美国电影科技集团子公司Imax中国前景光明

Gotta catch ’em all. Imax China, the Hong Kong-listed subsidiary of the US cinema technology group, is the latest company caught up in the hype about Pokémon Go. On Wednesday Legendary Entertainment, a subsidiary of Wanda Group, reportedly won the rights to make a feature film based on Pokémon character Pikachu. Shares in Imax China — for whom Wanda is a big customer — rose as much as one-tenth and closed up 4 per cent.

要把它们统统抓到。在香港上市的美国电影科技集团子公司Imax中国，是最近一家被卷入《口袋妖怪Go》(Pokémon Go)游戏风潮的公司。周三，万达(Wanda)集团的子公司传奇娱乐(Legendary Entertainment)据报道已赢得相关权利，制作一部基于《口袋妖怪》角色“皮卡丘”(Pikachu)的电影。Imax中国（万达是其大客户）的股价一度上涨十分之一，最终收涨4%。

There was much more to the rise, however, than a monster craze. Also on Thursday, Imax China announced its first set of interim results since listing in September. This registered a turnround to net profit after losses in the prior first half, on revenues that are up a quarter. The figures suggest more upside lies ahead.

然而，除了“妖怪”风潮，该股上涨还有很多其它理由。周四，Imax中国公布了自去年9月上市以来的第一批中期业绩。继上半年出现亏损后，净利润在营收增长四分之一基础上实现扭亏为盈。数据似乎表明未来有更多上升空间。

Superficially, the numbers were not encouraging. Imax China makes money by selling and maintaining screens, film distribution and revenue-sharing. Box office revenues rose a mere 3 per cent, within which the take per screen fell nearly one-quarter. But much of that decline was due to a tough comparison base: Fast and Furious 7 screened in the first half of 2015. Encouragingly for the full year, the box office for June 2016 was up more than a half as blockbusters including Warcraft were released.

表面上看，这些数字并不鼓舞人心。Imax中国的盈利来自出售和维护大银幕、电影发行和收入分成。票房收入仅增加了3%，其中平均到每个银幕的收入减少了近四分之一。但该跌幅在很大程度上是因为基线偏高：《速度与激情7》(Fast and Furious 7)在2015年上半年上映。全年来看令人振奋的是，2016年6月的票房收入因《魔兽》(Warcraft)等大片的上映而增长逾50%。

Screen sales also sent a mixed signal. Orders for 79 new theatre systems in the first half exceeded the prior year’s total. The company revised its forecast for full-year screen installations from 100 to 115. Yet the segment was a drag, with two system upgrades depressing margins. It is the third category that looks most promising, however. An increasing proportion of the company’s installed theatres operate under revenue-sharing agreements, which cover maintenance and film distribution and enjoy higher margins. Those segments will expand with the growing network.

银幕销售也发出好坏不一的信号。上半年79个新影院系统的订单数量超过了去年全年。该公司将全年的银幕安装订单预测从100调整到115。然而这部分业务仍是拖累，两次系统升级抑制了利润率。不过第三类业务看起来最有前途。该公司安装的影院系统有越来越高的比例是以收入分成协议的方式运作，涵盖银幕维护和电影发行，享有更高的利润率。这部分业务将随着网络的扩大而增长。

Pikachu’s advent to the large screen may be exciting. Next to Imax China’s strong outlook, it is merely a sideshow.

皮卡丘登上大银幕也许令人兴奋。但比起Imax中国的强劲前景，这只是一个小插曲。