AMC Entertainment beats revenue estimates as box office recovers

Feb 23 (Reuters) – AMC Entertainment beat Wall Street expectations for fourth-quarter revenue on Monday, offering a sign of confidence in the slow recovery of cinema traffic from pandemic-era lows.

The largest theater chain in the U.S. said that the industry-wide box office collection in North America was about 16% higher in January than a year ago.

AMC is banking on a blockbuster-heavy slate for the remainder of the year, including new installments of Spider-Man, Avengers and Dune, to pack seats.

However, the company’s U.S. market attendance declined 7.5% in the quarter, slipping to 39.7 million from 43 million a year ago.

It reported a 1.4% fall in revenue to $1.29 billion, compared with analysts’ average estimate of $1.27 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.

In January, AMC announced an agreement with some of its creditors to refinance debt, a step aimed at cutting interest expenses and extending maturities.

(Reporting by Kritika Lamba and Anhata Rooprai in Bengaluru; Editing by Sahal Muhammed)