The world’s largest movie theater chain is still ashamed of its $ 550 million fundraising goal.
AMC CEO Adam Aron said on Tuesday that the company had managed to raise just over $ 200 million by the end of this year from the $ 750 million it needs to finance cash needs.
“We need to collect more, but we are working hard on it and have set out a plan and a blueprint to get there,” he said. “Whether we get there or not, only time will tell.”
Aron’s appearance on CNBC’s “Closing Bell” comes the same day that his company’s stock fell to an intraday low of $ 1.91 per 52-week share and closed at a record low of $ 1.98 per share .
AMC has been paralyzed by the coronavirus pandemic and its shares reflect investors’ lack of confidence in the immediate recovery of the movie theater industry. The company’s shares fell by more than 70% in 2020.
Movie theaters were forced to close in mid-March and spent more than six months for the public last year. AMC operates about 400 of its nearly 600 theaters with limited seating and shorter hours. Theaters in New York City and parts of California remain closed.
The company is trying to renegotiate its lease payments with landlords and wants to try discounts, reductions and deferrals. If the company can not obtain additional sources of liquidity, he repeated, he may have to go bankrupt.
AMC is not eligible for grants through the $ 15 billion Save Our Stages Act, which is part of the much larger $ 900 billion coronavirus relief package because it is a stock exchange company with locations in more than ten states.
AMC entered the pandemic with nearly $ 5 billion in debt, which it amassed by equipping its theaters with luxury seats and buying competitors such as Carmike and Odeon.
The company has already renegotiated its debt to improve its balance sheet and received a $ 100 million investment from Mudrick Capital Management in December.
“Our work needs to be cut out for us,” Aron said. “We do have to raise more money to get to the other side. That said, we’ve done it four times already, and that’s our focus.”