‘Deadpool’-led Box Office Drives IMAX Q1 Revenue Up 48 Percent

IMAX revenue growth this past quarter was as large as its screens.

The company unveiled first-quarter 2016 financials early Thursday morning, reporting a 48 percent year over year sales increase, thanks primarily to strong box office figures. IMAX hauled in $92.1 million at its top line, up nearly $30 million from Q1 2015’s $62.1 million take.

In doing so, IMAX blew away Wall Street’s sales figure for the most-recent three-month period — thanks, “Deadpool” and “Batman v. Superman!”

Media analysts had predicted earnings per share (EPS) of 15 cents on $83.67 million in revenue, per Yahoo Finance. IMAX revealed an adjusted EPS of 22 cents — up a whopping 214 percent from the comparable 90-day period — while basic and diluted net income per share was 14 cents.

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And that’s all just the beginning, CEO Richard Gelfond said in his prepared remarks.

“The pace of IMAX theatre signings, installations and box office growth, both domestically and globally, continues to drive real momentum in the business,” he stated. “We believe significant opportunity lies ahead as we continue the year with a robust pipeline of films featuring major blockbuster titles including a strong start to the second quarter with “The Jungle Book,” followed by “Captain America: Civil War,” “Independence Day: Resurgence,” “Star Trek Beyond,” “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” and numerous other ‘IMAX-centric’ motion pictures that are ideally sequenced throughout the year. We think we are well-positioned to continue to deliver sustainable long-term growth for our shareholders.”

“We continue to see substantial signings momentum in key geographical areas including China, Japan and India,” continued Gelfond. “This sustained international expansion, coupled with a North American outlook about which we are very optimistic, reflects the strong opportunity within our business moving forward.”

IMAX stock closed Wednesday afternoon at $32.94 per share, up 11 cents, or 0.34 percent. After-hours, it kept climbing.

Company brass will host a conference call for media analysts and journalists at 8:30 a.m.

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