AMC院線集團賺錢出新招
????本周早些時候,全美第二大院線集團AMC娛樂控股集團公司(AMC Entertainment)股票重新上市,這是自2000年互聯(lián)網(wǎng)泡沫巔峰以來,美國股市IPO最大豐收年的收官之作。 ????盡管股票募集規(guī)模無法與Twitter或希爾頓(Hilton)相媲美,但是投資者堅信,這家院線集團已經(jīng)成功破解了電影業(yè)缺失的環(huán)節(jié)——餐飲。 ????無論上述嘗試最終是否能夠成功,AMC公司正在進行著其他競爭者沒有嘗試過的事情,尤其是在院線行業(yè)面臨票房收入不斷下滑的背景下。這家總部設在堪薩斯州利伍德的院線連鎖店通過銷售餐飲和高端食品來增加每位電影觀眾的人均消費。AMC娛樂控股集團公司擁有343家影院的4,950塊銀幕,是緊隨帝王娛樂集團(Regal Entertainment)之后的全美第二大院線集團。 ????上周三,AMC公司在紐約股市以每股18美元發(fā)行了1,840萬股,募集到了3.32億美元。它的發(fā)行價處于18到20美元預估股價區(qū)間的底部。首個交易日股價上漲90美分,以18.9美元報收——考慮到這家公司上市前在市場營銷方面的投入(允許忠實擁躉按照與大投資者同等的價格購買股票),這點成績只能算是過得去,絕算不上驕人。周五時,這只股價再次上漲,報收19.68美元。 ????很顯然,投資者相信AMC公司頗具盈利能力,但是首次公開募股的表現(xiàn)也顯示出投資者十分謹慎。截至9月30日的9個月里,這家公司報告利潤8,480萬美元,一洗上一年度虧損430萬美元的頹勢。但是,它的增長有些緩慢。同一時期里,AMC公司新增了3家影院25塊銀幕,但也關閉了4家影院的29塊銀幕。 ????AMC集團首席執(zhí)行官格里?洛佩茲表示,首次公開募股得來的資金主要用于償還公司債務——截至9月30日,它的債務依然高達21.9億美元。AMC公司還計劃投資進行影院升級,通過影院內(nèi)餐飲來增加收入中高端因素,比如在它加利福利亞州馬里納戴爾瑞新開的影院,觀眾可以坐在影院全皮靠背沙發(fā)中,盡情享用美食和飲料,包括啤酒和葡萄酒。 ????總部設在紐約、研究私人持股公司的研究機構(gòu)Privco Media資深分析師艾德利安?洛扎多指出,AMC公司的這些策略旨在吸引更多觀眾走出舒適的小家,來影院看電影。但是,這些舉措并沒有增加票房的銷售額,不過是增加影院擁躉們的消費額。AMC公司還計劃安裝更寬敞、更舒適的座椅,意味著影院里容納的座位數(shù)量將更少。洛扎多說:“這個舉措的確很大膽。” ????AMC公司2004年被私人持有,在周三首次公開募股之前,也曾有過幾次重新上市的嘗試。2006年,由于部分投資者希望收回投資,公司一度計劃公開募股,募集7.5億美元。但因為投資者不太接受17美元的股價而最終作罷。2007年9月,它以按比例縮減發(fā)行量的方式再次嘗試公開發(fā)行股票,但因遭遇金融危機而再次擱淺。2012年,第三次嘗試公開發(fā)行股票的努力,但又因中國最大的娛樂集團萬達(Wanda)以26億美元收購該院線連鎖集團而擱置。 ????事實上,AMC公司至今一直在掙扎。盡管投資者對它的前景十分樂觀,但是電影觀眾對新舉措是否買賬仍不明朗。(財富中文網(wǎng)) ????譯者:鄧婕 |
????AMC Entertainment, the nation's second-largest movie theater chain, returned to the public market earlier this week, closing off what has become the best year for IPOs since the peak of the dotcom bubble in 2000. ????The public offering wasn't nearly as big as Twitter's (TWTR) or Hilton's (HLT), but investors nonetheless made a decent bet that the chain has deciphered what's missing at the movies: dinner. ????Whether that's actually the case is up for grabs, but AMC is doing what competitors aren't at a time when declining ticket sales have weighed on theaters industrywide. The Leawood, Kan.-based chain is looking to generate more revenue per patron through the sale of dinner and higher-end food options -- something smaller independent theaters have tried. With interests in 343 theaters with 4,950 screens, it is the second-biggest theater operator in the U.S., next to Regal Entertainment. ????In its debut on the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday, AMC (AMC) raised $332 million, selling 18.4 million shares at $18 a share. That share price came in at the low end of its expected price range of $18 to $20 a share. The stock closed 90 cents higher at $18.90 on its first day of trading -- a decent but not spectacular pop, considering the heavy marketing AMC did in the months leading to its IPO. (It offered some loyal movie goers a chance to buy shares at the same price big investors pay). On Friday, the stock closed higher, at $19.68 a share. ????It's clear investors believe that AMC could be more profitable, but the IPO also signals that they're cautious, too. The company reported a profit of $84.8 million during the nine months ended Sept. 30, reversing a $43 million loss from a year ago. However, growth is somewhat slow. AMC opened three theaters with 25 screens but closed four with 29 screens during that same time period. ????AMC Chief Executive Gerry Lopez has said the proceeds from the IPO will be used primarily to pay down the company's debt -- $2.19 billion as of Sept. 30. AMC also plans to invest in theater upgrades, adding more upscale elements to its venues with in-theater dinning options, similar to its recently opened location in Marina Del Ray, Calif., where patrons can order food and drinks, including beer and wine, while sitting in reclining leather seats. ????The strategy could be viewed as AMC's attempt to lure more patrons to the theater and away from watching movies in the comfort of their homes. However, the strategy isn't so much a way to increase ticket sales as it is to get already hooked movie goers to spend more, says Adriana Lozado, senior analyst at Privco Media, a New York-based research firm that tracks privately held companies. AMC is also planning to install bigger and comfier seats, which also means fewer seats in each theater. "It's a pretty bold move," Lozado says. ????Before Wednesday's IPO, AMC had made several attempts to reenter the public market after going private in 2004. It filed for a $750 million IPO in 2006 as investors looked to recoup some of their investments in the company. But AMC withdrew that offering after investors balked at the $17-a-share asking price. The company tried again in September 2007 with a scaled-back stock offering, but withdrew the plan that year as the financial crisis unraveled. And in 2012, the chain put aside plans for an IPO before Wanda, China's largest entertainment group, agreed to buy AMC for $2.6 billion. ????Indeed, it has been a struggle at AMC. And while investors seem optimistic, it's far from clear if moviegoers will buy into its new approach. |