Cineplex Q1 2024 Earnings Call Transcript

Quartr
Provided by Quartr
May 9, 2024

There are 8 speakers on the call.

Operator

Good morning. Thank you for attending today's Cineplex Inc. First Quarter 2024 Earnings Call. My name is Jennifer, and I'll be your moderator today. All lines will be muted during the presentation portion of the call with an opportunity for questions and answers at the end.

Operator

I would now like to pass the conference over to our host, Masvijali, VP of Corporate Development and Investor Relations. Masa, please proceed.

Speaker 1

Good morning, everyone. I would like to welcome you to Cineplex's Q1 2024 Earnings Release Conference Call hosted by Ellis Jacob, President and Chief Executive Officer and Gord Nelson, Chief Financial Officer. Before we begin, let me remind you that certain statements being made are forward looking and subject to various risks and uncertainties. Such forward looking statements are based on management's beliefs and assumptions regarding information currently available. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed in the forward looking statements.

Speaker 1

Information regarding factors that could cause results vary can be found in the company's most recently filed Annual Information Form and Management's Discussion and Analysis. Following today's remarks, we will close the call with our customary question and answer period. I will now turn the call over to Ellis Jacob.

Speaker 2

Good morning. Thank you, Martha, and welcome to our Q1 2020 4 conference call. Today, Gord and I look forward to highlighting some of our key accomplishments this quarter. While the Q1 North American box office saw a decline of 5.2% versus 2023, Cineplex's box office increased 1.4 percent to $125,000,000 over the same period. Once again, we exceeded the domestic box office relative to Q1 2023 by a sizable 6.4% and outperformed our peers.

Speaker 2

We achieved record Q1 BPP of $12.74 and concessions per patron of $8.95 suppressing records we set in Q1 2023. While an anticipated shortage of films impacted the start of the year, given the prolonged disruptions from the Hollywood strike last year, 2024 began on a more positive note than expected. This quarter, we not only exceeded our box office projections, but also surpassed market expectations. Cineplex's top 3 films during the quarter were Dune Part 2, which generated over $280,000,000 in domestic box office revenue to date, Kung Fu Panda 4:1 migration. Cineplex delivered strong performance across all three titles over indexing the domestic box office in each instance.

Speaker 2

Furthermore, Cineplex continued to benefit from the strategic management of international content with 3 titles ranking in the top 20 films. Fighter, Warning 2 and Chetan contributed meaningfully to our box office with Cineplex capturing significant market share ranging from 30% to 80%. In addition to achieving industry reading results, our focus remains on accelerated long term growth. In February, we successfully closed the strategic sale of P1AG for 100 and $55,000,000 in gross cash proceeds and recognized the gain of $67,000,000 a testament to the success of our diversification strategy. The net proceeds were used to repay bank debt serving as a pivotal catalyst to commence a comprehensive refinancing plan, which we also successfully completed in the Q1.

Speaker 2

This refinancing plan was meticulously crafted to deliver 3 key benefits for our company and shareholders, extending debt maturities, easing restrictions and minimizing potential dilution from existing convertible debentures. Our new 3 year note offering of $575,000,000 had robust demand surpassing $2,000,000,000 across North America, a clear testament to the remarkable confidence the market has in our business plan and team. Now with our strength in balance sheet, we are focused on executing our growth initiatives and shifting our capital allocation priorities to support enhanced shareholder return. I'd like to highlight some of these key initiatives that continue to differentiate us from our peers. The first is our ongoing investment in LBE, which is a profitable and successful business with attractive store level margin in excess of our 25% target.

Speaker 2

The Rec Room and Palladium brands feature a variety of food and entertainment offerings appealing to an attractive demographic. We entered the business in 2016 as we saw an opportunity in Canada with no other national competitor in the market operating at scale. This first mover advantage served us well and positioned us as a leading Canadian player. Our expertise in multiunit retail locations and our its customer database through Sine helped us extract significant synergies within our business and create an overall entertainment destination for Canadians. Currently, we operate 13 LBE venues strategically positioned in key markets with an additional 3 locations opening in the Q4 of this year.

Speaker 2

Among these, a new Palladium venue will be added to the Greater Toronto area adjacent to the Cineplex Cinemas' Fairview Mall. We will also open 2 new venues of The Rec Room, a marquee location in downtown Vancouver, another in to approximately $75,000,000 By fortifying our leadership position in the market, we have good runway to further grow in a highly accretive high margin business and strengthen our position as a leading entertainment destination for Canadians. Our media business is also expanding as Cineplex Digital Media signed 2 important deals in the quarter, with Cadillac Fairview and CommonHub growing our digital out of home shopping network to 94 premium shopping centers, which includes 9 of the country's top 10 busiest malls. We now operate and have media representation agreements for more than 1,000 screens in malls across Canada. Cineplex Digital Media is also working closely with retailers looking to innovate their in store experience with digital displays as a way to inspire and engage shoppers throughout their experience.

Speaker 2

This speaks to the future of retail. Walmart Canada announced the grand reopening of its flagship location at Square 1 in Mississauga, a first of its kind concept from Walmart globally that will test new technologies and concepts as it modernizes its retail operations. Cineplex Digital Media supported Walmart by building digital signage solutions and integrating them throughout the new store design. These solutions included new digital wayfinding technologies with the goal of being part of an immersive retail experience to enhance in store shopping. As Cineplex Digital Media's network grows, this positions Cineplex Media as a one stop shop for advertisers looking to reach Canadians through digital out of home advertising and in shopping malls and cinema.

Speaker 2

A key differentiator among our peers is that we fully own our cinema media business and retain all the revenue generated from the advertising on our screens. By offering a portfolio of media products, we attract advertising customers of all sizes and drive our revenue per patron to industry leading levels, almost doubling our peers in the U. S. Not only do our expanded media offerings drive increased results, but our in house team allows us to retain significantly more of this revenue. Our Cinema Media business operates at an EBITDA margin of approximately 80%, while our U.

Speaker 2

S. Peers retain only a fraction of the revenue stream through an access fee. As attendance continues to grow, we expect further growth in our Cinema Media business. What makes cinema advertising so compelling is its attention power. The first ever Canadian cinema advertising attention study was conducted in partnership with Lumin, a global attention technology company.

Speaker 2

Marketers and advertisers are becoming increasingly conscious of the challenge in capturing an audience's attention due to online information overload. This study shows ads played in cinemas are virtually unmissable. 100% of cinema audiences not only viewed the ads, but also paid an average of 80% active attention to the advertising content on the big screen, regardless of the ads length. It also demonstrates an average brand recall of 75% with audiences being 35 percent more likely to choose those brands as a result of exposure in cinema. As the advertising sector continues to recover, we know cinema advertising provides a compelling ROI to clients and one our team is well positioned to capitalize on.

Speaker 2

As I mentioned earlier, we consistently surpassed the industry box office results and outperform our peers. In March alone, we exceeded the North American box office relative to 2023 by nearly 30%. This consistent outperformance is a direct result of our relentless efforts to elevate the guest experience and drive increased attendance and frequency through our alternative content and premiumization initiatives. We are at the forefront of bringing diverse content to movie lovers and the box office has been responding. This past quarter, 13% of Cineplex's box office revenues came from international cinema and this continues to be an important content play for us to expand our offerings.

Speaker 2

When guests visit a Cineplex theater, not only do they have a variety of content to choose from, they can also choose to upgrade and optimize their movie going experience. In this quarter, 41% of box office revenue came from premium experiences like Himax, UltraAVX,

Speaker 3

3 d

Speaker 2

and VIP. Cineplex's VIP in particular has been extremely successful and not many of our peers have been able to duplicate this offering. Continuing our commitment to premium experiences, we are adding IMAX, ScreenX and UltraAVX screens and upgrading to laser projections this year further enhancing our portfolio and solidifying our position as leaders in the industry. We pride ourselves on giving guests an exceptional experience when visiting our theaters. And now we are also making their movie going experience the most seamless one with the introduction of online and mobile concession ordering.

Speaker 2

When purchasing tickets on the Cineplex app or online, guests can add their favorite concessions to their cart and easily pick them up on their way to their seats. We're also creating operational efficiencies through data, automation and technology. We've shared in the past how we use data to attract and retain guests. We are also leveraging advanced data analytics, automation and technology create operational efficiencies across our business. Using these tools helps us create more accurate attendance forecast models that help us anticipate business volumes and more precisely planned staffing levels.

Speaker 2

I also want to provide a brief update on the Competition Bureau's allegations regarding our online booking fee. We presented our case before the Competition tribunal in February. We note that the Competition Bureau is not contesting our rights to charge the online booking fee. It is only contesting the manner in which we presented the fee to consumers. We strongly believe we have complied with both the letter and spirit of the law and that the Competition Bureau's allegations are unfounded.

Speaker 2

We await the Competition Tribunal's decision in the coming months. Before I pass it on to Gord, I want to touch on last month's CinemaCon, our industry's annual trade show and meetings the executive committee of the Global Cinema Federation had with studios and the directors and producers guilds. The feedback was extremely encouraging as every studio and the guilds spoke about the return of product and the importance of theatrical to the overall success of content. As studios unveiled their film lineup for the next year and a half, the emphasis at CinemaCon and in our discussions was on the immense value of theatrical releases. One resounding message from our studio partners was their commitment to both volume of film release and quality of content on the horizon.

Speaker 2

With the Hollywood strikes resolved and major players like Amazon and Apple meaningfully leaning into theatrical, our optimism for the box office in the latter half of the year and beyond is growing. In fact, over 30 new films have been added to the 2024 pipeline since December 2023. We are starting to see a buildup of content with exciting titles such as Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, If, Garfield, Furiosa, Mad Max Saga, Inside Out 2, A Quiet Place Day 1, Despicable Me 4, Twisters and Deadpool and Wolverine. In the back half of the year, the slate further strengthens with titles like Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Moana 2, Joker, Folie Addu, Wicked, Gladiator 2, The Lord of the Rings, The War of the Rohan, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Mufasa: The Lion King. Looking ahead to 2025, we already see a robust film slate on the horizon, including another Jurassic World, Superman Legacy, the next installment of Mission Impossible, Ballerina from the John Wick Universe, Captain America Brave New World, Minecraft How to Train Your Dragon live action, Fantastic Four, The Bad Guys 2, Blade, Snow White, Avatar 3 and many more.

Speaker 2

With this exciting lineup, we are returning to a consistent flow of new and diverse films landing on screens each week, and we are energized by the potential box office ahead. Our recent refinancing has well positioned our company to drive growth and effectively navigate periods of reduced film volume. We remain confident in our disciplined and balanced approach and in the successful strategic initiatives we've achieved so far. We have meaningful potential upside as we expand our and grow as an industry leading diversified entertainment and media company. We are optimistic about the future and our ability to drive long term shareholder return.

Speaker 2

With that, I will turn things over to Gord.

Speaker 3

Thanks, Ellis. I'm pleased to present a condensed summary of the Q1 2024 results for Cineplex Inc. For further reference, our financial statements and MD and A have been filed on CDI Plus and are also available on our Investor Relations website at cineplex.com. Our MD and A and earnings press release include a complete narrative on the operational results. So I will focus on highlighting select items, including providing commentary on the gain on sale of Q1G, the loss on extinguishment of debt and our outlook.

Speaker 3

For my comments on operations, all amounts falling will be from continuing operations unless otherwise stated. As Ellis mentioned and you are all aware, our Q1 results were impacted by the actors and writers' strikes, which delayed the release dates of a number of key titles. Notwithstanding, our total revenue increased 1.2 percent to $295,000,000 However, our adjusted EBITDA decreased to $4,600,000 in 2024 as compared to $11,400,000 in 2023, primarily due to minimum wage increases and legal costs in the quarter related to the Competition Bureau's lawsuit against Cineplex. Let's take a closer look at our segments. In the Film Exhibition and Content segment, attendance was flat at approximately $9,800,000 total revenue increased 1.7% and segment adjusted EBITDA decreased $1,500,000 primarily as a result of minimum wage increases.

Speaker 3

We are using data, automation and other initiatives to mitigate the impact of these increases going forward. In the Media segment, as we mentioned previously, the Cinema Media business model post pandemic has shifted to a CPM based model. The Media segment revenue was flat at $22,100,000 and segment adjusted EBITDA was down slightly by $800,000 to $8,300,000 Cinema Media revenue was impacted by shifting release schedules and some pandemic related commitments, which were utilized in the prior year quarter. Our digital plate based media business had strong results with total revenues up 24 percent to $9,900,000 primarily as a result of the addition of Cadillac Fairview to our shopping mall network beginning in 2024. And lastly, in our LBE segment, segment revenues were down nominally to 34 point $5,000,000 from $35,100,000 in part due to the inclement weather experienced across parts of North America during the Q1, which resulted in some location closures due to extreme conditions.

Speaker 3

Store level adjusted EBITDA margins for Q1 2024 of 28.1 percent continued to exceed our targets of 25%. With the closing of the P1AG transaction in Q1 2024, we recorded a $67,300,000 gain during the quarter, which is detailed in Note 2 to the financial statements. I'd like to point out 2 things related to the gain. First, the gain is included in net income from discontinued operations. And secondly, as a reminder, we will use a portion of our non capital losses to shelter any cash taxes payable resulting from the gain.

Speaker 3

Also during the quarter, we executed and completed our comprehensive refinancing plan. This plan had 3 key initiatives. Objective 1 was to meaningfully extend debt maturities. As a result, we now have senior secured notes with the maturity of 5 years and an amended convert offering with a term of 6 years. Objective 2 was to reduce restrictions imposed by debt covenants.

Speaker 3

The result, the repayment in full of the existing bank credit facility and the replacement with a $100,000,000 revolver with a covenant blank structure. And finally, objective 3 was to reduce the potential equity dilution from the existing convertible debentures. As a result, the amendment and principal repayment resulted in a reduction in potential equity dilution of just under 8,000,000 shares or just under 28% of the potential equity dilution of the existing converts. Our well executed plan was a bold move to strengthen the balance sheet for the future. P and L shows the loss of approximately $54,000,000 on the refinancing, which is primarily related to the treatment of the convertible debenture amendment as an extinguishment of debt.

Speaker 3

At year end, the carrying value of the convertible debentures was $272,000,000 versus a face value of 3 $16,000,000 as a component was included in equity on original issuance. Of the $54,000,000 loss on extinguishment of debt, approximately $43,000,000 was related to non cash items, including this convert item. And finally, back to the P and L, net income has increased to $5,200,000 from a loss of $30,200,000 in 2023, primarily due to the aforementioned items. I would now like to move on and speak to our balance sheet and in particular our liquidity position. At quarter end, we had $92,000,000 in cash and nothing drawn under the covenant like credit facilities, which have a capacity of $100,000,000 As I mentioned earlier, with the comprehensive refinancing plan, one of the objectives was to remove restrictions from related to covenant testing and no testing was required under the credit facilities at quarter end.

Speaker 3

As we have mentioned previously, our capital allocation priorities include maintenance capital expenditures, continuing to strengthen the balance sheet to achieve our target leverage ratios, investing in growth opportunities and providing shareholder returns in the form of dividends and or share buybacks. With respect to CapEx, for the quarter, we had net CapEx of $13,200,000 versus $12,200,000 in the prior year. 3 LVE locations and 1 theater location under construction and to be opened in 2024, we are currently estimating net CapEx for 2020 4 of approximately $80,000,000 As we look forward, in years where we would be bringing on 3 additional LBE locations and other growth initiatives, we would expect net CapEx to be approximately $80,000,000 including approximately $30,000,000 in maintenance CapEx. Our LVEs continue to deliver results in line with our targets and and as such, growth CapEx will continue to be allocated towards the LVE business. Now I'd like to take a few moments to consider the future.

Speaker 3

I want to revisit the world we've described during our past analyst calls. This is a world where we achieve or exceed pre pandemic adjusted EBITDA levels on 75% to 80% of pre pandemic attendance levels. With no near term cash taxes due to the NOLs, we would generate in excess of $100,000,000 of free cash flow due to our business model and use this free cash flow to invest, delever and provide shareholder returns. With the confidence coming out of CinemaCon, as Ellis has described, the long term view for exhibition is solid, and we believe the world that I am describing is real and coming soon, commencing in the back half of this year. We see a continued path to hitting our leverage target of 2.5x to 3x and reintroducing shareholder returns, including share buybacks and or dividends.

Speaker 3

In summary, we believe there's a lot to be excited about. And with that, I would like to turn the call over to the conference operator for questions. Thank

Operator

Our first question comes from the line of Maher Yaghi with Scotiabank. Maher, your line is now open.

Speaker 4

Great. Thank you for taking my question. I wanted to maybe if we can have a discussion on your expectation for movie releases in Q2, Q3, Q4. Since we started the quarter, as you mentioned this morning and slightly on the weaker side, How should we think about conversion of attendance to revenues to EBITDA as the year progresses? And as a follow-up, you indicated your expectation for additional expansion of some of your opportunities on the entertainment side.

Speaker 4

Any indications on what that will implicate in terms of CapEx? Thank you.

Speaker 2

Okay. I'll answer the first part of the question and Cord, I'll turn it over to you on the CapEx for the LBE side. The product to me looks extremely strong, especially in the back half of twenty twenty four. We have strong movies coming out with Planet of the Apes on Friday, and we've got If from Paramount, Garfield, Furiosa, all that in the month of May. And then in June, we've got Inside Out 2, which I think will be one of the larger movies for 2024.

Speaker 2

We've got A Quiet Place also for Paramount. So there's a lot of product to look forward to and the back end is even much stronger and what we see is a lot of movies being put into the slate as we move forward. And it's the reverse to COVID when things were being pushed out. Now they're being pushed in, which is overall strong for us. In July, we've got Despicable Me 4, we've got Twisters, we've got Deadpool 3.

Speaker 2

Then going through the balance, we've got Beetlejuice, Transformers, The Wild Robot. And then November, you've got a big slate with Gladiator, Wicked and Moana. And then we end the year with some strong films like Lord of the Rings, Karate Kid, Mufasa, The Lion King, Sonic the Hedgehog and Nosferatu. So I'm pretty confident that product is coming back and it's going to be strong. And one of the things when we did our global cinema presentations and met with the studios and the gills, some countries like for example India and France, in 2023, India did 99% of its 2019 box office and France did over 90%.

Speaker 2

So once the content is there, our guests want to come back and have that experience. Hope that helps.

Speaker 3

And then on your second question, I just want to remind you that I think, Meyer, when you're talking about attendance and the contribution to EBITDA, just want to kind of remind people that you use sort of the 2023 metrics that each incremental guest contributes about between $12 $13 in EBITDA. So huge operational leverage there and that's why we see the path to getting back to pre pandemic EBITDA on 75 to 8% of pre pandemic. And your question related

Speaker 4

to Maybe Gord, just maybe before we talk about the CapEx question, I think the investors I'm speaking with trying to figure out what is the run rate of the business that can be sustained now that we've passed COVID, we've passed the Hollywood studio strike, etcetera. What is your view on what the company's operational performance could look like on a steady state basis on the top line and the EBITDA line?

Speaker 3

Yes. So look at it, and I think the question is and if you look went to last year's numbers as an example, which we had total EBITDA of $157,000,000 in a constrained sort of media market. So there's lots of upside in from the media side. But if you looked at the incremental the number I gave with respect to incremental contribution of each year, somewhere between $12 $13 And potentially, if you're up to 80% of the pre pandemic level, that would be 53,000,000 people versus 48 roughly $48,000,000 last year. So $5,000,000 additional gas at $12 to $13 is $60,000,000 to $70,000,000 of incremental EBITDA.

Speaker 3

So you take that on top of the 157 and you're in a 220, 230 range, which is in excess of where we were pre pandemic. So we kind of see that path coming. And as I mentioned in my remarks, I see that world commencing in the back half of this year and into new So that's around where we believe kind of this new world run rate is going to be. And then it's incumbent enough to find other reasons why people want to come together that we can potentially increase attendance above that 75% to 80%.

Speaker 4

Great. Thank you. And on the second

Speaker 3

question, on CapEx is at the end of this year, we'll be up to about 16 LBEs out there. We've communicated that we have plans to or we think there's opportunity for about 30. So that's 14 additional locations. We've kind of communicated on a potentially average cost of $10,000,000 so that's $140,000,000 to ramp up to that full capacity, which will double the EBITDA contribution from that business. In my comments, I mentioned about would we do about 3 a year.

Speaker 3

That's probably around where we would be in that kind of world is about we'd be at levels of around $80,000,000 of CapEx. I will suggest that next year, we don't have 3 that we're committed to and we'll be opening. So it will be a little bit less than that in 2025, but could ramp up to that number as we kind of we've got roll that over 4 to 5 years.

Speaker 4

Great. Thank you.

Speaker 2

Thank you.

Operator

Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Sheryl Zeng with TD Catwin. Sheryl, your line is now open.

Speaker 5

Hi, thanks, Alison, Gordon. This is Cheryl standing in for Derek, who's on another call. So thanks for taking my question. Our first question is around the LBB business. So in addition to the weather impact, you were lapping a pretty tough comp on both the top line and margins last year.

Speaker 5

Could you just remind us why it was so strong last year? And I think in the MD and A, you alluded to the strength that you saw at the end of the quarter. Is that carrying into Q2? And maybe just how you see it developing over the rest of the year?

Speaker 3

Yes. So first of all, the top line was relatively in line despite the inclement weather this year. Last year in the Q1, we did make we provided some commentary that the EBITDA margin benefited from certain one time items last year and was roughly 35%. And as we've described, our expectation is to be at 20 5%. We were above that for the full year last year, and we've been above that for the Q1.

Speaker 3

So it was really that there was some one sort of one time benefits that were reflected in last year's, which included some items related to kind of labor being kind of over sort of underutilized or over constrained, I guess, during the quarter that really made the Q1 last year more of an anomaly.

Speaker 5

Okay, thanks. And curious how you see it developing for the rest of the year, like in terms of the top line and the margin?

Speaker 3

Yes. So I mean, one thing about the LVE business, as we mentioned last year too, is as anything in Canada, it's a beautiful day in Toronto here. But as weather as we suffer from bad weather because we can't open when weather is strong and good in the springtime as people often don't want to be inside. So depending on if we have great weather on weekends, that can hurt the overall results and we called that out last year during the Q2, which had impacted that. But we continue to look on and over the course of the year, we see the average unit volumes of $10,000,000 and that we have an EBITDA margin of in excess of 25%.

Speaker 3

So now you will see the 3 locations coming on, but likely in the Q4 and typically sort of out

Speaker 2

of the box

Speaker 3

as we have training and other things as they may not hit their margins right out of the box of new ones. But the old ones sort of the existing ones, we expect to continue on, on the trajectory that doesn't exceed our targets for the course of the year.

Speaker 5

Okay, thanks. That's very helpful. And maybe just one more before I re queue. Could you remind us again around your plans for increasing shareholder returns and more specifically maybe on the timing and the prerequisites to do so? And also is there a preference when it comes to dividend versus share buybacks or and also considering the LV investment?

Speaker 5

Just curious how you prioritize or execute on that balancing act. Thank you.

Speaker 3

Yes. So thanks, Sheryl, for that question. And so we've been pretty clear in our communication and just reinforce it again is our focus is to get into our target zone of leverage of 2.5x to 3x. And I described sort of the world that we see that we're going to get into in the back half of the year and into next year. The question for all of us is really how many sustaining quarters do people want to see once we're in that zone, probably a minimum of 2, I would suggest, and which probably puts us into the beginning of next year.

Speaker 3

So we will continue to monitor and evaluate. And with respect to a decision of do we do dividends versus share buybacks, I think that would be based on sort of where the share price sits at that point in time. Right now, we would evaluate what would either of those options. Then the last part of your question, I just want to make sure that in the world that I communicated, we would have $100,000,000 of free cash flow. That already includes investing in 3 LBEs.

Speaker 3

So I want to make that clear that the LBE investment does not we do not believe that will constrain us in the short term from considering a return to capital as we've just checked.

Speaker 5

That's very helpful. Thank you, Gord.

Operator

Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Drew McReynolds with RBC Capital Markets. Drew, your line is now open.

Speaker 6

Yes. Thanks very much and good morning. Just sticking with the LBE expansion in the 14 locations Gord you alluded to, just wondering as you build those out, the nature of those locations, are they kind of materially different than what the first kind of 16 would be? And are you able to, with some additional scales, squeeze out some additional profitability? And then the second question, just on the outlook for CVM.

Speaker 6

How do we I guess asking for specific quarterly guidance, how do we model this? I know you have 2 disclosed revenue streams, the project revenues and other revenues. Just how much of the overall kind of growth here will be so called recurring versus one time? Just any help on rules of thumb on

Speaker 7

that would be great. Thank you.

Speaker 2

So Drew, on the amusement and leisure side of the business, as you know, every time we've opened one of these locations, we learn a great deal as to how do we better our overall square footage, what our returns are going to be and depending on the marketplace. And as Gord said earlier, we basically have to make sure that it's in a location, it is financially strong for us as we move forward. So yes, we'd like to get to 30, but that's not going to happen overnight. It's going to take a bit of time because as we've seen the locations that we have really make a difference as to the guests coming and enjoying the experience. So we will continue to review that and look at the square footage depending on the demographics in the area we are building and choose between whether we build a rec room or a palladium in the communities that we're going into.

Speaker 2

I'll turn it over to Gord to talk about CDM.

Speaker 3

Yes. Thanks, Alex. And just to add on, I think we've clearly learned, I think the size of the rock room doesn't need to be as large as it was in those initial ones that were deployed. So we're constantly learning and refining the boxes as we go forward. And there's significant synergies between the learnings that we're seeing in The Rec Room and then the theaters too.

Speaker 3

So foodservice as an example is one that kind of extends the connection with theme that we can drive entertainment customers into ad walks. So significant synergies between kind of the E business and the theater business. And then of course, the obvious one is the junction concept, which is we're basically taking an LBE and putting it into 1 box. So great opportunities there. On the question on digital media then, so this is one that I'm kind of excited about because we took over Cadillac, Fairview, and Common Air in the Q1.

Speaker 3

If you look at the split between project revenue and other revenue, which includes the media advertising revenue, during the Q4, you'll note that, that increased 38% year over year, so the other revenue. And then the other thing that you need to remember is that we only started selling those additional networks beginning January 1. And there's always a little bit of a lag or a slowdown when you take over a new network because you need to communicate that you're the agent of record for that network. So you're not ramped up to its full potential in those early periods. So as you look forward, the project revenue can be a little bit lumpy depending on who's deployed and who's not deployed.

Speaker 3

But that 38% growth in other, I would suggest is that has a ramp up to where we're going to be and it's going to be 50% or more as we look as we go forward given the additional networks that are around.

Speaker 6

Okay. That's helpful, Gord. Thank you for that. Maybe one last one here. Maybe back to you, Ellis.

Speaker 6

You've done such a great job on the international film side of the equation and obviously a 13% in Q1 it contributed. Historically, and I guess let's talk pre COVID, what kind of contribution apples to apples would you say this kind of category of film product would have been contributing?

Speaker 2

Historically, we were in the 2% to 3% range as far as international content and that has continued to grow and we are using all of our data and all of the information we have available and the relationships with the distributors for those films and they have really helped grow the business nicely in Canada.

Speaker 6

Fantastic. Thank you. And I

Speaker 2

foresee that will continue. Sorry.

Operator

Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Adam Shine with National Bank Financial. Adam, your line is now

Speaker 7

open. Thanks a lot. Good morning. Couple of questions. Gord, when I look at the other line in other OpEx, you just elaborate a little bit?

Speaker 7

I see what's there. It's Cineplex Pictures store and some other stuff, but it did move up quite a bit in the period. Is that more related to do with some of the international activity that you might be bringing in via Cineplex Pictures? Or are there other things that might be a bit onetime in nature in the particular period?

Speaker 3

Yes. I know there's one Adam, there's one time of items in the prior year. So if you went back 2 years, you'd see it's kind of more on line with that number. In the prior year, there was kind of a retro adjustment related to primarily related to SCENE that impacted the other revenue and the other by about the same magnitude. So it was really that's the issue.

Speaker 7

Perfect. Thanks for the reminder. And then maybe, Ellis, just can you talk I know you've already talked quite a bit about the movie slate, but more specifically, we've seen a number of the studios releasing results recently. Some of them are sort of rethinking their output going forward with obviously tried to improve some of the quality that we've seen in the last year or 2. Maybe you can address some of the commentary that you've heard, things that you might have already heard at CinemaCon in regards to some of the strategies regarding output going forward.

Speaker 7

And of course, you've mentioned many times that the streamers are waking up to the opportunity to put out more product and we're actually starting to see a bit more of that in recent quarters. Maybe just elaborate on any updates. Thanks.

Speaker 2

Yes. I have to tell you, Adam, it was very, very positive. And all the Global Cinema Federation, which Cineplex is part of on the executive committee, we met with a number of studios and a couple of the guilds, and they were all very positive about product and what the future is going to look like. And they've come to the conclusion, which we all knew that the cinema experience is the engine that drives the train. And to me, that is very important and Disney reiterated that, Universal did.

Speaker 2

So I think once the shackles are off and we are behind the COVID and the strikes, you're going to see a lot more content coming through. And I also said previously, in countries where the content was there, they were close to 100% of their 2019 numbers. And as Gord mentioned, if we even get back to 80% of the attendance, which is very possible and even better, we will be better than where we were in 2019 from an EBITDA perspective.

Speaker 7

Okay. Thank you very much. I'll leave it at that.

Speaker 2

Thank you.

Operator

Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Derek Lessard with TD Cowen. Derek, your line is now open.

Speaker 5

Hi, thank you. This is Sheryl. I'll call you again. And just a few follow ups. One is for just for modeling.

Speaker 5

We know there is an ongoing case, but how should we view the litigation expense going forward from a modeling perspective?

Speaker 3

Okay. So we were in the tribunal phase during the Q1. So I would suggest that the expenses would be elevated in the Q1 and they will decline significantly off of that in future quarters.

Speaker 5

Okay. Thanks, Gord, for that. And then the last one for me is, just are there any wins or take away that you can point to now that you've completed the rollout of the online mobile ordering? Any upside that you see from on the CPPM Sierra DeSous service? Thank you.

Speaker 3

Yes. So again, it's early on and so the adoption is low, but what we're seeing is that will increase over time, and we are seeing significant lifts on the transactions that are occurring to date. I don't want to give you a number right now because it is kind of early days and early adoption, But we're very, very pleased with the results. And as I've mentioned to you previously, as we think this is a real opportunity to use data to have personalized messaging to lift sales at the concession stand and a real opportunity for growth in CPP going forward.

Operator

Thank you. There are no questions registered at this time. Pass the call back to Ellis Jacob for any closing remarks.

Speaker 2

Thank you very much. And I would like to thank all of you for joining the call this morning. And we look forward to a strong summer and look to speak with you in August for our Q2 2024 results. Have a great day. Thanks again.

Operator

That concludes today's call. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect your line.

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Key Takeaways

  • Cineplex’s Q1 box office rose 1.4% to C$125 million versus Q1 2023—outperforming North America by 6.4%—while setting record Q1 BPP of $12.74 and concessions per patron of $8.95.
  • In February, Cineplex sold P1AG for C$155 million, recognized a C$67 million gain and used net proceeds to repay bank debt and execute a refinancing that extended maturities, eased covenants and cut potential debenture dilution.
  • The Location-Based Entertainment division, including Rec Room and Palladium, delivered store-level margins above 25%, with 13 venues open and three more slated for Q4 to capitalize on first-mover synergies and attractive demographics.
  • Cineplex Digital Media expanded its digital out-of-home network to 94 malls (over 1,000 screens) via deals with Cadillac Fairview and CommonHub, achieving an ~80% EBITDA margin and supporting retailers like Walmart Canada with immersive signage solutions.
  • Premium experiences drove 41% of box office revenue through offerings like IMAX, UltraAVX, 3D and VIP—with further screen upgrades and online/mobile concession ordering—while a robust post-strike film slate underpins confidence in returning to pre-pandemic EBITDA at 75-80% attendance and resuming shareholder returns.
AI Generated. May Contain Errors.
Earnings Conference Call
Cineplex Q1 2024
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