Milwaukee-based hotel and movie theater operator
The Marcus Corp. is on strong footing halfway through fiscal 2025, with significant increases in its second quarter revenues and earnings, thanks to several blockbuster films that drew big crowds.
The company's total revenues for the second quarter jumped 17% to $206 million, compared to a year ago. Net earnings were $7.3 million, or 23 cents per share, compared to a net loss of $20.2 million, or 64 cents per share, for the same period in fiscal 2024. Adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) also rose 46.9% year-over-year to $32 million.
Looking at the company's overall performance for the first half of the year, revenues are up 12.8%, offset by a net loss of $9.5 million -- that's compared to net loss of $32.1 million for the first half of fiscal 2024.
Driving the company's Q2 results was its movie theater division, Marcus Theatres, which saw total revenues climb 29.8% to $131.7 million. Same store attendance was up 26.7%. Same store admission revenues were up 29.3%, boosted by a 2% increase in average ticket prices compared to the prior year quarter primarily due to stronger mix of films playing to premium large-format screens, the company said.
Average concession revenues per person also increased 3.1% during the second quarter.
Marcus Corp. CEO
Greg Marcus attributed the dramatic increase in theater attendance to "significant improvements in both the quality and quantity of new films" during the second quarter. It's an indicator of the film industry's recovery from the four-month WGA and SAG-AFTRA labor strikes in 2023 -- a headwind that
Marcus was still up against at this time last year.
Marcus Theatres’ top five highest-performing films in the second quarter were "A Minecraft Movie," "Lilo & Stitch," "Sinners," "How To Train Your Dragon," and "Thunderbolts*."
Some of those films helped Marcus achieve a
record Memorial Day weekend for box office sales, attendance, concessions, and food and beverage revenue.
Marcus Theatres is the fourth-largest movie theater circuit in the U.S. and currently owns and operates 985 screens at 78 locations in 17 states under the Marcus Theatres, Movie Tavern and BistroPlex brands.
On the hotel and resorts side of the Marcus Corp. business, total revenues were flat and operating income was down 31% at $4.2 million due to an increase in depreciation expenses following hotel renovations completed in 2024.
Revenue per available room, or RevPAR, decreased 2.9% at company-owned hotels during the second quarter of fiscal 2025 compared to the second quarter of fiscal 2024.
Results for the company's hotel division, Marcus Hotel & Resorts, for the second quarter and first half of fiscal 2025 were negatively impacted by the downtown Hilton Milwaukee hotel renovation project, which Marcus Corp. has called the most extensive renovation project in company history. The first phase of the $42 million project completely upgraded the hotel’s 554 guest rooms and
was completed on schedule in July.
The project temporarily reduced the number of available rooms at the property during the start of the busiest season for hotels in Milwaukee. As a result, the division saw revenue per available room, or RevPAR, decrease 2.9% at company-owned hotels during the second quarter.
The next phase of the project, which began in June, will transform the hotel’s 34,000 square feet of meeting and event spaces as well as its two-story lobby area and bar, known as The Monarch Lounge.
"We are pleased with our results during the second quarter of fiscal 2025, with total revenues on par with the same period last year despite a large number of rooms out of service during the Hilton Milwaukee renovation,” said
Michael Evans, president of Marcus Hotels & Resorts. "While leisure travel is seeing some industry-wide softening, group demand at Marcus Hotels & Resorts remains strong.”
