Carmike (CKEC) misses badly; 1Q05 EPS falls short of consensus

Carmike Cinemas (ticker: CKEC) reported results on May 10, 2005 for the first quarter 2005.  CKEC reported EPS of $0.04, far below the consensus estimate of $0.24. Below are some highlights.

Results 1Q05 vs. 1Q04:

• EPS: $0.03 vs. $0.15 (-80%)
• Consensus EPS was $0.24
• Revenue: $101.7M vs. $116.9M (-13%)
• Consensus revenue was $107.2M
• Operating income: $4.9M vs. $20.0M (-75%)
• Operating margin: 4.9% vs. 17.1% (-1220bps)
• Net Income: $0.4M vs. $1.8M (-76%)
• Reported Net margin: 0.4% vs. 1.5% (-110bps)
• Cash: $17.3M vs. $56.9M (-70%)
• Debt: $247.8M vs. $248.0M (0%)
• Free cash flow: $-31.2M vs. $-23.6M (+32%)
• Dividend per share: $0.175 vs. $0 (0%)

Revenue breakdown 1Q05 vs. 1Q04:

• Admissions: $67.6M vs. $79.5M (-15%)
• Concessions: $34.1M vs. $37.4M (-9%)

Operating statistics 1Q05 vs. 1Q04:

• Average theatres: 281 vs. 294 (-4%)
• Average screens: 2,187 vs. 2,229 (-2%)
• Average attendance per screen: 5,832 vs. 6,955 (-16%)
• Average admission price: $5.30 vs. $5.13 (+3%)
• Average concession per patron: $2.45 vs. $2.17 (+13%)
• Total attendance (in thousands): 12,754 vs. 15,502 (-18%)
• Total revenues (in thousands): 101,683 vs. 116,928 (-13%)
• Theater level cash flow:  $18.3M vs. $31.9M (-43%)

Quick comments:

• CKEC blamed its poor performance on a tough comparison versus 2004 (when Passion of the Christ was in theaters) and theater closings due to renovation and expansion
• CKEC expects to complete its acquisition of GKC theaters in Q2
• Capex was $25.5 million in the quarter; the company expects to spend $50 million on capex for the year