Cinemark Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CNK) Q2 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

Sean Gamble: Sure. I’ll let — again, I’ll tag team and Lisa, I’ll let her hit a chunk of that is we’ll say, it’s a topic we talk quite a bit about. We do have a focus in terms of the balance in terms of where we’re aiming for restrengthening our balance sheet as well as pursuing different kinds of initiatives. But Melissa, I’ll let you dive deeper.

Melissa Thomas: Sure. So in terms of capital allocation priorities, those remain centered around 2 main areas: strengthening our balance sheet, which includes delevering and then making the right investments to position the company well for the long term. As we think about the go forward, certainly, as I mentioned in my prepared remarks, we’re targeting a net leverage ratio in the 2 to 3x range. As Sean mentioned, we are in regular conversations around our capital allocation priorities. But one thing to keep in mind is we’ll look to be opportunistic in paying down debt and delevering given our cash position. But at the same time, given some of the current industry dynamics that could cause some potential shifts in film slate, you can expect us in the near term to be conservative with that cash on hand.

Sean Gamble: Yes. And the only other thing that I would kind of supplement that is, obviously, we view that as a good position with kind of contending with any near-term uncertainty that may be out there, but also then being able to be really opportunistic as different types of things, different kinds of opportunities may shake out of this environment. So we feel that Hence, we commented on being in Injavanta’s position, we think we’re not only in a position of strength to navigate ongoing fluctuations but also to capitalize on opportunities as they come our way during the course of the coming year.

Eric Handler: Great. That’s helpful. And then just as a follow-up, with National CineMedia’s bankruptcy and the emergence and restructuring, what’s different, if anything, at all, in your agreements?

Sean Gamble: Well, for the time being, it is largely business as usual. They have a plan, a bankruptcy plan that’s been approved. And as I understand, are expecting to emerge sometime this month or next. They’ve accepted our pre-existing contracts. So we continue to operate according to that. So for now, there haven’t been modifications to that contract. Any future modifications will be something that would be mutually agreed upon and that’s to be determined.

Melissa Thomas: Yes. The other thing that I would just mention there is based on the terms of their restructuring. So as you know, we have our ESA, which is where we earn ad revenue. But then in addition to that, we have our investment in NCMI. Based on the terms of their restructuring, we do expect their outstanding debt will be converted into equity, and our ownership interest will reduce from 25% today to less than 5%. So that would impact the value of our investment and any share of any potential future dividends that they may pay out. And as you probably will see in our financials that investment, we’ve reduced that considerably over the years. So I’d say the degree of exposure on that is minimal at this point.

Operator: Our next questions come from the line of Omar Mahes with Wells Fargo.

Omar Mejias: Sean, maybe first, we’ve seen a few films shifted away from the back half of the year to 24% as a result of the writers and actors strike? Do you expect any additional firms to move out of the 2023 schedule? And Melissa, maybe on the strength of your ATPs and per caps, you guys have previously talked about modest growth for the back half of the year, but that remains elevated with average ticket pricing and burps running around mid-single digits, silo double-digit range. Can you just cuts maybe what’s driving that? And how should we think about 3Q and 4Q?

Sean Gamble: Thanks, Omar. It’s still hard to say for the end of the year with regard to any further shifts. There’s a lot of work and a lot of planning underway to try to limit the amount of impact. There will be on that. A lot of that is going to ultimately just depend on how long the conversations and negotiations continue and the availability of writers, different resources that may be required in the form of writing and/or just promotional support. So we’re going to have to see.

Melissa Thomas: And then with respect to average ticket prices and per cap, so I’ll start with the average ticket prices. We do continue to believe we can modestly grow our ATPs for full year of 2023 relative to 2022 levels. But our average ticket prices will fluctuate quarter-to-quarter. If you think about the back half of this year, we expect our average ticket price growth rate to moderate due to the film mix and that’s particularly given we’ll be lapping the significant lift from the 3D penetration on Avatar from last year. So that’s something to keep in mind. And then in terms of per caps, we, again, continue to believe can grow our per caps year-over-year in the second half of 2023. However, per cap similar to average ticket prices, those fluctuate quarter-to-quarter with film mix.