Cinemark 2Q Climbs on Higher Attendance, Pricier Tickets

Led by higher prices and admissions in both the U.S. and abroad, Cinemark (NYSE:CNK) revealed on Friday a sharp boost in second-quarter revenue, though its profit improved just slightly and fell narrowly short of Wall Street expectations.

The Plano, Texas-based motion picture exhibition business booked net income of $41 million, or 35 cents a share, compared with $40.7 million, or 35 cents a share, in the same quarter last year.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting slightly better earnings of 40 cents a share. Revenue for the three months ended June 30 was $620.6 million, up 15.1% from $539.4 million a year ago, widely beating the Streets view of $593.5 million.

This quarter Cinemark generated its highest ever quarterly worldwide attendance and as a result we achieved our highest ever quarterly Adjusted EBITDA, the companys chief executive, Alan Stock, said in a statement. This record performance extended our domestic industry box office out-performance streak to eleven straight quarters.

The stronger results were led by a 15% improvement in admissions revenues to $405.9 million and 14.6% gain in concessions sales to $189.3 million. Attendance climbed 9.8% during the period and ticket prices grew 4.6%.

Cinemark's international circuit continues to improve, according to Stock, who noted that its attendance growth is about four times the U.S. industry rate for the quarter.