $88.1 million from $94.8 million. “While we entered the year with an optimistic view on full-year box office trends after a disappointing 2016, we clearly underestimated how much of an overreaction to the downside could be in store for Imax shares on a single quarter of weaker-than-expected box office,” Wold wrote in a note to clients. He said he remains optimistic on Imax’s outlook heading into 2018 and beyond. Globally, demand for Imax screens and systems is still strong and he expects the China screen base to mature and provide a solid box office tailwind. “We continue to believe the issues that plagued Q2 box office trends were mostly slate-specific and should not have any bearing on future expectations,” Wold wrote. Shares of Imax have declined more than 28% so far in 2017, while the S&P 500 index has gained more than 8%.
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