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KNOXVILLE — Movie theater operator Regal Entertainment Group said Thursday it swung to a loss in the third quarter as sales dropped by a double-digit percentage and it made bigger interest payments.
The company, based in Knoxville, Tenn., lost $1.8 million, or a penny per share, in the quarter that ended Oct. 1. That compares to with profit of $31 million, or 20 cents per share, a year earlier.
Adjusted profit of 5 cents per share fell short of a 7-cent-per-share consensus estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.
Revenue fell 11 percent to $673.5 million from $757.6 million, also missing analysts' $701.8 million average estimate. Admissions declined to $463.4 million from $516.8 million and concessions fell as well, partially due to a shift in its fiscal calendar and the drop-off in the California market, which accounts for more than 21 percent of Regal's revenue.
Regal also noted that last year's third-quarter included the release of the Batman movie "The Dark Night," which is the second-highest grossing film of all-time. Some of the highlights for this third quarter include "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" and "Ice Age, Dawn of the Dinosaur" — the third highest grossing 3-D film ever.
Films released in IMAX and 3-D formats accounted for more than 10 percent of Regal's quarterly admissions revenue.
"We are encouraged by the early fourth-quarter box office results and the outlook for the remainder of the year," CEO Amy Miles said in a statement.
The company's board declared an 18-cent dividend to be paid Dec. 17 to shareholders of record as of Dec. 9. Regal said it plans to pay regular quarterly dividends for the foreseeable future.
Shares closed Thursday at $11.96, up 5 percent on the day.
