Earnings Labs

IMAX Corporation (IMAX)

Q1 2016 Earnings Call· Thu, Apr 21, 2016

$37.05

-0.19%

Key Takeaways · AI generated
AI summary not yet generated for this transcript. Generation in progress for older transcripts; check back soon, or browse the full transcript below.

Same-Day

-0.40%

1 Week

-0.25%

1 Month

-1.47%

vs S&P

+0.33%

Transcript

Operator

Operator

Good day, and welcome to the IMAX Corporation First Quarter 2016 Conference Call. All participants are currently in a listen-only mode. Following the presentation, we will conduct a question-and-answer session. Today's conference is being recorded. At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Ms. Jessica Kourakos, Senior Vice President of Global Investor Relations. Please go ahead, Miss.

Jessica Kourakos - Senior Vice President-Investor Relations

Management

Thank you. Good morning, and thanks for joining us on today's first quarter 2016 earnings conference call. Joining me today in our New York office is our CEO, Rich Gelfond; and our CFO, Joe Sparacio, who will have prepared remarks. Greg Foster, our Head of Entertainment, is also with us and will be available for Q&A. Also joining us is Rob Lister, Chief Legal Officer and Head of Business Development. I would like to remind you of the following information regarding forward-looking statements. Our comments and answers to your questions on this call may include statements that are forward-looking and that they pertain to future results or outcomes. Actual future results or occurrences may differ materially from these forward-looking statements. Please refer to our SEC filings for more detailed discussion of some of the factors that could affect our future results and outcomes. During today's call, references may be made to certain non-GAAP financial measures as defined by Regulation G of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Discussion of management's use of these measures and the definition of these measures, as well as reconciliations to adjusted net income, adjusted EPS and adjusted EBITDA as defined by our credit facility, are contained in this morning's press release. The full text of our first quarter 2016 earnings release along with supporting financial tables are available on our website, imax.com. Today's conference call is being webcast in its entirety on our website. With that, let me now turn the call over to Rich Gelfond. Richard L. Gelfond - Chief Executive Officer & Director: Thanks, Jess. First of all as many of you could hear I have a bad cold, so I'm going to do my best to speak clearly. But if you can't hear anything I say please feel free to ask me to…

Operator

Operator

Thank you. And your first question will come from the line of Ben Mogil of Stifel. Please go ahead. Benjamin Mogil - Stifel, Nicolaus & Co., Inc.: Hi, good morning and thank you for taking my question. So, first question, in the past you've talked a lot about sort of almost excess demand or requests for IMAX spots from the U.S. studios in terms of the North American and non-China spots. When you're now talking to Chinese producers and distributors, are you seeing any of that same sort of favorable dynamic come to play? Richard L. Gelfond - Chief Executive Officer & Director: Greg, why don't you answer that? Greg Foster - Senior Executive Vice President - IMAX Corp. & Chief Executive Officer - IMAX Entertainment: Yeah, hi Ben. Actually quite a bit of it and it's very parallel to what we're doing in the United States. So, we have a fantastic team in China that's obviously doing a great job. We also have our local language group in Los Angeles led by Anthony Vogels, who is constantly in China. And we've built terrific relationships not only with filmmakers, but with the studios who are constantly seeing during Richard's trips and my trips as well. And we're turning down about five movies in China; for every movie, we say, yes too, just like we are in the U.S. We have defined periods of time like the Chinese New Year, whether six or seven titles to pick from and we're able to pick one, maybe two. So, we are seeing an increase in demand and we're also seeing a huge demand for differentiation like IMAX cameras, which will be something that we'll be employing in China over the course of the next six months to a year. So, my long-winded answer…

Operator

Operator

We'll now go on to our next question from Stan Meyers of Piper Jaffray. Please go ahead. Stan X. Meyers - Piper Jaffray & Co. (Broker): Thanks guys. Rich, I wanted to talk about the new theater signings. Obviously, you've seen some meaningful acceleration here in Q1 and then more so in April. Maybe you can provide some color what are the drivers behind the demand as the box office, your new structure, your hybrid structure or JV or anything like that that you can just provide some color there? And then I have a follow-up. Richard L. Gelfond - Chief Executive Officer & Director: Stan, I think it has to do with theater performance. In 2015, as you remember, we were up over 30% versus the prior year in terms of box office. So, I think our theater operators are getting really good return on investment all over the world. And we had talked about the Avatar effect years ago, but I think there was a Star Wars effect coming off last year. And this year, we have such again in the first quarter, a dynamic growth in PSAs and box office I think that our customers are understanding what the returns are and they're really valuating the IMAX brand. So, I do not want to overstate it, because not everything is signed, but a level of activity in the number of deals and play, since I've been here for 22 years, I haven't really seen that kind of activity, but I think it must be coming off of the IRRs they're making and the financial returns in the box office growth. Stan X. Meyers - Piper Jaffray & Co. (Broker): Thanks. And then Greg, I just wanted to talk a little bit about the family content in your…

Operator

Operator

Your next question will come from the line of Steven Frankel of Dougherty. Please go ahead. Steven Frankel - Dougherty & Co. LLC: Good morning. First, for Joe. How many more of the old film locations that were moved to temporary digital or left to convert to laser? Joseph Sparacio - Chief Financial Officer & Executive Vice President: There's really only a handful of commercial sites that remained, Steve. Most of the sites that would be upgraded at this point would be institutional sites. Steven Frankel - Dougherty & Co. LLC: Okay. And for Rich, in Japan, how many more installs do you think you need to get before you reach critical mass in that market or do you think you're there today? Richard L. Gelfond - Chief Executive Officer & Director: Well, we have over 20 opened. And with backlog now we're close to 40, Steve. So, I think that's a market that's the size of the UK almost a little bit smaller size of Russia. So, I think we are at critical mass today. And I think it's something like four out of the top five or five out of the top six exhibitors are in our business. And if you look at the install patterns, I think, this July, three huge theaters in Tokyo and other prime locations are opening. So, I think through my prepared remarks, I mentioned Godzilla being released in Japan. I think the network is either add or approaching the size, where we can support local language. It's a market that has me as excited as any in the world. We had targeted I think for 90 zones to 100 zones. But I think when we go back and look at it again, since it's the third largest film market in the world, we probably can do better than that. Steven Frankel - Dougherty & Co. LLC: Okay. And then on Wanda, any update on maybe the next phase of your relationship with Wanda and kind where they are in working through their backlog? Richard L. Gelfond - Chief Executive Officer & Director: Well, this year because they've accelerated their growth, they accelerated our install. So, we're installing roughly 60 theaters with Wanda. And we are in preliminary negotiations with them now about how and when to extend their commitment. Steven Frankel - Dougherty & Co. LLC: Great. Thank you so much.

Operator

Operator

Our next question will come from the line of Alexia Quadrani of JPMorgan. Please go ahead.

Julia Yue - JPMorgan Securities LLC

Analyst

Hi, thank you. This is Julia Yue on for Alexia. Could you help us better understand the PSAs in China that were down slightly in the quarter, given the significant increase that you guys called out in screen growth. Do you think that PSAs in China can continue to grow over time or do you think it might be a bit more muted near-term with the significant screen rollout? Richard L. Gelfond - Chief Executive Officer & Director: I mean, just to put it in context, it was down less than $5,000 on roughly $300,000 base. So, I don't really think of a 1.5% move when you have different movies is material. China has some of our highest PSAs in the world and I think this is consistent with what it was last year. I think the only reason it didn't go up more is because Deadpool didn't get into China. It played really well in Taiwan and in other territories, but I see no fall off in the China PSA. Especially when you consider the amount of growth there, which was a significant amount of growth and theaters don't mature until their second year or third year. I thought the results were outstanding there.

Julia Yue - JPMorgan Securities LLC

Analyst

Okay. Great. That's helpful. Thank you.

Operator

Operator

Your next question will come from the line of Aravinda Galappatthige of Canaccord Genuity. Please go ahead.

Aravinda Suranimala Galappatthige - Canaccord Genuity Corp.

Analyst

Good morning. Thanks for taking my questions. Rich you've obviously had a nice string of signings outside of China as well recently Germany, Japan and India. You've talked about Japan. I was wondering if you can just touch on the outlook for India you alluded to it in your prepared remarks. I know historically you were a little bit concerned about the regulatory and the legal framework. I mean what are the impediments today as you think about the outlook in that market and the ability to really sort of expand your presence there? Richard L. Gelfond - Chief Executive Officer & Director: I'm smiling because you kind of answered it. I still think the regulatory and legal framework are impediments in India. I'm more optimistic, because we have three or four chains now signing agreements with us in India. And the PSAs are very strong in India. And usually those are the conditions that lead to breakout growth. That's kind of what happened in Japan and happened in England. There were multiple competitors and very strong box office. So that makes me a little bit more optimistic. But the lack of transparency and the regulatory framework makes me cautious in my optimism. I think things are getting better under Modi, but they're not happening at lightning speed. There is a lot of history in India, and I would have been wrong before getting too excited, too early.

Aravinda Suranimala Galappatthige - Canaccord Genuity Corp.

Analyst

Great. Thanks for that Rich. And then quick question for Greg, as we look beyond the Q2 slate, there's some titles that maybe for some investors are fairly new titles lesser-known, I think, Doctor Strange, Suicide Squad et cetera, any sleepers in that film slate that you think can surprise to the upside? And also on the international slate as well that you care to touch on? Thanks. Greg Foster - Senior Executive Vice President - IMAX Corp. & Chief Executive Officer - IMAX Entertainment: So, Aravinda, I think you just touched on the two. I think Suicide Squad and Doctor Strange both look extremely strong. There was the industry conference in Las Vegas last week and both films were very well represented. The trailers played, the Suicide Squad team was there for the Warner presentation, which by the way was an excellent presentation and particularly encouraging about Warner Bros. slate going forward over the next year or so, but I think those are two that look particularly good. Rich touched on the Clint Eastwood movie, which is a great title, particularly for the September shoulder period. And in the international side, as we know December is always a great month in China, because it's a local language film. There are many films to choose from. There is a title that I'm fairly confident we're going to pick. I'd rather not announce it yet until we know that that's for sure the date. But I think you'll see a blockbuster or two from the Chinese side in the October holiday and also in the December blackout period. So, there's several titles; and again, one of the things that's best about this year is the consistency of the sequencing or spacing of the IMAX titles, which is, again Rich pointed out, is not a particular coincidence.

Aravinda Suranimala Galappatthige - Canaccord Genuity Corp.

Analyst

Great. Thanks, Greg. I'll pass the line.

Operator

Operator

Next question will come from the line of Eric Wold of B. Riley. Please go ahead. Eric Wold - B. Riley & Co. LLC: Hi, good morning. Two questions, I guess. One, I guess kind of both related, as you think about – as you move into some of these newer markets like India and others or even ramp expansion into markets where you've had a kind of a minimal presence. How should we think about the education process with consumers? Clearly, the exhibitors themselves take an assistance don't need to be educated in the value of IMAX, but how involved is IMAX or the studios or exhibitors in educating consumers into IMAX format? Richard L. Gelfond - Chief Executive Officer & Director: Well, Eric, typically you do have an additional marketing to make that happen. But I've been very shocked sort of, and that's not an overstatement, because we just opened two theaters in the last year; one in Sweden and one in Copenhagen, Denmark. And the one in Sweden, since November is like $4 million or $5 million and the one in Copenhagen in its first year has done over $4 million, and those are markets where we didn't have a theater and didn't have a brand presence. So, I think, increasingly because of social media and globalization, even though we don't necessarily have a theater in the market, we clearly have a reputation and a name in the market. And as I said, what your question would have been kind of one for more concern for me, but you look at, another one would be in the Middle East, in Dubai. We have a theater that's tracking towards four million or five million people, just opened in the last year. So, the recognition of the brand in territories we're not seems to be really high, particularly if the demographic works. And I don't think we necessarily need to do a lot of education. Eric Wold - B. Riley & Co. LLC: Thank you. And then just a follow-up on previous question on India, assuming that ramp there continues, kind of what level of penetration do you think would be necessary to be able to more effectively monetize or effectively monetize, your local language, Bollywood films or local language films and markets showing what they can do in China? Richard L. Gelfond - Chief Executive Officer & Director: I think you kind of need about 40 theaters or 50 theaters before you reach sort of a critical mass and you can make a more concerted push into local language films. I think before we get to there, now including backlog, we're around 20 theaters. I think you'll see us do one or two just to test it out. Not really lose money, but I don't think you make money until you get to 40 theaters or 50 theaters. Eric Wold - B. Riley & Co. LLC: Perfect. Thanks, Rich.

Operator

Operator

Your next question will come from Jim Goss of Barrington Research. Please go ahead.

James Charles Goss - Barrington Research Associates, Inc.

Analyst

Thanks. I've got a couple also. One, regarding PSAs and the discussion you've had, it seems like domestic PSAs have tended to lag some of the international markets at least. This quarter, you pretty well matched, I'm wondering if that's viewed as unusual or is it sustainable relative to some of the issues you've raised about some of the slate and how it might go on? Richard L. Gelfond - Chief Executive Officer & Director: It's hard to predict, Jim. I think some of the reasons were a lot of the films, particularly Deadpool and Zootopia, played so well domestically as well as on a worldwide basis. We are investing a fair amount of marketing, particularly North America and mining big data. So, I'd like to think that that has something to do with it; but not sure yet, not enough data points to conclude.

James Charles Goss - Barrington Research Associates, Inc.

Analyst

Okay. And the other question I have is, recognizing that you have pretty comfortable seats already, and you have specific geometry in the IMAX theaters. One of the things that some of the PLS will throw against you is (45:36) and some other initiatives like that. I'm wondering, if any of those elements could be incorporated within the IMAX geometry that might further enhance your appeal? Richard L. Gelfond - Chief Executive Officer & Director: We're testing some of those, Jim. The problem is like using recliners for example, we lose 50% of your potential seats. And on weekends and busy periods, IMAX is much higher percentage of capacity than other formats. So, I think we're reluctant to go all the way to recliners. But other forms of seats that are more hybrid. We've tested in a few facilities and the results are a little bit encouraging, where we've actually improved performance dramatically. So, that is something that we're testing a little bit.

James Charles Goss - Barrington Research Associates, Inc.

Analyst

And with (46:33) and those sort of things tie into your action movies where that might be the appropriate audience? Richard L. Gelfond - Chief Executive Officer & Director: I don't think those are the kinds of things that we're going to do. Jim, I think those are more one-trick pony kinds of things. And we don't think they have the staying power. We think people go to IMAX theaters to really appreciate movies, because they love movies and they love the experience. And we work with the kind of directors who generally are and into one-trick pony. So, I do not think that's the direction we go, but the seating might be.

James Charles Goss - Barrington Research Associates, Inc.

Analyst

All right. Thanks very much. Richard L. Gelfond - Chief Executive Officer & Director: Thank you, Jim.

Operator

Operator

Your next question will come from the line of Matthew Brooks from Macquarie. Matthew Brooks - Macquarie Capital (USA), Inc.: Good morning, guys. Greg, can I just ask you, just any thoughts on the different performance of the Marvel and DC Comics films in China. Batman was quite low – disappointing compared to like Avengers was, any thoughts about that? And follow-up on the movies, there is a few Avatar sequels that are coming out, do you think there's any chance you can get your DNA in there? Greg Foster - Senior Executive Vice President - IMAX Corp. & Chief Executive Officer - IMAX Entertainment: So, first of all, Matthew, in terms of your Batman versus Superman comment, I think it's all about the individual movies. I don't think – obviously, the Marvel brand is particularly strong in China. People, so to speak, grew up with it in the multiplex world. The Batman, the Chris Nolan movies always performed very well in China. So, I think you just have to look at – you can't make a blanket statement about the difference between the DC Universe and the Marvel Universe in China. I think it all comes down to the movies and for whatever reason people react differently to individual movies in different territories. Obviously, Batman versus Superman is now over $800 million globally, so it's been a substantial hit. As it relates to Avatar, the only DNA in the Avatar movies is Jim Cameron DNA. And that's clearly worked for the last 30 years and whatever Jim Cameron is going to give, everyone's – I think probably in line to really love it. So, in terms of cameras or anything like that, I don't see that happening with Avatar. But Jim always – like he did on the last…

Operator

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of John Liu of HSBC. Please go ahead.

John Liu - HSBC Investment Bank Asia Ltd.

Analyst

Hello. Good morning. My first question is, how many Chinese language IMAX films to be released this year in Greater China? Richard L. Gelfond - Chief Executive Officer & Director: Greg? Greg Foster - Senior Executive Vice President - IMAX Corp. & Chief Executive Officer - IMAX Entertainment: We'll have approximately eight. That's the anticipation. A couple in July, in October, and then in December and then one other spaced in. And as you know, we've already released Monkey King 2 and Kung Fu Panda 3. So, I would say, the total amount would be about 10, it could be one or two more, it could be one or two – I don't think it will be one or two less, but I would say eight is about the right number.

John Liu - HSBC Investment Bank Asia Ltd.

Analyst

(52:49) last year, right? Greg Foster - Senior Executive Vice President - IMAX Corp. & Chief Executive Officer - IMAX Entertainment: It's in line with last year, that's correct. We have the targeted windows and they're based on the periods of time where local language films are emphasized and they don't really change. The other thing that could change is because the Chinese New Year was so incredibly successful, the window in July and into August in 2015 that's mostly for local language films may come down and not be quite as long. So, there's a chance with that almost two-month period last year might become more like a month this year. And so that would mean instead of three or four titles in that two-month period only one or two. But it's all too early to tell. The good news is, we're poised to take advantage of whatever the circumstances present themselves to. So, if it's a longer period of time, we'll have plenty of movies for that period of time. Our job is to provide compelling content, whether it's local language or Hollywood films in China and that's what we've done and that's what we'll continue to do and we'll also do it with differentiation. And as I mentioned earlier, we have more choices in China than we've ever had before.

John Liu - HSBC Investment Bank Asia Ltd.

Analyst

My second question is for the backlog of Wanda. I think, Wanda has 63 screens in the backlog at the end of Q1, right? Richard L. Gelfond - Chief Executive Officer & Director: That sounds right. I don't know if it's exactly right, but it's in the ballpark.

John Liu - HSBC Investment Bank Asia Ltd.

Analyst

Okay. The last question is, as we share box office with cinemas, is it possible for Wanda cinema to increase the share of the box office in future? Richard L. Gelfond - Chief Executive Officer & Director: Yeah. I mean if they sign-up for more theaters. And as I mentioned to you, we were having preliminary discussions towards that end. So, it's possible for them to have more, but we have some other ongoing discussions in China. You saw we signed a 10 theater deal and there's a lot of activity in China from entities other than Wanda. So, it's possible they can increase their share. It's possible they can increase their theaters. It's possible other people increase their theaters, a lot also we'll just have to see what their demand is and what demand is from other people.

John Liu - HSBC Investment Bank Asia Ltd.

Analyst

Okay. Thanks. Richard L. Gelfond - Chief Executive Officer & Director: Thank you.

Operator

Operator

Your next question will come from the line of Robert Peters of Credit Suisse. Please go ahead. Robert Peters - Credit Suisse Securities (Canada), Inc: Hi, thanks very much for squeezing me in. I'm sorry to tax your voice a little bit more Rich, but I was just wondering with the announcement of the expanded buyback in the quarter, I was wondering if you can provide an update as to how we should think about the use of IMAX balance sheet, particularly any thoughts you might have between your priorities – between any potential M&A, the new business opportunities you've been developing and then returning capital to shareholders? Richard L. Gelfond - Chief Executive Officer & Director: We're totally driven by an ROI analysis. So, I think, we have just what UT does. I think it depends on the opportunities we're looking at and what the returns on capital are there. As you know, our joint ventures have a return of excess of 50%. It depends where the stock price is. So, what we calculate to be the return on investing and buying stock, and it depends on some of these other initiatives and we're constantly reevaluating that. I'm happy to say in the last quarter, we felt the stock had gotten to kind of ridiculously low levels and we're happy to buy it in as a use of our cash and we'll continue to monitor all those variables and decide to what's in the best long-term interest of our shareholders. Robert Peters - Credit Suisse Securities (Canada), Inc: Perfect. Thank you. And Joe, if we look at the number of installs in the quarter, we saw four hybrid installs. Was there any specific event that drove the four in terms of, I think we're looking for originally eight or was it just timing related? Richard L. Gelfond - Chief Executive Officer & Director: It's just timing related. As I mentioned the overall outlook for the year really hasn't changed. Robert Peters - Credit Suisse Securities (Canada), Inc: Perfect. Thank you. And maybe just one last question from me and then I'll pass the line. When you look at the home theater signings, those are now up to 130, are those all in the Greater China region or are we starting to see expansion in other geographies on that front? Richard L. Gelfond - Chief Executive Officer & Director: Pretty much right now in the China region. There are couple outside that region, but the vast majority are in that area. We haven't really set up a sales organization outside of there yet. Robert Peters - Credit Suisse Securities (Canada), Inc: Perfect. Thank you very much.

Operator

Operator

And your next question will come from the line of Eric Handler of MKM Partners. Please go ahead.

Eric O. Handler - MKM Partners LLC

Analyst

Thank you very much for the question. Rich, I'll give you a chance to rest your voice and throw this over to Joe. Joe, there is a lot of operating leverage in your model and as I think from a big picture standpoint, this year SG&A rising just 2% to 4%, R&D flat. As we think to some of your out years, what's a good normalized level of SG&A growth and what's a good normalized level of R&D growth? Joseph Sparacio - Chief Financial Officer & Executive Vice President: You know, Eric, that's going to really depend on the business activity that we have going on, the pursuit of new business opportunities. But on a steady-state, I would think something in the 3% to 5%, if you are modeling. I mean, that doesn't seem unreasonable to me. Again, absent something nuanced.

Eric O. Handler - MKM Partners LLC

Analyst

On a cumulative basis for both categories or just... Joseph Sparacio - Chief Financial Officer & Executive Vice President: No, obviously if we enter into a new business that's going to be additive. I'm talking...

Eric O. Handler - MKM Partners LLC

Analyst

No. No, no. I mean, is that just SG&A or is that SG&A and R&D combined? Joseph Sparacio - Chief Financial Officer & Executive Vice President: I would combine them.

Eric O. Handler - MKM Partners LLC

Analyst

Okay. And then as a follow-up, probably for Rich, when you look at North America, I think Fox recently talked about not getting involved with clearances anymore and obviously there's a lawsuit going on. But if clearances were to go away, would that have any impact on a potential install opportunity for you guys in North America? Richard L. Gelfond - Chief Executive Officer & Director: It has a marginal positive impact Eric, because right now if it's a competitive zone they only get half the product. So, it's difficult to make an IMAX theater work in a competitive zone, because you would only get half the IMAX movies. So, if those restrictions go away, it would be a positive for us. But I'm thinking maybe 20 more theaters not 100 more theaters.

Eric O. Handler - MKM Partners LLC

Analyst

Great. Thank you very much. Richard L. Gelfond - Chief Executive Officer & Director: Thank you, Eric. I think we're going to wrap it up on that question. And I just like to summarize by saying, this quarter IMAX really impressively delivered on every matrix. Our PSAs were up, our box office grew really strongly, we had a lot of signings, we have a lot of momentum, we contain costs, all of that led to operating leverage that was apparent and very strong EBITDA and EPS growth. So, I think we've been listening to questions and we've been listening to comments from our shareholders and we strongly feel this was as cleaner quarter as you get and we think we delivered on what we've been talking about for a long time. So, thank you for your involvement and thank you to our employees to make this possible and we'll talk to you next quarter.

Operator

Operator

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