AMC Entertainment Holdings (NYSE: AMC) has revealed in recent filings that it may not be financially stable enough to continue operating after months of pandemic-related closures. The company attributed its concerns to the lack of revenue and the substantial delays in major releases by movie studios.
AMC's financial report held anything but good news for the theater chain. Quarterly revenue was reported to be down by 22%, dropping to $941.5 million from $1.2 billion in Q1 of 2019. The company estimated losses of between $2.1 billion and $2.4 billion in the first quarter after the coronavirus pandemic forced the chain to close.
AMC reportedly had substantial cash in hand, telling CNN it had $718.3 million. AMC stated that its cash in hand was more than enough for the company to reopen in June, but perhaps not enough to keep the company going for long if it didn't get enough income. AMC also expressed doubt that it could reopen later than June.
"We believe we have the cash resources to reopen our theatres and resume our operations this summer or later," AMC said in a statement. "If we do not recommence operations within our estimated timeline, we will require additional capital and may also require additional financing if, for example, our operations do not generate the expected revenues or a recurrence of COVID-19 were to cause another suspension of operations. Such additional financing may not be available on favorable terms or at all. Due to these factors, substantial doubt exists about our ability to continue as a going concern for a reasonable period of time."
Making AMC's situation worse is the lack of any significant releases over the summer, with many studios opting for digital distribution instead of traditional release due to theater closures. AMC addressed this rather rashly by cutting ties with Universal Studios (NYSE: UVV), refusing to screen any more Universal films in response to the company's decision to begin releasing films both traditionally and digitally. With the full recovery of the film industry still a few months out, it's unlikely that AMC's cash on hand will last long.
The company could potentially seek refinancing to weather the next few months until the film industry returns to some semblance of normalcy, though given the company's debt downgrade from Moody's and its own weak guidance the chances of a lender taking a risk on AMC aren't great.