Cineplex Reports First Quarter 2025 Results

Cision Canada

09-05-2025

TORONTO, May 9, 2025 /CNW/ - (TSX: CGX) - Today, Cineplex Inc. ("Cineplex" or the "Company") released its financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2025. Unless otherwise specified, all amounts contained in this news release are in Canadian dollars.
Q1 2025 Highlights:
Entertained 8.4 million moviegoers and delivered $264.3 million in revenue
Delivered a record Q1 concession per patron (CPP) of $9.13
International programming represented 14.7% of Q1 box office, outperforming the domestic market
Impressive return of cinema advertising contributing to a 38% increase in media revenues and a Q1 cinema media per patron of $2.04
Increased Digital-Place-Based Media revenue by 26.5%
"While the first quarter landed softer than expected due to March performance, the success of A Minecraft Movie at the start of the second quarter, paired with the optimism following CinemaCon, has energized the exhibition industry," said Ellis Jacob, President and CEO, Cineplex.
"A highly engaged cinema audience coupled with a steady and predictable film slate is driving interest and investment from advertisers leading to a 38% growth in cinema media revenue. Our digital media business revenue grew by 26.5%, reaping the benefits of our expanded and established digital out of home national mall network, paired with project revenue growth.
We generated record quarterly Location-Based Entertainment ("LBE") revenue of 10.5% over the prior year, with the addition of three new locations at the end of 2024.
With the impacts of the writers' and actors' strikes behind us in the first quarter, we're excited by the robust and diverse film slate moving forward. The April box office delivered a remarkable 76% growth over the previous year.
The breadth of major releases ahead is building meaningful momentum and reinforcing confidence across the industry. The growth and outlook of our industry positions us to return meaningful value to shareholders."
First Quarter Financial Results
Financial highlights
First Quarter
(in thousands of dollars, except theatre attendance in thousands of patrons and per share and per patron amounts)
2025
2024
Change (i)
Total revenues
$
264,283
$
294,759
-10.3 %
Theatre attendance
8,392
9,819
-14.5 %
Net loss from continuing operations
$
(36,615)
$
(62,970)
-41.9 %
Net income from discontinued operations, including gain on disposition
$
—
$
68,130
-100.0 %
Net (loss) income (ii)
$
(36,615)
$
5,160
NM
Cash (used in) provided by continuing operating activities
$
(22,664)
$
35,954
NM
Box office revenues per patron ("BPP") (iii)
$
12.14
$
12.74
-4.7 %
Concession revenues per patron ("CPP") (iii)
$
9.13
$
8.95
2.0 %
Adjusted EBITDA (iii)
$
31,734
$
46,735
-32.1 %
Adjusted EBITDAaL (iii)
$
(10,812)
$
4,585
NM
Adjusted EBITDAaL from discontinued operations (iii)
$
—
$
508
-100.0 %
Adjusted EBITDAaL including discontinued operations (iii)
$
(10,812)
$
5,093
NM
Adjusted EBITDAaL margin from continuing operations (iii)
(4.1) %
1.6 %
-5.7 %
Adjusted free cash flow (iii)
$
(25,724)
$
(6,005)
328.4 %
Adjusted free cash flow per share (iii)
$
(0.406)
$
(0.094)
331.9 %
Loss per share from continuing operations - basic (ii)
$
(0.58)
$
(0.99)
-41.4 %
Earnings per share from discontinued operations - basic
$
—
$
1.07
-100.0 %
(Loss) earnings per share - basic (ii)
$
(0.58)
$
0.08
NM
Loss per share from continuing operations - diluted (ii)
$
(0.58)
$
(0.99)
-41.4 %
Earnings per share from discontinued operations - diluted
$
—
$
1.07
-100.0 %
(Loss) earnings per share - diluted (ii)
$
(0.58)
$
0.08
NM
(i) Period over period change calculated based on thousands of dollars except percentage and per share values. Changes in percentage amounts are calculated as 2025 value less 2024 value.
(ii) 2025 includes expenses related to other transactions or litigation outside the normal course of business in the amount of $0.3 million (2024 - $1.9 million) for the first quarter. The first quarter of 2024 includes the loss on the 2024 Refinancing of $53.9 million.
(iii) Adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBITDAaL, adjusted EBITDAaL margin, adjusted free cash flow per common share of Cineplex, BPP and CPP are measures that do not have a standardized meaning under generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP"). These measures as well as other Non-GAAP other financial measures reported by Cineplex are defined in the 'Non-GAAP and Other Financial Measures' section at the end of this news release.
First Quarter Box Office Results
The following table compares 2025 monthly box office revenues to 2024 monthly box office revenues:
KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 2025
The following describes certain key business initiatives undertaken and results achieved during 2025 in each of Cineplex's core business areas:
FILM ENTERTAINMENT AND CONTENT
Theatre Exhibition
Reported first quarter box office revenues of $101.9 million, a decrease of $23.2 million or 18.5% from $125.1 million, due to a weaker film slate compared to the prior year, resulting in a 14.5% decrease in theatre attendance.
Reported first quarter BPP of $12.14, a decrease of $0.60 or 4.7% compared to the prior year of $12.74 due to a decrease in sales mix of premium priced products.
Every Tuesday from January 14, 2025 to February 11, 2025, Cineplex offered general admission movie tickets and a small bag of popcorn for $5 each, plus tax, in order to drive incremental attendance.
Theatre Food Service
Reported first quarter theatre food service revenues of $76.6 million, a decrease of $11.2 million or 12.8% compared to the prior year, primarily due to a 14.5% decrease in theatre attendance.
Reported a first quarter CPP record of $9.13, an increase of $0.18 or 2.0% compared to the prior year, primarily due to an increase in average transaction spend.
Alternative Programming and Distribution
As part of the theatrical distribution partnership with Lionsgate, Cineplex Pictures (Cineplex's distribution business) distributed Flight Risk, and The Unbreakable Boy. Cineplex extended its theatrical distribution partnership with Lionsgate until December 31, 2026.
Continued a leadership position in alternative programming, with 14.7% of first quarter box office revenues coming from international films, compared to those films having a 5.9% North-American share. Strong performing titles included, Ne Zha 2 (Mandarin), which was the highest grossing Mandarin film of all time for Cineplex, Chhaava (Hindi), and Six Each (Punjabi).
Event Cinema programming consisted of a variety of successful initiatives including The Chosen: Last Supper Part 1, classic film titles such as Se7en and Princess Mononoke, both featured in IMAX, Aida and Fidelio from the Metropolitan Opera, and a number of family films including Despicable Me 4 and The Wild Robot.
MEDIA
Cinema Media
Reported first quarter cinema media revenues of $17.1 million, an increase of $4.7 million or 38.0% over the prior year primarily due to growth in showtime revenues.
Reported first quarter cinema media per patron (CMPP) of $2.04, an increase of $0.77 or 60.6% over the prior year (see Section 'Non-GAAP and other financial measures').
Continued to leverage expertise in data and analytics to drive revenues.
Digital Place-Based Media
Reported first quarter revenues of $12.6 million, an increase of $2.6 million or 26.5% over the prior year, primarily due to increased media and services revenues and growth in digital out of home ("DOOH") networks.
Reported first quarter project revenues of $3.8 million, an increase of $0.9 million or 32.7%, compared to the prior year of $2.9 million, which primarily consists of hardware sales and professional services.
Reported first quarter media and services revenues of $8.8 million, an increase of $1.7 million or 24.1%, compared to the prior year of $7.1 million, which primarily consists of media advertising, sales of software and IT support.
LOCATION-BASED ENTERTAINMENT
Reported first quarter revenues and an all-time quarterly record of $38.1 million, an increase of $3.6 million or 10.5% compared to the prior year due to three additional locations.
Reported first quarter adjusted store level EBITDAaL of $9.8 million, an increase of $0.1 million or 1.0% compared to the prior year.
LOYALTY
Membership in the Scene+ loyalty program was over 15 million members as at March 31, 2025.
CORPORATE
Celebrated National Popcorn Day from January 17-19, 2025 by treating Scene+ members nationwide to a free bag of popcorn. Additionally, customers received a free bag of popcorn with their Cineplex food order when placed through DoorDash, Skip, or Uber Eats.
NON-GAAP AND OTHER FINANCIAL MEASURES
National Instrument 52-112, Non-GAAP and Other Financial Measures Disclosure ("NI 52-112") imposes obligations regarding disclosure of non-GAAP financial measures, non-GAAP ratios, and other financial measures. Cineplex reports on certain non-GAAP measures, non-GAAP ratios, supplementary financial measures and total segment measures that are used by management to evaluate Cineplex's performance. The following measures included in this news release do not have a standardized meaning under GAAP and may not be comparable to similar measures provided by other issuers. Cineplex includes these measures because management believes that they assist investors in assessing financial performance. These non-GAAP and other financial measures are used throughout this news release and are defined below.
NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES
A non-GAAP financial measure is defined in NI 52-112 as a financial measure disclosed that (a) depicts the historical or expected future financial performance, financial position or cash flow of an entity, (b) with respect to its composition, excludes an amount that is included in, or includes an amount that is excluded from, the composition of the most directly comparable financial measure disclosed in the primary financial statements of the entity, (c) is not disclosed in the financial statements of the entity, and (d) is not a ratio, fraction, percentage or similar representation.
NON-GAAP RATIOS
A non-GAAP ratio is defined in NI 52-112 as a financial measure disclosed that (a) is in the form of a ratio, fraction, percentage or similar representation, (b) has a non-GAAP financial measure as one or more of its components, and (c) is not disclosed in the financial statements.
Below are non-GAAP financial measures or non-GAAP ratios for continuing operations that are reported by Cineplex.
EBITDA, ADJUSTED EBITDA AND ADJUSTED EBITDAaL
Management defines EBITDA as earnings before interest income and expense, income taxes and depreciation and amortization expense. Adjusted EBITDA excludes the change in fair value of financial instrument, loss (gain) on disposal of assets, foreign exchange, and impairment, depreciation, amortization, interest and taxes of Cineplex's other joint ventures and associates, and other items that do not in management's view represent a factor relevant to the ongoing performance of the business such as the Competition Tribunal's administrative monetary penalty. Adjusted EBITDAaL modifies adjusted EBITDA to deduct current period cash rent paid or payable related to lease obligations.
Subsequent to the adoption of IFRS 16, Leases, by Cineplex effective January 1, 2019, the calculation of EBITDA no longer includes a charge for amounts paid or payable with respect to leased property and equipment. Given the majority of Cineplex's businesses are carried on in leased premises, Cineplex introduced the measure of adjusted EBITDAaL which includes a deduction for cash rent paid/payable related to lease obligations. Cineplex's management believes that adjusted EBITDAaL is an important supplemental measure of Cineplex's profitability at an operational level and provides analysts and investors with comparability in evaluating and valuing Cineplex's performance period over period. EBITDA, adjusted for various unusual items, is also used to define certain financial covenants in Cineplex's 2024 Credit Facility. Management calculates adjusted EBITDAaL margin by dividing adjusted EBITDAaL by total revenues.
EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBITDAaL are non-GAAP measures generally used as an indicator of financial performance and they should not be seen as a measure of liquidity or a substitute for comparable metrics prepared in accordance with GAAP. Cineplex's EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBITDAaL may differ from similar calculations as reported by other entities and accordingly may not be comparable to EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA or adjusted EBITDAaL reported by other entities.
Adjusted Store Level EBITDAaL Metrics
Cineplex reviews and reports adjusted EBITDAaL at the location level for LBE which is calculated as total LBE revenues from all locations less total LBE operating expenses, which excludes pre-opening costs and overhead relating to the management of LBE.
Adjusted Store Level EBITDAaL Margin
Calculated as adjusted store level EBITDAaL divided by total revenues for LBE for the period.
SUPPLEMENTARY FINANCIAL MEASURES
Supplementary financial measures are financial measures that are not (a) presented in the financial statements and (b) is, or is intended to be, disclosed periodically to depict the historical or expected future financial performance, financial position or cash flow, that is not a non-GAAP financial measure or a non-GAAP ratio as defined in the instrument. Below are supplementary financial measures that Cineplex uses to depict its financial performance, financial position or cash flows.
Earnings (loss) per Share Metrics
Cineplex has presented basic and diluted earnings (loss) per share net of this item to provide a more comparable loss per share metric between the current periods and prior year periods. In the non-GAAP and other financial measures, earnings is defined as net income or net loss attributable to Cineplex excluding the change in fair value of financial instruments.
Per Patron Revenue Metrics
Cineplex reviews per patron metrics as they relate to box office revenue, theatre food service revenue and cinema media revenue such as BPP, CPP, BPP excluding premium priced product, concession margin per patron, and CMPP, as these are key measures used by investors to value and assess Cineplex's performance, and are widely used in the theatre exhibition industry. Cineplex's management defines these metrics as follows:
Theatre attendance: Theatre attendance is calculated as the total number of paying patrons that frequent Cineplex's theatres during the period.
BPP: Calculated as total box office revenues divided by total paid theatre attendance for the period.
BPP excluding premium priced product: Calculated as total box office revenues for the period, less box office revenues from 3D, 4DX, UltraAVX, VIP, ScreenX and IMAX product; divided by total paid theatre attendance for the period, less paid theatre attendance for 3D, 4DX, UltraAVX, VIP, ScreenX and IMAX product.
CPP: Calculated as total theatre food service revenues divided by total paid theatre attendance for the period.
CMPP: Calculated as total cinema media revenues divided by total paid theatre attendance for the period.
Premium priced product: Defined as 3D, 4DX, UltraAVX, IMAX, ScreenX and VIP film product.
Theatre concession margin per patron: Calculated as total theatre food service revenues less total theatre food service cost, divided by theatre attendance for the period.
Same Theatre Analysis
Cineplex reviews and reports same theatre metrics relating to box office revenues, theatre food service revenues, theatre rent expense and theatre payroll expense, as these measures are widely used in the theatre exhibition industry as well as other retail industries.
Same theatre metrics are calculated by removing the results for all theatres that have been opened, acquired, closed or otherwise disposed of subsequent to the start of the prior year comparative period. For the three months ended March 31, 2025 the impact of one location that was opened or acquired and three locations that were closed or otherwise disposed of have been excluded, resulting in 155 theatres being included in the same theatre metrics. three months ended March 31, 2025
Cost of sales percentages
Cineplex reviews and reports cost of sales percentages for its two largest revenue sources; box office revenues and food service revenues, as these measures are widely used in the theatre exhibition industry. These measures are reported as film cost percentage and concession cost percentage, respectively, and are calculated as follows:
Film cost percentage: Calculated as total film cost expense divided by total box office revenues for the period.
Theatre concession cost percentage: Calculated as total theatre food service costs divided by total theatre food service revenues for the period.
LBE food cost percentage: Calculated as total LBE food costs divided by total LBE food service revenues for the period.
Certain information included in this news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. These forward-looking statements include, among others, statements with respect to Cineplex's objectives and goals, and the strategies to achieve those objectives and goals, as well as statements with respect to Cineplex's beliefs, plans, objectives, expectations, anticipations, estimates and intentions. The words "may", "will", "could", "should", "would", "suspect", "outlook", "believe", "plan", "anticipate", "estimate", "expect", "intend", "forecast", "objective" and "continue" (or the negative thereof), and words and expressions of similar import, are intended to identify forward-looking statements.
By their very nature, forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, including those described in Cineplex's Annual Information Form ("AIF"), Cineplex's management's discussion and analysis for the year ended December 31, 2024 ("Annual MD&A") and in this news release, which is incorporated herein by reference and available on SEDAR+ (www.sedarplus.ca). These risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, give rise to the possibility that predictions, forecasts, projections and other forward-looking statements will not be achieved. Certain material factors or assumptions are applied in making forward-looking statements and actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. Cineplex cautions readers not to place undue reliance on these statements as a number of important factors, many of which are beyond Cineplex's control, could cause actual results to differ materially from the beliefs, plans, objectives, expectations, anticipations, estimates and intentions expressed in such forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, Cineplex's expectations with respect to liquidity and capital expenditures, including its ability to meet its ongoing capital, operating and other obligations, and anticipated needs for, and sources of, funds; Cineplex's ability to execute cost-cutting and revenue enhancement initiatives in response to adverse economic conditions; competition from alternative forms of entertainment and content delivery via streaming and other formats; the impacts of any pandemic, epidemic, natural disaster, governmental restrictions, strikes or the inability to procure materials and supplies; information concerning future purchases of Common Shares under Cineplex's normal course issuer bid ("NCIB"); the outcome of the litigation with respect to Cineplex's online booking fee (described in further detail in the Annual MD&A); and risks generally encountered in the relevant industry, competition, customer, legal, taxation and accounting matters.
The foregoing list of factors that may affect future results is not exhaustive. When reviewing Cineplex's forward-looking statements, readers should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and potential events. Additional information about factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from expectations and about material factors or assumptions applied in making forward-looking statements may be found in the "Risks and Uncertainties" section of Cineplex's Annual MD&A.
Cineplex does not undertake to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable Canadian securities law. Additionally, Cineplex undertakes no obligation to comment on analyses, expectations or statements made by third parties in respect of Cineplex, its financial or operating results or its securities. All forward-looking statements in this news release are made as of the date hereof and are qualified by these cautionary statements. Additional information, including Cineplex's AIF and Annual MD&A, can be found on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.
You are cordially invited to participate in a conference call with the management of Cineplex (TSX: CGX) to review our first quarter results. Ellis Jacob, President and Chief Executive Officer and Gord Nelson, Chief Financial Officer, will host the call scheduled for:
Cineplex Inc. Q1 2025 Earnings Webcast:
Please note, analysts who cover the Company, should use the dial-in option to participate in the live question period: 1-226-828-7575 (Local) or 1-833-950-0062 (Canada Toll-free), access code 113556.
All attendees should join the event 5-10 minutes prior to the scheduled start time. Media are welcome to join the call in listen-only mode.
About Cineplex
Cineplex (TSX: CGX) is a top-tier Canadian brand that operates in the Film Entertainment and Content, Amusement and Leisure, and Media sectors. Cineplex offers a unique escape from the everyday to millions of guests through its circuit of 172 movie theatres and location-based entertainment venues. In addition to being Canada's largest and most innovative film exhibitor, the company operates Canada's favourite destination for 'Eats & Entertainment' (The Rec Room), complexes specially designed for teens and families (Playdium), and an entertainment concept that brings movies, amusement gaming, dining, and live performances together under one roof (Cineplex Junxion). It also operates successful businesses in cinema media (Cineplex Media), digital place-based media (Cineplex Digital Media or CDM), alternative programming (Cineplex Events) and motion picture distribution (Cineplex Pictures). Providing even more value for its guests, Cineplex is a partner in Scene+, Canada's largest entertainment and lifestyle loyalty program.
Proudly recognized as having one of the country's Most Admired Corporate Cultures, Cineplex employs over 10,000 people in its offices and venues across Canada. To learn more, visit Cineplex.com.