Imax's Stock Set To Rally After Profit Rises Well Above Expectations

Shares of Imax Corp. were indicated up more than 3% in light premarket trade Thursday, after the movie theater operator reported first-quarter profit and sales that rose well above expectations, on the back strong box office growth. Earnings for the latest quarter came to $9.53 million, or 14 cents a share, compared with $391,000, or breakeven on a per-share basis, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share were 22 cents, beating the FactSet consensus of 15 cents. Revenue rose 48% to $92.1 million, above the FactSet consensus of $83.9 million. Global box office grew 64% to $272 million. The company approved a $50 million increase to its share repurchase program. The stock has dropped 7.3% year to date through Wednesday, while the S&P 500 has gained 2.9%.