Despite gaining momentum, global box office revenue is still only at 60 per cent of its pre-Covid level. But Vista sees a packed schedule of blockbusters, including new Hunger Games and Dune titles, an Indiana Jones revival and Cocaine Bear (pictured) driving 10 to 20 per cent gains this year.
Despite gaining momentum, global box office revenue is still only at 60 per cent of its pre-Covid level. But Vista sees a packed schedule of blockbusters, including new Hunger Games and Dune titles, an Indiana Jones revival and Cocaine Bear (pictured) driving 10 to 20 per cent gains this year.
Vista Group, the Auckland-based firm that dominates the global market for cinema software, saw revenue jump 38 per cent to $135 million for the year ending December 31, 2022, beating its revised-upward guidance of $123m-128m.
But while the company was in the black on an ebitda basis (operating earnings increased 63 per cent) to $11m, its net loss more than doubled from the year-ago $9.8m to $21.4m.
Expenses jumped by a third to $126m as Vista kept spending on moving its products to the cloud.
The revenue jump was fuelled in part by the return of blockbusters as Hollywood continued its post-lockdown revival with hits like Top Gun: Maverick and Avatar: The Way of Water.
But although Vista hit its marks, there were limits to the movie industry’s comeback.
The Avatar sequel is now the third highest-grossing movie of all time, with worldwide box office receipts exceeding US$2.26 billion. It helped lift the industry’s overall revenue by 22 per cent.
But according to a Vista NZX filing, the total global box office is only at 60 per cent of its 2019 pre-Covid level.
Similarly, Vista is not yet back to pre-pandemic chops. In 2019, its revenue climbed 11 per cent to $145m.
The firm’s transition to the cloud also helped lift its annual recurring revenue (ARR), which also rose 38 per cent to $118m. Its Vista Cinema theatre management software continued to account for the lion’s share of revenue ($93m from the year-ago $66.5m), over its Movio marketing and data analytics platform (which booked $19.9m revenue from the year-ago $15.1m). But Movio (25 per cent) had a better ebitda percentage of revenue than Cinema (21 per cent).
"Avatar: The Way of Water" (20th Century Studios via AP)
Vista says the revival is gaining momentum, however, and total revenue for 2023 will be in the range of $142m to $147m as the global box office grows 10 to 20 per cent on the back of a crowded blockbuster release schedule, including Cocaine Bear, new releases in the Hunger Games and Dune franchises, and an Indiana Jones revival.
No profit/loss guidance was given.
The firm stuck by its October investor day forecast that annual recurring revenue will be between $175m and $205m by the end of 2025, with positive free cash flow in the same time frame.
Vista ended 2022 with $46m in cash (or $28.4m net of borrowing), 24 per cent down on the year-ago $60m.
September saw one of Vista’s larger customers, entertainment conglomerate Cineworld/Regal - the world’s second-largest movie theatre chain in North America - file for bankruptcy protection in the US.
Vista said Cineworld/Regal was one of its top five customers, accounting for around 6 per cent of revenue, but the development was “non-material” because the firm received a major cash injection from lenders after its US operation filed for Chapter 11.
In December, Cineworld committed to its existing agreement with Vista. The same month saw Canadian cinema chain Cineplex - one of the top five on the North American cinema circuit - sign for Vista’s cloud product.
December also saw longtime CEO Kimbal Riley announce his retirement.
Stuart Dickinson will take over as chief executive in April. Tech industry veteran Dickinson is currently NZ country manager for NYSE-listed DXC, a multinational IT services firm that works with Microsoft, SAP, Salesforce and others.
