Vista posts $56.7m loss in 2020
Cinema software company Vista Group has endured its toughest year ever as Covid-19 shut down theatres across the world, however the company expects a rebound this year as the rollout of vaccines reduces case numbers and movie releases remain stable.
Vista posted a loss of
$56.7 million in the 2020 calendar year, from a $12.8m profit in 2019.
The company’s businesses span the full remit of the film industry, from production and distribution to cinema exhibition. The closure of cinemas across the world last year hurt Vista, prompting it to raise $65m from shareholders, write down the value of its assets by $28.4m, cut jobs, and take $5.9m in wage subsidies.
‘‘We can’t think of a tougher year than what was thrown at us in 2020,’’ chief executive Kimbal Riley and chairwoman Susan Peterson said in a letter to shareholders in the annual report published yesterday.
‘‘We are confident the cinema experience will rebound at some point during the year and we are in good shape to lead that rebound.’’
Cinemas in China reopened in late July and had been well patronised, it said. Some 90 per cent of cinemas in China have remained open, although they are heavily reliant on local content.
In the rest of the world, cinemas reopened as the northern hemisphere summer progressed, with 75 per cent of cinemas open by October, but the onset of the second wave of Covid-19 in autumn and winter saw that reduced to just over 50 per cent, propped up by a strong performance in the Asia Pacific region. ‘‘The rebound in China [and in Australia, New Zealand and Japan] supports our positive view of the future – when cinemas open and content flows – people flock back to the cinema experience,’’ it said.
Japan and China had record box office revenue for Chinese New Year.
Vista had enough cash and debt to see it through this year, it said. The company is burning through $3.7m of cash a month, within its forecast range of between $3m to $4m. It ended the year with $67m in cash and $39m in undrawn debt facilities.