CINEMAONE Limited has launched a new shareholder loyalty programme which will allow the company to reward its shareholders who’ve watched the company rebound over the last four years.

The announcement, which was published on July 4 on the Trinidad & Tobago Stock Exchange (TTSE), noted that the board had approved this programme, dubbed CINE1 Starz Shareholder Loyalty Programme.

The first ‘reward’ will be a dividend in kind of TT$0.13 per share in the form of a voucher redeemable for movie tickets, food and beverage services, theatre facility use, screen advertising, and/or in-theatre advertising. Thus, the total value of this dividend in kind translates to TT$1,041,022.97, with vouchers to be distributed on July 19 to shareholders on record as of July 12. TTSE currently has a settlement process of T+2, which means that the last day to purchase would be today, July 10.

This distribution will be of great benefit to its largest shareholder Giant Screen Entertainment Holdings Limited, which owns 4,555,756 ordinary shares or 56.9 per cent of the company. Jahra Ventures Limited, a company jointly controlled by co-founders Brian and Ingrid Jahra, owns 60 per cent of holding company Giant Screen Entertainment while CGH Limited, a company controlled by Christian and Gerald Hadeed, owns the remaining 40 per cent interest. Jahra Ventures also owns 122,690 shares or 1.50 per cent of CinemaONE.

Giant Screen owed TT$3.70 million to CinemaONE at the end of September 2023 while CinemaONE owed Jahra Ventures TT$656,107 as well. This dividend in kind could potentially offset some of these balances.

Similar dividend structures or shareholder benefits are not only isolated to Trinidad, but also occur for companies listed on Jamaica Stock Exchange. Mayberry Investments Limited declared a dividend in specie in February 2018 which allowed for it to distribute 10 per cent of its subsidiary, Mayberry Jamaican Equities Limited, to its shareholders. That distribution was valued at $146.54 million. Even Blue Power Group Limited shareholders instantly became shareholders in Lumber Depot Limited in August 2019 when the spin-off of the lumber division took place. Some other Jamaican companies also offer discounts and other benefits to their shareholders, with Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) reviving its loyalty card programme this year.

The move by CinemaONE to have a dividend-in-kind payment to shareholders comes as the company continues to navigate through a period of expansion. CinemaOne opened its CINECentral movie theatre at Price Plaza, Chaguanas, in September 2023. Its third location saw it form subsidiary CINECentral Limited, which had TT$47.80 million in assets and TT$39.54 million in liabilities.

This new location positively contributed to CinemaOne recording its best monthly admissions of over 20,000 patrons, despite seeing a reduction in traffic to its flagship location in Port of Spain. CinemaOne, like numerous businesses in the media and entertainment space, was affected by the 148-day Writers Guild of America strike in 2023 which resulted in fewer Hollywood films being delivered on original timelines. The company offset this deficit by diversifying its content sources and turning to Bollywood movie content.

This strategy pushed CinemaONE’s second-quarter (January to March) consolidated revenue up by 51 per cent, from TT$3.11 million to TT$4.69 million ($106 million). Despite higher operating expenses CinemaONE’s operating profit jumped 352 per cent to TT$455,005; however, the rise in finance costs related to the new theatre saw it record a loss before tax of TT$533,275 and a net loss of TT$368,487.

CinemaONE’s consolidated revenue for the six months was up by a fifth to TT$9.23 million, with operating profit coming in at TT$957,778. Loss before tax was TT$869,700 with the net loss at TT$654,449. CinemaONE’s EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax depreciation and amortisation) moved from TT$2.89 million to TT$3.70 million.

CinemaOne’s total assets are marginally down over the six months to TT$133.80 million as its current asset balance dipped 26 per cent to TT$3.95 million. Operating cashflow improved from TT$1.41 million to TT$2.60 million. Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity closed the period at TT$108.40 million and TT$25.39 million, respectively.

Despite the announcement of the dividend in kind, CinemaONE’s stock price traded down nine per cent on Tuesday to TT$5.90 with 2,000 units traded, leaving the stock down 18 per cent in 2024. The stock last traded on March 26 when it closed at TT$6.45. This also leaves the stock trailing behind its initial public offering price of TT$10 and the rights issue price of TT$7.50. Cine1’s market capitalisation is TT$47.25 million.

CinemaONE will celebrate its 15th anniversary on December 11, which coincides with its sixth year of being listed on TTSE. CinemaONE was the first company to be listed on the SME (small & medium enterprise) market in November 2018.

“With renewed major studio production and distribution initiatives well underway following the Hollywood strike lags, CinemaONE is eager to open the upcoming summer blockbuster season with
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, Furiosa – A Mad Max Saga, Bad Boys for Life, Despicable Me 4, Deadpool , Wolverine, and other anticipated movie titles. In this context CinemaONE maintains its pragmatic optimism that a wide array of diverse movie product will continue to draw and validate consumer enthusiasm for experiencing compelling content in an elevated, purpose-built cinematic setting,” said Chairman Brian Jahra in his closing remarks of the quarterly report.

1 TTD – JMD: $22.58610

CinemaONE is launching a shareholder loyalty programme which can be used at its Trinidadian theatres. .