National Cinemedia grew its fourth quarter profit, despite overall revenues remaining virtually unchanged, the in-theater advertising company announced Monday.
The net income attributable to National Cinemedia came to $23.7 million for the three months to Dec. 28, 2023, against net income of $6.1 million in the comparable year-ago period. Overall fourth quarter revenue was $90.9 million, a shade lower than $91.7 million in the same period of 2022.
The revenue breakout showed national advertising revenue grew 2 percent to $71.9 million, which offset a slight decrease in local and regional ad revenue at $16.2 million, compared to a year-earlier $17.1 million.
“In 2023, National Cinemedia successfully re-established the importance of cinema for best-in class advertisers, with movies driving the cultural conversation and the box office reaching its highest point since 2019,” Tom Lesinski, CEO of the company, said in a statement.
National Cinemedia completed a financial restructuring in August 2023, which included court-directed Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings.
That was preceded by National Cinemedia’s business being hit by the shutdown of cinemas due to the COVID pandemic, followed by the slow Hollywood industry recovery as the reopening of theaters and cinema screen advertising was impacted.
More recently, National Cinemedia is navigating the major studios rearranging their production and release schedules for their movie slates in the wake of dual Hollywood strikes being settled.
Also Monday, the company also unveiled plans for a share repurchase program to buy back up to $100 million of company stock by April 1, 2027.
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