IMAX China made US$17.74 million in the first half of the year, and more than 70% came from the theater business

IMAX China announced its first-half results announcement, with net profit attributable to shareholders of listed companies of US$17.742 million and no dividend will be paid. After the announcement was issued, its share price rose with the positive results after the market opened today. As of the close, its share price rose 3.22% to HK$41.7.

Original title: IMAX China made a big profit of US$17.74 million in the first half of the year, or encountered Dolby challenges.

Last month's hit release of the movie "Warcraft" made IMAX China (01970) really popular."Warcraft" successfully broke 100 million in four days, becoming the fastest grossing film in IMAX China history. On July 21, IMAX China released its first-half results announcement, with net profit attributable to shareholders of listed companies of US$17.742 million and no dividend will be paid. After the announcement was issued, its share price rose with the positive results after the market opened today. As of the close, its share price rose 3.22% to HK$41.7.

Regarding the increase in profits, IMAX China said that it was mainly due to the increase in IMAX installation systems and network coverage. At present, the penetration rate of IMAX in the mainland market is still relatively low. Previously, there was news in the market that IMAX China would step up the layout of China market. Sure enough, the performance in the first half of the year showed that the number of IMAX theaters in the mainland increased by 38.5% year-on-year to 306, while the number of Hong Kong and Taiwan remained unchanged.

Zhitong Finance learned that IMAX China made a profit in the first half of this year, compared with a loss of US$67.947 million in the same period last year. Last year's loss was mainly due to the different conditions between the two time periods. The loss in the first half of 2015 was mainly due to the accumulated non-cash costs of the company's financial instruments, fair value adjustments on redeemable Class C shares, and the cost of global offerings.

More than 70% of the revenue comes from the theater business.

Currently, most of IMAX China's revenue comes from the theater business and film business. Cinema business revenue includes sales of IMAX theater systems, theater box office revenue share, IMAX theater system maintenance income, etc. The film business includes the conversion of Hollywood and Chinese-language films into IMAX format.

Specifically, its cinema business revenue in the first half of the year was US$39.14 million, an increase of 36%, accounting for more than 70% of total revenue, and its proportion increased compared with the same period last year. In addition, revenue from the film business was US$15.93 million, a slight increase of 5% year-on-year.

It is worth noting that although IMAX China expanded rapidly in the first half of the year, the average box office revenue per screen dropped by 24.2% year-on-year to US$615,000. In this regard, the company said it was mainly due to the depreciation of the RMB against the US dollar, and also due to the contribution to the successful release of "Speed and Furious 7" in 2015.

The announcement that new contracts signed for cinema systems more than tripled in the first half

of the year shows that in the first half of 2016, IMAX China had 79 new contracts signed for cinema systems, compared with only 18 in the same period last year, an increase of more than tripled. In addition, the total number of theater system installations increased by 66.7% to 30. However, as the operating network expanded, the volume of business activities increased, and the cost of sales also increased by 58.2% to US$21.1 million compared with the same period last year.

In addition, based on the popularity of IMAX, the company also decided to increase its installation target in 2016 from 100 theaters to 115 theaters.

In addition, the reporter also learned that IMAX China's box office in Greater China only increased by 3.1% to US$180 million in the first half of the year, mainly because the box-office record-breaking film "Mermaid" was not shown in IMAX format. But IMAX box office increased 55.6% year-on-year in June, mainly due to the strong box office performance of films such as "Warcraft" and "Independence Day: A Return."

Market analysts said that last year was a bumper year for China's film industry, and it was also a bumper year for IMAX China and even the entire IMAX company. The annual global box office of IMAX films reached US$1 billion, while IMAX China, i.e. Greater China (including Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau) The box office of IMAX films also exceeded US$310 million, a year-on-year increase of 53.8%, leading 5.1 percentage points from China's total box office growth rate of 48.7%.

Dolby may become a challenger to IMAX in China

Three months ago, Yolai Jackie Chan International Studios began a secret theater renovation project. It is understood that the goal of this operation is to build one of the best movie halls in the country to save the audience from the dark 3D movie viewing experience in the past.

Zhitong Finance learned that Dolby, the team responsible for theater design, uses their sound technology for most of the Hollywood blockbusters introduced to China every year. Now they are bringing Dolby Cinema, a cinema solution that combines Dolby's research and development of sound and imaging technology, to China.

The core of Dolby Cinema includes Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision. Both technologies were launched in 2012, but compared with the well-known sound technology, Dolby's breakthrough in imaging in recent years, namely "Dolby Vision", is the key to Dolby's participation in the theater upgrade war as a rising star.

By introducing IMAX cinemas, Wanda has successfully created its image as a "high-end theater experience." As a late entrant to the theater business, Dolby hopes to replicate this success, and it is even willing to bear more costs for theaters. At present, in addition to Yaolai as a partner, Wanda Studios has signed a purchase agreement with Dolby for 100 theaters, which means that there will be more than 100 Dolby theaters in China in the next five years.

Editor: Nancy