Cinema software company Vista Group has posted a steeper interim loss as its associate business in China suffered from Covid-19 restrictions, but the company is upbeat about the future.
Vista Group's $18m net loss included a $13.8m write down mostly related to its China businesses. Photo: 123rf
Its net loss included a $13.8 million write down mostly related to Vista China, as the country's zero-Covid approach affected its local cinema industry and box office.
Key numbers for the six months ended June compared to a year ago:
- Net loss $18m vs $3.1m
- Revenue $62.4m vs $44.9m
- No interim dividend
[Ll] Operating earnings $3.1m vs $6.4m
However, Vista's revenue improved as key markets recovered after a bruising few years.
"The increase in recurring revenue is a welcome indication of the cinema industry's renewed strength and, after pandemic challenges, it's heartening to see continued box office growth," chief executive Kimbal Riley said.
The company said trading performance for the first half of 2022 was strong, with the sector boosted by some box office hits including Top Gun: Maverick.
Due to the sector's recovery, Vista upgraded its full year revenue guidance for 2022 to be in the range of $123m to $128m, up from the previous estimate of $118m to $123m.
"Our sustained focus on innovation has seen our SaaS [Software as a Service] platform Vista Cloud go live with a second customer and we were pleased to announce the first major cinema circuit, with over 300 sites, has also signed up for the offering.
"Meanwhile, Movio [Vista's movie marketing product] is on the cusp of an exciting product launch that will see significant improvements to the depth, functionality and usability of its cinema offering," Riley said.