AMC Has 'Substantial Doubt' About Its Future

Theater chain says 'substantial doubt exists' about its ability to weather pandemic
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 4, 2020 1:21 AM CDT
AMC Has 'Substantial Doubt' About Its Future
In this April 29, 2020 file photo, a message on the ticket window at the AMC Burbank 16 movie theaters complex informs potential customers that it is currently closed in Burbank, Calif.   (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)

AMC may not be coming back from this. The movie theater chain, which shuttered all its locations amid the coronavirus pandemic, said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission Wednesday that it has "substantial doubt" it can survive, CNBC and the Wall Street Journal report. "We are generating effectively no revenue," it said in the filing, which included preliminary earnings results showing that it expects to have lost $2.1 billion to $2.4 billion during the first quarter that ended March 31, and that its revenue fell to $941.5 million, a drop of almost 22% from the $1.2 billion in revenue during last year's first quarter. Results from the second quarter, which ends June 30, are expected to be worse. "Substantial doubt exists about our ability to continue as a going concern for a reasonable period of time," the filing says.

The company said its ability to weather the storm will depend on raising enough cash to fund operations as the closure continues. As of now, its cash balance of $718.3 million is enough to get it to the summer (when it currently expects to reopen) or perhaps a bit later, but "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," the company says. "Such additional financing may not be available on favorable terms or at all." Operations are currently suspended through the end of this month. Even as governors start to ease restrictions, AMC noted that movie releases may continue to be delayed or moved to digital platforms by studios, and customers may not come back to theaters in a normal capacity. (More AMC stories.)

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