Durrant Pate/Contributor

Jamaica’s cinema business is showing big signs of improvement with the sole cinema operator, Palace Amusement Company, reversing the losses made during the first quarter of last year to post a modest profit for the September 2023 first quarter.

Palace Amusement chalked up a 74 per cent increase in revenue during the September 2023 quarter, totalling J$433.91 million compared to $249.71 million in the corresponding period last year. Total comprehensive income closed on J$23.08 million, reversing the loss of J$56.80 million posted last year.

Net profit totalled J$22.71 million, thereby reversing the net loss of J$53.99 million reported for September 2022. Net profit attributable to stockholders for the quarter under review amounted to J$22.72 million, up from the net loss of J$53.97 million reported for the same period in 2022. 

Consequently, earnings per share for the quarter amounted to J$0.03 compared to a loss per share of J$0.06). Notably, Palace Amusement’s stock price closed trading yesterday at a price of $1.28 with a corresponding P/E ratio of 2.99x.

Direct expenses went up 37%

Direct expenses amounted to J$343.05 million (2022: J$250.41 million), representing an increase of 37 per cent year-over-year. Consequently, gross profit increased to J$90.86 million compared to a loss of J$705,000 for the first quarter of September 2022.

Administrative expenses increased by 27 per cent to close at J$53.43 million (2022: J$42.02 million), while other operating income decreased by 25 per cent from J$2.66 million in 2022 to J$2.00 million for September 2023. 

As a result, operating profit for the first quarter amounted to J$39.43 million, relative to a loss of J$40.06 million reported in 2022. Finance costs for the quarter under review amounted to J$16.72 million, a 20 per cent increase relative to J$13.92 million reported in 2022. 

Palace Amusement’s assets totalled J$1.75 billion (2022: J$1.73 billion). The marginal increase in assets resulted from ‘deferred tax assets’ of J$151.92 million being recorded (2022: nil).

Shareholder’s equity was J$603.58 million (2022: J$326.80 million), representing a book value per share of J$0.70 (2022: J$0.38).