Imax reports first-quarter profit of $26.6 million helped by blockbuster hits

Imax reports first-quarter profit of $26.6 million helped by blockbuster hits Theatre equipment maker Imax Corp. (TSX:IMX) says its quarterly profit hit a record US$26.6 million in the first three months of this year, helped by blockbuster 3-D hits "Avatar" and "Alice in Wonderland."

The Toronto-area company makes high-end projectors and other equipment for giant screen movie theatres around the world.

Imax said its earnings in the first quarter of 2010, reported in U.S. currency, were worth 40 cents per share.

That compared to a year-ago loss of $2.6 million or six cents per share.

Imax says its revenues more than doubled to $72.8 million from $33.1 million as the company booked revenue on three new theatre systems, as well as higher revenue from revenue-sharing agreements that gave it a cut of some ticket sales.

Imax said it signed contracts for 41 theatres in the quarter, Offset Plates with 19 of them being revenue sharing system arrangements.

"Our strong operating and financial performance demonstrates what can happen when great films are combined with our growing theatre network," said chief executive Richard Gelfond in a release.

"While we are pleased to have generated record quarterly financial results, we believe the longer term benefits of titles such as 'Avatar' and 'Alice in Wonderland' to our business transcend a single quarter."

Revenue from its joint venture screens rose to $18.9 million from $1.9 million a year earlier.

Imax has been pushing to convert more of its theatres into the digital format because it saves on pricey film print costs, which can be several times more expensive than an average film print.

Gelfond said that initiative continues and over the past 15 months the company has upgraded 35 film-based systems to digital.

"These digital upgrades will help to drive our Offset Plates box office revenue as well as that of our customers by maximizing the number of Imax titles they can show," he said.