Regal profit falls; digital upgrade advances

By Sue Zeidler

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Regal Entertainment Group, the largest U.S. movie theater owner, posted sharply lower quarterly profit on Thursday and said improvement might not come until the fourth quarter.

But the company also reported progress in a long-delayed digital upgrade expected to boost sagging attendance at movie theaters.

Second-quarter net income fell to $13.8 million, or 9 cents a share, from $52.7 million, or 33 cents a share, a year earlier.

Excluding one-time items, Regal earned 16 cents a share. On that basis, analysts' average forecast was 18 cents, according to Reuters Estimates.

Revenue fell 1.1 percent to $675.8 million, below the Wall Street view of $682.7 million.

JP Morgan analyst Barton Crockett said ticket prices rose 2.8 percent in the quarter, but attendance per screen fell 3.3 percent and admissions revenue per screen fell 3.9 percent. Concession revenue per screen fell 1.3 percent.

In April, Regal said second- and third-quarter results would face tough comparisons with figures from a year earlier, when hit films like "Transformers" and "Spiderman 3" buoyed the box office.

Chief Executive Mike Campbell reiterated that view in a conference call on Thursday, but said fourth-quarter comparisons should be "considerably easier."