AMC 電影院 (AMC) 2021 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Thank you for standing by. This is the conference operator. Welcome to the AMC Entertainment's Fourth Quarter 2021 Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) The conference is being recorded. (Operator Instructions)

感謝您的等候。我是會議接線員。歡迎參加 AMC Entertainment 2021 年第四季財報電話會議。（接線員指示）本次會議將被錄音。（接線員指示）

I would now like to turn the conference over to John Merriwether, Vice President, Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

現在我想把會議交給投資人關係副總裁 John Merriwether。請開始。

Thank you, and good afternoon, everyone. I'd like to welcome you to AMC's Fourth Quarter Year-End 2021 Earnings Webcast. With me this afternoon is Adam Aron, our Chairman and CEO; and Sean Goodman, our Chief Financial Officer.

謝謝，各位下午好。歡迎收看 AMC 2021 年第四季暨全年財報網路直播。今天下午與我一同出席的有我們的董事長兼執行長 Adam Aron，以及我們的財務長 Sean Goodman。

Before I turn the webcast over to Adam, let me remind everyone that some of the comments made by management during this webcast may contain forward-looking statements that are based on management's current expectations. Numerous risks and uncertainties and other factors may cause actual results to differ materially from those that might be expressed today. Many of these risks and uncertainties are discussed in our most recent public filings, including our most recently filed 10-K.

在我把網路直播交給 Adam 之前，先提醒各位，管理層在本次直播中所發表的部分評論可能包含前瞻性陳述，係基於管理層目前的預期。眾多風險與不確定性及其他因素，可能導致實際結果與今日所表達者有重大差異。許多此類風險與不確定性已在我們最近的公開申報文件中討論，包括我們最近提交的 10-K。

Several of the factors that will determine the company's future results are beyond the ability of the company to control or predict. In light of the uncertainties inherent in any forward-looking statements, listeners are cautioned to not place undue reliance on these statements. The company undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information or future events.

決定公司未來業績的若干因素，超出公司所能控制或預測的範圍。鑑於任何前瞻性陳述固有的不確定性，提醒聽眾不要過度依賴這些陳述。公司不承擔修訂或更新任何前瞻性陳述之義務，無論係因新資訊或未來事件所致。

On the webcast, we may reference non-GAAP financial measures such as adjusted EBITDA, free cash flow, operating cash burn and operating cash generated, among others. For a full reconciliation of our non-GAAP measures to GAAP results, please see our earnings release posted in the Investor Relations section of our website earlier today.

在本次網路直播中，我們可能會提及非 GAAP 財務衡量指標，例如調整後 EBITDA、自由現金流、營運現金消耗與營運現金產生等。關於非 GAAP 指標與 GAAP 結果的完整調節，請參閱我們今日稍早發布於公司網站投資人關係專區的財報新聞稿。

After our prepared remarks, there will be a Q&A session. This afternoon's webcast is being recorded, and a replay will be available on the Investor Relations section of our website at amctheaters.com later today.

在我們的準備發言之後，將進行問答環節。今天下午的網路直播將被錄音，重播將於今日稍晚在 amctheaters.com 的投資人關係專區提供。

With that, I'll turn the call over to Adam.

接下來，我把電話會議交給 Adam。

Thank you, John. Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for joining us today.

謝謝你，John。各位下午好。感謝各位今天加入我們。

The fourth quarter of 2021 saw AMC putting up on the board significant milestones of progress, sending a crystal-clear message to one and all that AMC is moving well along the path to recovery. For the first time in the 2 years since COVID-19 descended upon us all in early 2020, in the fourth quarter of 2021, AMC achieved positive EBITDA, and we generated positive operating cash flow. And this is not a situation where we only narrowly achieved these important markers. Our positive EBITDA in the quarter was almost $160 million, up a breathtaking $487 million over the fourth quarter of a year ago. This led to non-GAAP operating cash generated of more than $220 million in the just completed quarter.

2021 年第四季，AMC 在多項重要里程碑上取得顯著進展，向所有人傳達一個清晰無比的訊息：AMC 正穩步走在復甦之路上。自 2020 年初 COVID-19 襲來以來的兩年之中，2021 年第四季是 AMC 首次達成正 EBITDA，並且我們也產生了正的營運現金流。而且這並非僅僅勉強達標。我們該季的正 EBITDA 接近 1.6 億美元，較去年第四季大幅增加 4.87 億美元。這使得剛結束的季度非 GAAP 營運現金產生超過 2.2 億美元。

In addition, we ended the year with a record-setting year-end liquidity of approximately $1.8 billion, enough to provide AMC with more security in case the return to normal box office levels takes longer than some might expect. And importantly, it also gives us the flexibility to go on the offensive as we work to create the AMC of the future.

此外，我們以創紀錄的年末流動性約 18 億美元結束本年度，足以在票房回到正常水準所需時間比部分人士預期更長的情況下，為 AMC 提供更高的安全性。更重要的是，這也讓我們在打造「未來的 AMC」之際，具備主動出擊的彈性。

2021 was another year of sequential and continuous recovery and improvement. As was the case after COVID forced the closure of all of our theaters in March of 2020, the industry and especially AMC box office grosses improved each and every quarter of 2020 and each and every quarter of 2021 as theaters reopened, as the number of release film titles increased, as the overall film slate became more varied and appealing and especially throughout 2021 as COVID vaccination counts soared.

2021 年是另一個逐季且持續復甦與改善的一年。正如 COVID 在 2020 年 3 月迫使我們關閉所有影城之後的情況一樣，隨著影城重新開放、上映片單數量增加、整體片單更加多元且更具吸引力，尤其在 2021 年疫苗接種數大幅攀升之際，整個產業、特別是 AMC 的票房收入在 2020 年每一季與 2021 年每一季都持續改善。

With the industry and AMC's box office growing each quarter, so, too, our financial results at AMC improved each quarter as well. As I look at the recently completed fourth quarter, I'm especially pleased that we hosted roughly 60 million guests at our theaters in the U.S., Europe and the Middle East. 60 million people enjoyed watching a movie at AMC in Q4, 60 million people.

隨著產業與 AMC 的票房每季成長，我們在 AMC 的財務表現也同樣逐季改善。回顧剛結束的第四季，我特別高興的是，我們在美國、歐洲與中東的影城共接待約 6,000 萬名觀眾。第四季有 6,000 萬人到 AMC 看電影，6,000 萬人。

I am similarly pleased that our average total revenues per patron at AMC in the quarter were $19.63, some 25.5% higher than the same statistic in our pre-pandemic Q4 of 2019. It's our understanding that this is considerably higher than that of any other major theater operator.

同樣令我欣喜的是，本季 AMC 每位觀眾的平均總收入為 19.63 美元，較疫情前 2019 年第四季的同一指標高出約 25.5%。據我們了解，這一數字顯著高於任何其他主要影城營運商。

None of this is accidental. We worked our tails off to get people back in theaters, and our job is not yet done. We are not yet where we want or where we need to be. That will continue to take time, and it will continue to take sustained and imaginative effort on our part. But even so, you can see and you can taste and you can feel it, that AMC seems to be on a positive glide path to recovery.

這一切都不是偶然。我們竭盡全力讓人們回到影城，而我們的工作尚未完成。我們還沒有達到我們想要或需要的水準。這仍需要時間，也需要我們持續且富有想像力的努力。但即便如此，你可以看見、你可以感受到、你可以體會到，AMC 似乎正沿著一條正向的復甦滑行軌道前進。

There is so much conventional wisdom floating around that movie theaters cannot coexist and cannot thrive in a world of streaming. What a load of [cow dung]. There. I cleaned that up nicely. What a load of cow dung . In a world where the consumers' appetite for content is so voracious that it seems to be sufficient to let us all prosper, it's our view at AMC that movie theaters, and especially our company as a leader -- as the leader in the movie theater industry, have a very bright future.

外界充斥著許多所謂的傳統觀點，認為在串流世界裡，電影院無法共存、也無法蓬勃發展。真是一堆[牛糞]。好了，我把它修飾得很得體。真是一堆牛糞。在一個消費者對內容的胃口如此旺盛、似乎足以讓我們所有人都能繁榮的世界裡，AMC 的看法是：電影院，尤其是我們公司作為領導者——作為電影放映產業的領導者——擁有非常光明的未來。

The problem with conventional wisdom is that conventional wisdom is so often just utterly wrong. Remember the [groundless] reporting that AMC would file for bankruptcy in 2020. Wrong. Remember that otherwise highly respected experts were calling for the AMC share price to fall to $2, $1 or even $0.01 by February or March of 2022. Now for all the lawyers listening in, I'm making no prognosis for the future. I'm looking only retrospectively. But those experts gravely underestimated AMC. And with the full benefit of hindsight, we can now happily say because now it's a simple matter of fact, they were wrong. They were wrong. They were wrong.

傳統觀點的問題在於，傳統觀點往往完全錯得離譜。還記得 2020 年那些[毫無根據]的報導說 AMC 會申請破產嗎？錯。還記得一些原本備受尊敬的專家預測 AMC 股價會在 2022 年 2 月或 3 月跌到 2 美元、1 美元，甚至 0.01 美元嗎？為了讓所有正在收聽的律師放心，我並不是在對未來做任何預測。我只是在回顧過去。但那些專家嚴重低估了 AMC。事後回頭看，我們現在可以高興地說，因為這已是簡單的事實：他們錯了。他們錯了。他們錯了。

Reflect on the remarkable success of Sony's Spider-Man: No Way Home, currently the third highest-grossing movie of all time. Think about that for a moment. The third highest-grossing movie ever and even though it was released at a time when people were battling Omicron fears no less. But it wasn't just Spider-Man. Then in Bond, Eternals, Ghostbusters. They were all part of the highest North American box office that we've seen in 2 full years and more than $2.1 billion in the quarter. And that was more than 50% higher than the industry box office just 1 quarter earlier in Q3 of 2021.

回想 Sony 的《蜘蛛人：無家日》所取得的非凡成功，目前它是史上票房第三高的電影。請想一想：史上第三高票房，而且還是在人們正面對 Omicron 恐懼的時期上映。但不只是《蜘蛛人》。接著還有《007：生死交戰》、《永恆族》、《魔鬼剋星》。它們共同推動北美票房達到我們兩年來所見的最高水準，該季總票房超過 21 億美元。而這比 2021 年第三季的產業票房還高出 50% 以上。

Looking to 2022, the 2022 film slate is expected to be significantly stronger than 2021's with Warner's The Batman opening later this week for which advanced bookings are very strong. The second quarter slate also includes Marvel's Doctor Strange, Universal's Jurassic World Dominion. Paramount and Tom Cruise are blessing us with a long-awaited Top Gun: Maverick, and then there's Pixar's Lightyear. Later in the year, we have titles such as Minions: The Rise of Gru, Thor: Love and Thunder. And I fully expect Disney literally to dazzle us both with Marvel's Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and James Cameron's Avatar 2, the sequel to, in inflation-adjusted dollars, the single highest-grossing movie of all time.

展望 2022 年，預期 2022 年的片單將明顯強於 2021 年。本週稍晚華納的《蝙蝠俠》將上映，預售表現非常強勁。第二季片單也包括漫威的《奇異博士》、環球的《侏羅紀世界：統霸天下》。派拉蒙與 Tom Cruise 也將以眾所期待已久的《捍衛戰士：獨行俠》為我們帶來驚喜，此外還有皮克斯的《光年正傳》。今年稍晚，我們還有《小小兵2：格魯的崛起》、《雷神索爾：愛與雷霆》等片。我也完全期待迪士尼將以漫威的《黑豹2：瓦干達萬歲》以及 James Cameron 的《阿凡達2》——以通膨調整後美元計算為史上單一最高票房電影之續集——讓我們目眩神迷。

Couple of great films with much of the industry coalescing around an exclusive 45-day theatrical window in the United States. That is infinitely better for AMC than when the movie industry flirted with day-and-date simultaneous release of films to theaters and the home experimentation in 2021.

再加上業界多數公司在美國逐漸凝聚共識，採用獨家 45 天的院線窗口期。這對 AMC 來說，遠遠好於 2021 年電影產業曾短暫嘗試的「院線與家庭端同日同步上映」的實驗。

As we look forward to the full calendar year of 2022, reckoning that no one has a perfect crystal ball, but we think that the overall domestic industry box office, which is a good placeholder for the size of our industry, both here in the United States and abroad, could be nearly double that of 2021. And that makes us in AMC bullish about our continued progress.

展望2022年的完整曆年，我們承認沒有人擁有完美的水晶球，但我們認為，作為衡量我們產業規模的良好指標之整體國內產業票房（無論在美國本土或海外）可能接近2021年的兩倍。這也讓我們AMC對於持續進展抱持樂觀態度。

Two notes of caution, stating the obvious, inflationary cost pressures, labor shortages and potential supply chain disruptions continue to exist. If you watch the news, you are well aware sadly that there is a war in full bloom on the continent of Europe. These challenges all will need to be carefully managed.

有兩點需要提醒，雖然是不言自明：通膨帶來的成本壓力、勞動力短缺以及潛在的供應鏈中斷仍然存在。如果你有看新聞，你會很遺憾地知道歐洲大陸正處於全面爆發的戰爭之中。這些挑戰都需要被謹慎管理。

Additionally, a year ago, we spoke to you about a sequentially improving year in 2021 with each quarter expected to be better than the previous one, and that is exactly how 2021 turned out. Merely because of the timing of big movie releases in 2022, we expect that 2022 could follow a similar path with the first quarter being the low point of the year and meaningful sequential improvement being achieved as the year progresses. In short, our expectations are for a Q1 that is well above 2021 Q1 levels. But nonetheless, it will be a relatively weaker Q1, coupled with strong and reassuring full year performance for all of 2022.

此外，一年前我們曾向各位提到，2021年將逐季改善，預期每一季都會優於前一季，而2021年的確如此。僅僅因為2022年大片上映時點的安排，我們預期2022年也可能走出類似的路徑：第一季將是全年低點，並在年度推進過程中實現顯著的逐季改善。簡言之，我們對第一季的預期將遠高於2021年第一季的水準；但儘管如此，第一季仍將相對較弱，同時2022年全年表現將強勁且令人安心。

As you look at AMC, know that we remain focused on recovery and transformation. We remain focused on innovation and managing through change. We are determined to continue with bold and dazzling marketing initiatives, all the while maintaining our disciplined cost controls as well as cash conservation and potentially cash raising strategies.

就AMC而言，請了解我們仍專注於復甦與轉型。我們仍專注於創新並在變革中前行。我們決心持續推動大膽且耀眼的行銷計畫，同時維持嚴謹的成本控管，以及現金保全並可能採取募資增現策略。

I'll be back in a few minutes to provide some updates on specific key advances for AMC and to take your questions. But right now, I'll turn the call over to our Chief Financial Officer, Sean Goodman. Sean?

我會在幾分鐘後回來，提供AMC若干關鍵進展的最新資訊並回答各位問題。但現在，我將把電話會議交給我們的財務長Sean Goodman。Sean？

Thanks, Adam, and thank you to everyone for joining us on the webcast this afternoon.

謝謝你，Adam，也感謝各位今天下午加入我們的網路直播。

The fourth quarter represented a very important landmark along our path of recovery. The 60 million guests that we welcomed to our theaters around the world during the fourth quarter resulted in consolidated revenue of $1.17 billion. That's up 53% from Q3 of 2021, and it's more than 7x the $162.5 million of revenue we had in Q4 of 2020.

第四季是我們復甦之路上一個非常重要的里程碑。我們在第四季於全球各地戲院迎來的6,000萬名觀眾，帶來合併營收11.7億美元。這較2021年第三季成長53%，也超過2020年第四季1.625億美元營收的7倍。

This resulted in 2 very important accomplishments during the fourth quarter. First, we generated positive adjusted EBITDA for the first time in 2 long years of $159.2 million. This represents $164.6 million improvement over Q3 2021 EBITDA loss of $5.4 million and a $486.7 million improvement over last year's fourth quarter EBITDA loss of $327.5 million. This positive EBITDA was achieved in both Europe at $61.3 million and the U.S. at $97.9 million.

這在第四季帶來兩項非常重要的成果。第一，我們在長達兩年的時間裡首次產生正向調整後EBITDA，達1.592億美元。這較2021年第三季EBITDA虧損540萬美元改善1.646億美元，較去年第四季EBITDA虧損3.275億美元改善4.867億美元。這項正向EBITDA在歐洲為6,130萬美元，在美國為9,790萬美元。

And second, we achieved positive operating cash generated, a non-GAAP measure, of $224.4 million. This represents average operating cash generated of approximately $75 million per month during the fourth quarter. And this compares to an average operating cash burn of approximately $75 million per month during the first half of 2021.

第二，我們達成正向的營運現金產生（operating cash generated，非GAAP衡量指標）2.244億美元。這相當於第四季每月平均營運現金產生約7,500萬美元。相較之下，2021年上半年每月平均營運現金消耗（operating cash burn）約7,500萬美元。

The fourth quarter proved to be a very good illustration of the working capital dynamics of our business with growth in the business that is also accompanied by working capital benefits. Note that operating cash generated and operating cash burn, these are measures meant to represent total cash flow before debt servicing costs and before deferred rent payments. The GAAP reconciliation table is included in today's earnings release.

第四季很好地說明了我們業務的營運資金動態：業務成長同時也伴隨營運資金效益。請注意，營運現金產生與營運現金消耗，這些指標旨在呈現扣除債務償付成本之前、以及遞延租金支付之前的總現金流。GAAP調節表已包含在今日的財報新聞稿中。

The strong results in Q4 were driven by consolidated revenue per patron of $19.63. This is 25.5% higher than Q4 of 2019 and a resulting solid contribution dollars per patron of $13.44. This is 32% higher than Q4 of 2019. Note that I'm defining contribution dollars per patron as total revenue less film exhibition costs and food and beverage costs on a per patron basis. This tremendous growth in both revenue and contribution dollars per patron was across both our domestic and our international markets and reflects strength in average ticket prices, food and beverage spend and other revenue per patron.

第四季的強勁表現主要由每位觀眾的合併營收（revenue per patron）19.63美元所驅動。這較2019年第四季高出25.5%，並帶來每位觀眾的貢獻金額（contribution dollars per patron）13.44美元，較2019年第四季高出32%。請注意，我將每位觀眾的貢獻金額定義為：以每位觀眾為基礎的總營收，扣除影片放映成本以及餐飲成本。每位觀眾的營收與貢獻金額雙雙大幅成長，遍及我們的本土與國際市場，反映出平均票價、餐飲消費以及其他每位觀眾收入的強勁表現。

The strength in average ticket price has been helped by a high utilization of our premium large-format offerings such as IMAX and Dolby Cinema. This reflects our guests increasingly wishing to experience going to the movies as a special immersive event, and thus, they are more and more selecting to upgrade to the best possible sight and sound experiences available. The percentage attendance at premium formats were 17% in Q4 2021 compared to 12% in Q4 2019. In addition, relative to 2019, we benefited from a favorable showtime mix with a higher percentage of evening and weekend shows, coupled with pricing adjustments that we were able to take during the course of 2021.

平均票價的強勢，部分受惠於我們高端大型格式（premium large-format）產品（如IMAX與Dolby Cinema）的高使用率。這反映出我們的觀眾愈來愈希望把看電影視為一種特別且沉浸式的活動，因此也愈來愈常選擇升級至可取得的最佳視聽體驗。高端格式的觀影占比在2021年第四季為17%，相較之下2019年第四季為12%。此外，相較2019年，我們也受惠於更有利的場次組合：晚間與週末場次占比更高，並且搭配我們在2021年期間得以進行的價格調整。

From a food and beverage perspective, throughout the year, we have enjoyed exceptionally strong food and beverage revenue per patron as our guests chose to enjoy the full outside-the-home entertainment experience offered at AMC. Overall, our consolidated food and beverage spend per person in the fourth quarter was $6.37. This is 35% higher than the spend in Q4 of 2019. Our significant outperformance in this area compared to 2019 continues to be primarily driven by an increase in the proportion of guests choosing to enjoy our industry-leading food and beverage offerings made easy and convenient to purchase through our app that allows one to order food and beverage when purchasing tickets in advance of arriving at the theater.

從餐飲角度來看，全年我們每位觀眾的餐飲營收表現異常強勁，因為觀眾選擇在AMC享受完整的「離家娛樂」體驗。整體而言，我們第四季每人合併餐飲消費為6.37美元，較2019年第四季高出35%。我們在此領域相較2019年的顯著超越，主要仍由選擇享用我們業界領先餐飲品項的觀眾占比提升所驅動；而透過我們的App購買也變得更容易、更便利，觀眾可在到達戲院前於購票時一併預先點餐與飲料。

Our total revenue -- our total other revenue in Q4 2021 decreased by only 6% -- so decreased by only 6% compared to the same period in 2019, this despite a 36% decrease in the number of guests served. Other revenue primarily represents fees associated with online ticket purchases, screen advertising and theater rental revenue. Online ticket revenue per patron benefited as an increasingly higher percentage of our guests chose to reserve their seats and order food and beverage in advance, utilizing our industry-leading website and app. Screen advertising revenue also continued to increase during the course of 2021 as the box office improved. And we also benefited from revenue diversification initiatives such as renting our theaters during off-peak times for businesses and government organizations for meetings and other events.

我們的總其他收入（total other revenue）在2021年第四季僅下降6%——也就是相較2019年同期僅下降6%，儘管服務的觀眾人數下降了36%。其他收入主要包括線上購票相關費用、銀幕廣告以及影廳租賃收入。每位觀眾的線上購票收入受惠於愈來愈高比例的觀眾選擇預先劃位並提前點餐與飲料，使用我們業界領先的網站與App。隨著票房改善，銀幕廣告收入在2021年期間也持續增加。我們亦受惠於收入多元化措施，例如在離峰時段將戲院出租給企業與政府機構，用於會議及其他活動。

In our domestic markets, revenue per patron in the fourth quarter was $20.46, up 24.5% from Q4 of 2019. This was driven by a 35% increase in food and beverage spend per patron, coupled with a 17% increase in average ticket price and a 40% increase in other revenue per patron.

在我們的本土市場，第四季每位觀眾營收為20.46美元，較2019年第四季成長24.5%。這主要由每位觀眾餐飲消費成長35%所帶動，並搭配平均票價成長17%以及每位觀眾其他收入成長40%。

In our international markets, revenue per patron for the fourth quarter was $17.90, up 28% from 2019. This was driven by a 32% increase in food and beverage spend per patron, coupled with a 20% increase in average ticket price and a 55% increase in other revenue per patron.

在我們的國際市場，第四季每位觀眾營收為17.90美元，較2019年成長28%。這主要由每位觀眾餐飲消費成長32%所帶動，並搭配平均票價成長20%以及每位觀眾其他收入成長55%。

In an ongoing effort to enhance efficiency, we have been extremely deliberate in adjusting payroll hours and flexing showtimes to adjust to the market demand. For example, our Q4 attendance of 60 million guests represents 65% of Q4 2019's attendance but 87% of Q4 2019's attendance per showing. This increase in attendance per showing enhances our efficiency and allows us to effectively manage cost pressures.

為了持續提升效率，我們在調整工時與彈性安排放映場次方面一直非常審慎，以配合市場需求。例如，我們第四季6,000萬人次的觀影量相當於2019年第四季觀影量的65%，但相當於2019年第四季「每場次」觀影量的87%。每場次觀影量的提升增進了我們的效率，並使我們能有效管理成本壓力。

Moving over to the balance sheet. We ended the quarter with a record year-end liquidity of $1.8 billion. This is comprised of $1.592 billion of cash and cash equivalents and $209 million of undrawn credit facilities. During the fourth quarter of 2021, we repaid approximately $61 million of deferred rent, reducing our deferred rent balance down to $315 million. In total, we have been able to reduce our deferred rent balance by approximately $155 million during the last 9 months of 2021. We expect to further reduce the deferred rent balance during 2022 by approximately $150 million to $200 million.

接著看資產負債表。我們在季末的年終流動性創下紀錄，達18億美元。其中包括15.92億美元的現金及約當現金，以及2.09億美元未動用的信貸額度。2021年第四季期間，我們償還約6,100萬美元的遞延租金，使遞延租金餘額降至3.15億美元。總計而言，在2021年最後9個月，我們已將遞延租金餘額降低約1.55億美元。我們預期在2022年將進一步把遞延租金餘額降低約1.5億至2億美元。

Looking closer at the balance sheet and particularly our debt position. It is worth noting that last month, we completed a highly successful capital raising. We issued $950 million of 7.5% first lien notes. As a result of this transaction, we were able to fully repay high interest debt that was raised at the height of the pandemic. The end result is a reduction in our annual interest expense by approximately $30 million and extension of our debt maturities by between 3 and 4 years as the new debt has a maturity date of 2029 and enhanced financial flexibility. Overall, this was a really terrific transaction for AMC, and we continue to actively pursue attractive opportunities to further strengthen our balance sheet, lower our interest costs and increase our operating and strategic flexibility.

更仔細地檢視資產負債表，尤其是我們的負債狀況。值得注意的是，上個月我們完成了一次非常成功的募資。我們發行了9.5億美元、票面利率7.5%的第一順位擔保票據。透過這筆交易，我們得以全額償還在疫情高峰期所舉借的高利率債務。最終結果是，我們的年度利息費用約減少3,000萬美元，且由於新債務到期日為2029年，我們的債務到期年限延長了約3至4年，並提升了財務彈性。整體而言，這對AMC來說是一筆非常出色的交易；我們也將持續積極尋求具吸引力的機會，以進一步強化資產負債表、降低利息成本，並提升營運與策略彈性。

Regarding capital allocation, we continue to pursue a balanced and disciplined approach to capital allocation. Our priorities remain unchanged: one, ensuring that we have sufficient liquidity; two, strengthening our balance sheet by reducing our debt and associated interest costs and extending maturities; three, investing in our business to enhance the guest experience; and four, opportunistically pursuing value-enhancing initiatives, including those that lead to diversification of our business.

就資本配置而言，我們持續採取均衡且嚴謹自律的資本配置方式。我們的優先順序維持不變：第一，確保我們擁有充足的流動性；第二，透過降低負債及相關利息成本並延長到期年限來強化資產負債表；第三，投資於我們的業務以提升賓客體驗；第四，把握機會推動可提升價值的計畫，包括能促使我們業務多元化的計畫。

During 2020 and 2021, we focused our capital expenditures almost entirely on maintenance of the existing fleet. Net CapEx, including landlord contributions, was $130.2 million in 2020, and it was $70.4 million in 2021. Both of these are significantly less than in 2019 when CapEx included spend associated with the enhancement of our fleet, predominantly through seating upgrades. For 2022, separate and apart from any M&A activity, we expect CapEx to be in the range of $150 million to $200 million as we begin to invest in the growth, enhancement and extension of our business.

在2020年與2021年期間，我們的資本支出幾乎完全聚焦於既有影城資產的維護。淨資本支出（含房東出資）在2020年為1.302億美元，2021年為7,040萬美元。這兩年的金額都明顯低於2019年；2019年的資本支出包含用於提升我們影城資產的支出，主要是座椅升級。展望2022年，撇除任何併購（M&A）活動不談，我們預期資本支出將落在1.5億至2億美元區間，因為我們將開始投資於業務的成長、強化與延伸。

As part of our ongoing efforts to optimize our theater portfolio, during the quarter, we opened or added 3 new theaters and closed 5. So this brings the total number of locations permanently closed during the last 2 years to 83 and the total number of new locations opened to 30 for a net reduction of 53 locations. Both actions, closures and openings, serve to increase our adjusted EBITDA. Collectively, the older, somewhat tired theaters that we closed are money losers, while the beautiful new theaters that we are bringing into our system are expected to be extremely strong performers positively impacting our overall profitability. Going forward, we will continue to actively manage our portfolio, adding new high-performing locations and eliminating lower performers, all with the goal of improving guest satisfaction through improvements to the inherent quality and appeal of our fleet of theaters as well as optimizing our overall profitability.

作為我們持續優化影城組合的一部分，本季我們新開或新增了3家影城，並關閉了5家。因此，過去兩年永久關閉的據點總數達到83家，新開據點總數為30家，淨減少53個據點。關閉與開設這兩項行動都能提升我們的調整後EBITDA。我們關閉的多為較老、略顯老舊的影城，這些影城是虧損的；而我們納入系統的漂亮新影城，預期將有極強的表現，並對整體獲利能力帶來正面影響。展望未來，我們將持續積極管理我們的組合，新增高績效據點並淘汰表現較弱者，目標是在提升影城資產本質品質與吸引力的同時，改善賓客滿意度並優化整體獲利能力。

The operating improvements and efficiency optimization initiatives implemented over the last 2 years have allowed us to nicely capitalize on the box office growth in the fourth quarter. We are very pleased with the results for Q4, but we are in no way complacent. As we begin 2022, we are still in a recovery phase, and we will continue to focus on revenue growth, efficiency and enhancement initiatives to build our business and ensure our success in a post-COVID environment.

過去兩年所推動的營運改善與效率優化計畫，使我們得以有效把握第四季票房成長的機會。我們對Q4的成果非常滿意，但我們絕不自滿。進入2022年之際，我們仍處於復甦階段，並將持續聚焦於營收成長、效率與強化計畫，以打造我們的業務，並確保在後COVID環境中的成功。

And with that, I'll pass the call back over to Adam.

接下來，我把電話會議交回給Adam。

Thank you, Sean. Before we open up this webcast to your questions, I'd like to update you on recent actions we've taken to enhance our business and highlight some strategic initiatives that will better position our company as we hurdle into what we believe is a much more promising future for AMC.

謝謝你，Sean。在我們開放本次網路直播讓各位提問之前，我想向各位更新我們近期為強化業務所採取的行動，並重點說明一些策略性計畫，這些計畫將使我們的公司在邁向我們所相信對AMC更具前景的未來時，處於更有利的位置。

A strong current of innovation runs deep throughout AMC's DNA. We have led in the elevating of moviegoing to a truly unique and desirable out-of-home experience, and we set the standard for so many transformative changes in our industry. We'll continue to do so. But in 2022, 2023 and beyond, we also expect to transform our company into becoming something much greater than solely a movie theater operator. Let's quickly look at 7 of the initiatives and innovations already or soon to be underway.

創新的強大動能深植於AMC的DNA之中。我們一直引領將觀影提升為真正獨特且令人嚮往的外出體驗，並為本產業許多具變革性的改變樹立標竿。我們也將持續如此。但在2022年、2023年及更往後，我們也期望把公司轉型為遠不僅僅是一家電影院營運商。讓我們快速看看已在進行中或即將啟動的7項計畫與創新。

One, NFTs. During Q4, AMC became the first theatrical exhibition company to collaborate with a studio partner to offer an exclusive nonfungible token, or NFT, to reward moviegoers for their AMC attendance. AMC worked closely with our partners at Sony to launch the Spider-Man NFT, and the success was undeniable. 86,000 NFTs were fully subscribed within hours. And ultimately, these NFTs have been sold on secondary markets -- some of them that is. But some of them have been sold in secondary markets for as much as $17,000. No, you did not hear me wrong. $17,000 for a single Spider-Man NFT.

第一，NFT。在第四季，AMC成為第一家與片商合作、提供獨家非同質化代幣（nonfungible token，NFT）以回饋到AMC觀影的影迷之戲院放映公司。AMC與Sony的合作夥伴密切合作推出《蜘蛛人》NFT，成果無庸置疑。86,000個NFT在數小時內即全數認購完畢。最終，這些NFT已在二級市場上出售——其中一部分是如此。但其中有些在二級市場的成交價高達17,000美元。不，你沒有聽錯。一個《蜘蛛人》NFT要價17,000美元。

By now, in just a few months from our first effort with Sony in November, we have already launched 4 separate NFC programs, one of which is supporting what is sure to be the new blockbuster movie, The Batman, which opens this week. In total, more than 800,000 NFTs have already been made eligible by AMC for consumer collection in just 3 months or so.

截至目前，距離我們在11月與Sony的首次嘗試僅短短幾個月，我們已經推出了4個不同的NFC計畫，其中之一是為本週上映、勢必成為新一波賣座大片的《蝙蝠俠》提供支援。總計而言，在短短約3個月內，AMC已讓超過800,000個NFT具備供消費者收藏的資格。

NFTs are not just interesting commemorative collectibles but are also seen as drivers of attendance for AMC at our theaters and growth in box office revenues for our studio partners. We expect to continue, both jointly with studios and separately by ourselves on our own, to create future NFT offers to enhance the overall engagement with our guests. And importantly, in '22, we will look to further monetize some of what is now our nascent NFT activity. For example, selling some of these NFTs in addition to giving them away free and getting a commission on the transfer of our NFTs when and if they're later resold.

NFT不僅是有趣的紀念型收藏品，也被視為能帶動AMC影城到場人次、並促進片商夥伴票房收入成長的推動力。我們預期將持續——無論是與片商共同或由我們自行——推出未來的NFT優惠，以提升與賓客的整體互動。更重要的是，在2022年，我們將尋求進一步將目前仍屬萌芽階段的NFT活動變現。例如，除了免費贈送之外，也銷售其中部分NFT，並在我們的NFT日後若被轉售時，對其轉讓收取佣金。

Two, cryptocurrency. We continue to explore opportunities to both provide convenience and to create value for our guests through the use of cryptocurrencies. Last year, we introduced -- last year being 2021, we introduced the capability to accept payments in Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin using our website and mobile app. Later this month, in March, we will introduce the ability to transact and to make AMC online payments in Dogecoin and Shiba Inu, that on our website with mobile app functionality following a few weeks thereafter.

第二，加密貨幣。我們持續探索透過使用加密貨幣，為賓客提供便利並創造價值的機會。去年——也就是2021年——我們透過網站與行動App導入接受比特幣、以太幣、比特幣現金與萊特幣付款的功能。本月稍晚、在3月，我們將推出使用狗狗幣與柴犬幣進行交易並完成AMC線上付款的能力，先在我們的網站上推出，行動App功能則將在數週後跟進。

We continue to explore how else AMC can participate in the burgeoning crypto universe, and we remain quite intrigued by the potential business opportunity. We've been looking for some time at potentially issuing our own cryptocurrency, but that will depend on how the regulatory frameworks surrounding cryptocurrency unfold. More to come, if, as and when we have something more concrete share.

我們也持續探索AMC還能如何參與快速成長的加密宇宙，並對其潛在商機保持高度興趣。我們一段時間以來一直在研究是否可能發行我們自己的加密貨幣，但這將取決於加密貨幣相關監管框架的發展。若、當、以及在我們有更具體可分享的內容時，後續將再提供更多資訊。

As a side note, a benefit of our having to program cryptocurrency functionality for our website and mobile app, AMC also picked up the capability to accept Apple Pay, Google Pay and PayPal online. Incredibly, in just a few months, these latter 3 forms of payment, along with cryptocurrency, already constitute more than 15% of our online ticketing activity, as was seen in the fourth quarter of 2021.

順帶一提，由於我們必須為網站與行動App開發加密貨幣功能，AMC也同時取得了線上接受Apple Pay、Google Pay與PayPal的能力。令人驚訝的是，在短短幾個月內，這三種後者的付款方式，加上加密貨幣，合計已占我們線上售票活動的15%以上，這在2021年第四季已可見一斑。

Three, variable pricing. A few years ago, at some of our U.S. theaters, AMC successfully raised weekend pricing above midweek levels. Currently, our prices for The Batman, which opens this week, are slightly higher than the prices we're charging for other movies playing in the same theaters at the same time. This is all quite novel in the United States. But actually, AMC has been doing it for years in our European theaters. Indeed, in Europe, we charge a premium for the best seats in the house, as do just about all other sellers of tickets in other industries. Think sports events, concerts and live theater, for example, that has not commonly been a practice heretofore in the United States.

第三，浮動定價。幾年前，在我們部分美國影城，AMC成功將週末票價提高到高於平日的水準。目前，我們對本週上映的《蝙蝠俠》所訂的票價，略高於同一影城、同一時間放映的其他電影票價。這在美國相當新穎。但事實上，AMC在歐洲影城已經這樣做多年。確實，在歐洲，我們對全場最佳座位收取溢價，幾乎所有其他產業的售票者也都是如此。以體育賽事、演唱會與現場劇場為例；而這在過去並非美國常見的做法。

If you look at our year-over-year pricing success, as was demonstrated in the Q4 numbers, you will see that AMC has been a bold thinker in the area of pricing, one who is willing to take risk and one who is willing to lead and one who sees considerable upside opportunity for us ahead if we continue to be imaginative.

如果你看看我們的年對年定價成功，如第四季數據所示，你會看到 AMC 在定價方面一直是大膽的思考者，願意承擔風險、願意領先，並且如果我們持續保持想像力，未來將有相當可觀的上行機會。

Four, AMC Perfectly Popcorn. Our foray into the multibillion-dollar popcorn industry during 2022 is on track. Remember, AMC knows something about popcorn. On a peak day, we sell 50 tons of the stuff. We plan to make our freshly popped popcorn available through food delivery to home services, allowing consumers to enjoy a slice of the AMC experience while entertaining at home. We also plan to sell to-go packages of popcorn at our theaters for takeout and/or for pickup.

第四，AMC Perfectly Popcorn。我們在 2022 年進軍數十億美元規模的爆米花產業的計畫正按部就班推進。請記住，AMC 對爆米花很懂。在高峰日，我們能賣出 50 噸。我們計畫透過到府外送餐飲服務提供現爆的新鮮爆米花，讓消費者在家娛樂時也能享受一部分 AMC 的體驗。我們也計畫在影城販售可外帶和／或可取貨的爆米花外帶包。

Beginning later this year, we will begin selling freshly made real AMC Theaters Perfectly Popcorn and other movie treats at select mall retail locations around the United States. And I think the biggest opportunity here of all is that AMC is working actively an opportunity to offer prepackaged and/or ready-to-pop microwavable AMC Theatres Perfectly Popcorn in supermarkets, in convenience stores and in other food service venues around the country.

從今年稍晚開始，我們將在美國各地部分購物中心的零售據點，開始販售新鮮製作、真正的 AMC Theatres Perfectly Popcorn 以及其他電影零食。而我認為這裡最大的機會是：AMC 正積極推動一項機會，在全國的超市、便利商店以及其他餐飲通路，提供預包裝和／或可微波即爆的 AMC Theatres Perfectly Popcorn。

As we recently announced, we recruited Ellen Copaken to fill the newly created position of Vice President of Growth Strategy, where she will lead our initiatives related to the sale of popcorn outside the traditional in-theater channel and assist with other initiatives to broaden and transform our company. Ellen has an outstanding track record in brand management and innovation at PepsiCo at Frito-Lay and at Hostess Brands. And her skill set, combined with our significant grocery experience, will be a tremendous asset to us as we roll out our popcorn initiatives and explore other innovations in '22. Watch out Orville Redenbacher, baby, a considerable competitor with a popcorn brand that truly resonates with consumers is on its way.

如我們近期宣布的，我們延攬 Ellen Copaken 擔任新設立的「成長策略副總裁」一職，她將領導我們在傳統影城通路以外銷售爆米花的相關計畫，並協助其他拓展與轉型公司的倡議。Ellen 在百事公司（PepsiCo）的 Frito-Lay、以及 Hostess Brands 的品牌管理與創新方面有傑出成績。她的技能組合，加上我們在雜貨通路的豐富經驗，將在我們推動爆米花計畫並探索 2022 年其他創新時，成為極大的助力。Orville Redenbacher，小心了，一個真正能引起消費者共鳴的爆米花品牌、而且是相當強勁的競爭者，正在路上。

Five, additional theater additions. Additional -- that should have been additional theater locations. During 2021 and early in 2022, we acquired 7 high-profile and strategic theaters, including 6 former ArcLight/Pacific Theatres. That's about 1/3 of their circuit located in major metropolitan markets like Los Angeles, San Diego, Chicago and Washington, D.C.

第五，新增影城據點。新增——應該說是新增影城地點。在 2021 年以及 2022 年初，我們收購了 7 家具高知名度且具策略性的影城，其中包括 6 家前 ArcLight/Pacific Theatres。這約占其院線的三分之一，且位於洛杉磯、聖地牙哥、芝加哥與華盛頓特區等主要都會市場。

Adding the magic of the AMC product and marketing strategies to existing high-profile theater locations has proven to be a winning formula. Our mid-2021 acquisitions of The Grove 14 and Americana at Brand 18, both former ArcLight/Pacific Theatres, both in the Los Angeles market, have under AMC's leadership and management both ranked among the 30 highest-grossing movie theaters in the entire United States out of some 5,000 theaters in the country since joining the AMC family in mid-summer.

將 AMC 的產品魅力與行銷策略導入既有的高知名度影城據點，已被證明是一個致勝公式。我們在 2021 年年中收購的 The Grove 14 與 Americana at Brand 18（兩者皆為前 ArcLight/Pacific Theatres，且都位於洛杉磯市場），在加入 AMC 大家庭後，自盛夏以來在 AMC 的領導與管理之下，雙雙名列全美約 5,000 家影城中票房最高的前 30 名。

Theater landlords, real estate owners around the country recognize that AMC is a theater operator of choice, and we continue to be in active and constant discussions regarding potentially picking up additional highly attractive locations that can enhance our portfolio. Transition costs can be modest and often subsidized by landlords, not always, but sometimes we find an opportunity to pick up theaters at a mere 1 to 2x projected EBITDA even counting in and factoring in their transition costs.

全國各地的影城房東與不動產業主都認可 AMC 是首選的影城營運商；我們也持續就可能承接更多極具吸引力、可強化我們資產組合的據點，進行積極且持續的討論。轉換成本可能不高，且往往由房東補貼——不一定每次都有，但有時我們能找到機會，即使把轉換成本納入考量，也能以僅約 1 到 2 倍預估 EBITDA 的價格承接影城。

Similarly, we have looked at buying some or all of several smaller movie theater circuits. Now some sellers have price expectations that make their approach to us dead on arrival. On the other hand, we are seeing other opportunities where we think we can grow our theater count attractively with quality theaters in strong potential markets and do so at 3 to 4x our projected cash flows. These are bargain prices. We will continue to be highly disciplined in our approach, though, but put it all together, there is opportunity in them in our heels. Watch this space for more announcements as AMC continues to grow.

同樣地，我們也評估過收購數個較小的影城院線的部分或全部資產。某些賣方的價格期待，使得他們的提案對我們而言一開始就行不通。另一方面，我們也看到其他機會：我們認為可以在具強勁潛力的市場，以優質影城具吸引力地增加我們的影城數量，並以約 3 到 4 倍我們預估現金流的價格完成。這些都是便宜的價格。不過，我們仍會在方法上保持高度紀律；但綜合來看，機會就在我們腳跟後面。請持續關注，AMC 將在持續成長的同時，帶來更多公告。

Next, a branded credit card. Some of you may have seen 2 completely voluntary and well-earned executive retirements announced yesterday afternoon and that we are seamlessly backfilling these 2 very talented executives with superb individuals to carry our legacy forward. We'll have new leadership, highly experienced, already internal within the company to run our U.S. theater operations.

接下來，聯名信用卡。你們當中有些人可能已看到，昨天下午我們宣布了兩位完全自願且實至名歸的高階主管退休；同時，我們也正無縫補位，以極為出色的人選接替這兩位非常優秀的主管，延續我們的傳承。我們將由新的領導團隊——經驗豐富、且已在公司內部——來負責美國影城營運。

In addition, in choosing our new CMO, Eliot Hamlisch of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Deloitte Consulting and American Express, not to mention an MBA from the Harvard Business School, we have someone bringing to his new AMC position considerable experience with co-branded credit cards. With approximately 4 million shareholders and 25 million households in our AMC Stubs program, I think there is significant potential profitability for AMC if we launch our own co-branded credit card, and that will become yet another high priority for AMC in 2022.

此外，在選擇我們的新任 CMO 時，我們延攬了曾任職於 Wyndham Hotels & Resorts、Starwood Hotels & Resorts、Deloitte Consulting 與 American Express 的 Eliot Hamlisch，並擁有哈佛商學院 MBA。他將為 AMC 的新職務帶來相當豐富的聯名信用卡經驗。以約 400 萬名股東以及我們 AMC Stubs 計畫的 2,500 萬戶家庭而言，我認為若我們推出自有聯名信用卡，AMC 具有顯著的獲利潛力，而這也將成為 AMC 在 2022 年的另一項高度優先事項。

You may recall that back in the early 1990s, I was the Chief Marketing Officer of United Airlines and managed its co-branded credit card with what is now Chase. I've seen firsthand the spectacular profitability that can accrue to a company that has a successful co-branded credit card launch.

你們或許記得，在 1990 年代初期，我曾擔任聯合航空（United Airlines）的行銷長，並管理其與如今的 Chase 合作的聯名信用卡。我親眼見證過，一家公司若成功推出聯名信用卡，能帶來多麼驚人的獲利能力。

And finally, recovery, agility and transformation. These 3 words are the mantra for AMC in 2022 and 2023. As our fourth quarter results indicate, we continue to be in a state of recovery, and our focus remains on bringing to fruition a successful, full and lasting recovery from the impact of the pandemic. At the same time, we realize that we will need to be agile to achieve that goal because admittedly, our industry is at a time of robust change. But agility is something that we've demonstrated AMC is pretty good at. Let's just say that at we have steered this ship through the most uncharted of uncharted waters in the recent years. So we're not worried about the need for us to adapt our business model as we go forward to cope well as change unfolds around us.

最後，是復甦、敏捷與轉型。這三個詞是 AMC 在 2022 與 2023 年的座右銘。從我們第四季的結果可見，我們仍處於復甦狀態，我們的重點仍是實現成功、全面且持久的復甦，以走出疫情的影響。同時，我們也明白要達成該目標就必須保持敏捷，因為坦白說，我們的產業正處於劇烈變動之中。但敏捷正是我們已證明 AMC 相當擅長的事。可以這麼說，近年來我們已在最未知的水域中駕馭這艘船。因此，面對周遭變化的展開，我們並不擔心需要在前進過程中調整商業模式，以良好因應。

But some people following us look too narrowly. They think our aim is merely to bring back the company that existed back in 2019 pre-pandemic. And they look at the value of that company and project a fall in grace for us at AMC going forward. But I want to make very clear to everybody on this call. Our ambition is much more grand than that.

但有些關注我們的人看得太狹隘。他們認為我們的目標只是把公司帶回到 2019 年、疫情前的樣子；並以那家公司的價值為基礎，推估 AMC 未來將走下坡。但我想在這通電話中向各位非常清楚地說明：我們的企圖心遠比那更宏大。

Our shareholders have armed us with $1.8 billion of year-ending liquidity, and there may be creative ways for us to raise even more money. I keep on getting offers from our shareholders, for example, that they want to chip in and help us pay down our debt. I don't know exactly that that's in the cards, but I do admire their passion and dedication to AMC nonetheless. They've shown it over and over and over again.

我們的股東已讓我們在年底擁有 18 億美元的流動性，而且我們可能還有創意方式能籌集更多資金。舉例來說，我持續收到股東的提議，他們想要出錢幫我們償還債務。我不確定這是否真的可行，但我仍然敬佩他們對 AMC 的熱情與投入。他們一次又一次地展現出來。

Still, with $1.8 billion of cash and undrawn revolver at our disposal, that can be used to outlast the pandemic, to pay down debt, to innovate within our core and related businesses and for transformative M&A. We encourage those of you who look at AMC to do so boldly because within AMC, we are thinking boldly.

儘管如此，憑藉我們手上可動用的 18 億美元現金與未動用的循環信貸額度（revolver），我們可以用來挺過疫情、償還債務、在核心與相關業務中創新，以及進行具轉型意義的併購（M&A）。我們鼓勵各位以更大膽的角度看待 AMC，因為在 AMC 內部，我們正在大膽思考。

Before turning the call over to Q&A, I would like to make a few specific observations about our enthusiastic and avid shareholder base. They really care about AMC, and they're not shy with their advice. Believe it or not, I tend to read a few thousand of their short comments on Twitter each week, and the feedback that we are getting has greatly helped me to run this company. It's greatly helped me to run their company.

在把電話交給問答之前，我想對我們熱情且投入的股東群做幾點具體觀察。他們真的很在乎 AMC，也不吝於提供建議。信不信由你，我每週通常會在 Twitter 上讀上幾千則他們的短評，而我們收到的回饋對我經營這家公司幫助很大；也對我經營他們的公司幫助很大。

I'm also pleased that more than 615,000 individuals have self-identified as AMC shareholders in joining AMC Investor Connect, a program that we launched in the last days of June of 2021. It's our special communications and rewards program designed especially and only for our shareholders.

我也很高興已有超過 615,000 人在加入 AMC Investor Connect 時自我認定為 AMC 股東；這是我們在 2021 年 6 月底最後幾天推出的計畫。這是我們專為、且僅為股東設計的專屬溝通與獎勵方案。

Also in the fourth quarter of 2021, I personally hosted 2 sold-out early movie screenings for our shareholders in New York and Los Angeles. More such screenings that I personally host and personally attend will be planned around the country throughout 2022.

同樣在 2021 年第四季，我個人在紐約與洛杉磯為我們的股東主持了 2 場爆滿的電影搶先特映。2022 年期間，我們將在全國各地規劃更多由我親自主持並親自出席的特映活動。

At the L.A. screening back in December, one of our investors screamed from the audience, "We are not leaving," he said. And indeed, he appears to be right. Right now, there are several data sources to reconcile, but as best we can tell, we have about the same number of individual shareholders now as we had a year ago at this time, in the neighborhood of 4 million individual investors who care about AMC's future. If you exclude index funds who have no choice but to own and hold AMC shares, individual retail investors would seem to own more than 90% of our officially issued 516 million shares as of today. Indeed, as it is often said about AMC on Twitter, retail owns the float.

回到 12 月洛杉磯那場特映時，我們的一位投資人從觀眾席大喊：「我們不會離開。」他說。而且看起來，他確實說對了。眼下有幾個資料來源需要相互核對，但就我們目前所能判斷，我們現在的個人股東人數大約與一年前此時相同，約有 400 萬名關心 AMC 未來的個人投資人。如果排除那些別無選擇、必須持有 AMC 股票的指數基金，個人散戶投資人似乎持有我們截至今日正式發行的 5.16 億股中的 90% 以上。的確，正如在 Twitter 上常被用來形容 AMC 的一句話：散戶持有流通股。

Our shareholders ask me every day on Twitter, speaking of Twitter, to speculate about their theories on the trading of AMC stock as well as on natural or unnatural pressures on it. Exactly as we said last July, we have no reliable information on naked shorting or so-called fake shares or so-called synthetic shares. So even as we are well aware of your thoughts, legally, we simply are unable to make any further public commentary on these topics.

我們的股東每天都會在 Twitter 上問我——說到 Twitter——要我就他們對 AMC 股票交易，以及其所受自然或非自然壓力的各種理論進行推測。正如我們去年 7 月所說，我們沒有任何關於「裸賣空」或所謂「假股票」或所謂「合成股票」的可靠資訊。因此，即便我們非常清楚你們的想法，從法律角度而言，我們就是無法就這些議題再做任何進一步的公開評論。

One thing that I'm particularly proud of, we kept our word to our shareholders in 2021. It is widely known that we are essentially out of more common shares that could be issued to the public in any quantity, although a decade ago, our Board did authorize the potential issuance of preferred shares if we so chose. Some of you are anxious about this whole topic, and so I gave you my word back in the early summer of 2021 that we would sit on the sidelines for the balance of the full year 2021 on the equity issuance, and that is exactly what we did. We kept our word. Some of you then speculated that we would rush to immediately issue new shares to the public early in January as the new year started. It is already March. Again, we have not done so.

有一件事我特別引以為傲：我們在 2021 年對股東信守承諾。眾所周知，我們基本上已經沒有可再向大眾以任何數量發行的普通股了；不過在十年前，我們的董事會確實曾授權，如有需要可選擇發行優先股。有些人對這整個議題感到焦慮，因此我在 2021 年初夏向各位承諾：在 2021 年剩餘期間，我們將在股權發行方面按兵不動，而我們也確實如此。我們信守了承諾。之後有些人推測，隨著新年開始，我們會在 1 月初立刻急著向大眾發行新股。現在已經 3 月了。我們同樣沒有這麼做。

Retaining your support, leading your company smartly and well, keeping our word to you, these are extremely important to us. They're extremely important to me at AMC. That's the report. The fourth quarter was a spectacular one for AMC, the strongest in 2 years.

維持你們的支持、明智且妥善地帶領公司、對你們信守承諾——這些對我們至關重要。對我在 AMC 而言也極其重要。以上就是報告。第四季對 AMC 來說是極為亮眼的一季，是兩年來最強的一季。

Sean, let's now turn to questions, starting with questions from our shareholders. I do hope we'll take some securities analyst questions as well.

Sean，現在我們來進入問答，先從股東的提問開始。我也希望我們能回答一些證券分析師的問題。

Thank you, Adam. And the first question is, can you give us an update on the Perfectly Popcorn initiative?

謝謝你，Adam。第一個問題是：你能否向我們更新 Perfectly Popcorn 計畫的進度？

Sure. As I said in my prepared remarks, we sold 50 tons of it on a good day. We know something about popcorn. Our brand has credibility, and we'll have credibility in the market for people who buy and consume popcorn. So we're taking this initiative very seriously. I talked about hiring Ellen Copaken, who's got substantial brand management and innovation experience at PepsiCo, at Frito-Lay and at Hostess Brands. She's got a lot of grocery experience. She's already on board. She joined us in mid-February. She's in charge of this whole effort, among other projects, and we are going full bore.

當然。如同我在事先準備的發言中所說，我們在表現好的日子裡賣出 50 噸。我們對爆米花很在行。我們的品牌具備公信力，而且在購買與食用爆米花的消費市場中也會具備公信力。因此我們非常認真看待這項計畫。我提到過我們聘請了 Ellen Copaken，她在百事公司（PepsiCo）、Frito-Lay 與 Hostess Brands 擁有豐富的品牌管理與創新經驗。她也有大量雜貨通路的經驗。她已經到任，並在 2 月中旬加入我們。她負責這整個工作（以及其他一些專案），我們正全力推進。

I expect that hopefully with Uber Eats, we will launch a food delivery program in the beginning as early as the second quarter of this year. Depending upon which city you happen to be in, we'll roll it out around the country over the second and third quarters primarily, possibly the fourth quarter in some of our smaller markets.

我預期我們希望能與 Uber Eats 合作，最早在今年第二季初推出外送計畫。視你所在的城市而定，我們將主要在第二與第三季於全國推廣，部分較小市場可能延至第四季。

As for grocery, many of you may not know this, but grocery stores tend to restock their shelves twice a year, in February and in September. Obviously, February is behind us. So our goal is to catch the September reshelving efforts and to get AMC Theatres Perfectly Popcorn in a supermarket or convenience store near you in the fall of 2022.

至於雜貨通路，許多人可能不知道，雜貨店通常一年補貨上架兩次，分別在 2 月與 9 月。顯然 2 月已經過了。因此我們的目標是趕上 9 月的重新上架作業，並在 2022 年秋季讓 AMC Theatres Perfectly Popcorn 進入你附近的超市或便利商店。

Thanks, Adam. And the next question is, are there other food and beverage initiatives in the pipeline, for example, expanded offerings, concessions to go, et cetera?

謝謝你，Adam。下一個問題是：是否還有其他餐飲（F&B）計畫正在推進中，例如擴大品項、外帶餐點等？

Absolutely. We fancied ourselves as an innovator in F&B. And of the large theater operators, AMC has had the highest food and beverage sales per patron for years now. That continues to be the case. And part of it comes from doing it well in our theaters. Part of it comes from our innovation.

當然有。我們一直把自己定位為餐飲創新者。在大型影城營運商之中，AMC 多年來每位觀影人次的餐飲銷售額一直是最高的，現在仍然如此。其中一部分來自我們在影城內把餐飲做得很好；另一部分則來自我們的創新。

Just a couple of weeks ago, we launched Impossible Nuggets, the plant-based alternative chicken nuggets, which are selling briskly. We constantly are putting new menu items in our theaters. We constantly are putting specialty movie themed drinks at our more than 350 bars around our U.S. theaters, themed to major movies that are coming out.

就在幾週前，我們推出了 Impossible Nuggets——植物性替代雞塊——銷售相當熱絡。我們持續在影城內上新菜色。我們也持續在美國各地影城超過 350 間酒吧推出電影主題特調飲品，配合即將上映的大片。

But beyond that, some of you may recall that about 4 years ago, we launched something called Feature Fare, and we were way ahead of the competition in our view as to the menu variety that AMC offered in Feature Fare. Because of COVID, we had to strip that way back. It was a challenge just to open our theaters, let alone to do it with a full-blown variety of menu items as we had when everything was going like a Swiss watch back in 2018 or so.

此外，有些人可能記得，大約 4 年前我們推出了一個名為 Feature Fare 的項目；就我們看來，在 Feature Fare 所提供的菜單多樣性方面，AMC 遠遠領先競爭對手。由於 COVID，我們不得不大幅縮減。當時光是要重新開放影城就已經很具挑戰，更不用說像 2018 年左右一切運作得像瑞士鐘錶般順暢時那樣，提供完整且多樣的菜單。

Having said that, we're building back up in terms of menu variety and our concession stands and in our dine-in theaters. We're still challenged with labor shortages and supply chain disruptions. So we're picking and choosing very carefully what items we bring back into our theaters. We want to make sure that if we promise a guest a high-quality F&B experience that the people working in our theaters can deliver it. Having said that, we certainly seem to be succeeding.

話雖如此，我們正在逐步恢復菜單多樣性，涵蓋我們的販賣部以及餐飲影廳。我們仍面臨人力短缺與供應鏈中斷的挑戰，因此我們非常謹慎地挑選要帶回影城的品項。我們希望確保：如果我們向顧客承諾高品質的餐飲體驗，在影城工作的同仁能夠交付。話雖如此，我們看起來確實做得很成功。

Sean, as you said in your prepared remarks, our food and beverage sales per patron are up 35% year-over-year. That's a stunning increase. I'm very proud of what our F&B organization is pulling off.

Sean，如你在事先準備的發言中所說，我們每位觀影人次的餐飲銷售額年增 35%。這是驚人的成長。我對我們餐飲團隊所達成的成果感到非常自豪。

You last asked about to-go questions. When we introduce the popcorn to-go products at our theaters, we'll also have other to-go items, including other delivery to home through Uber Eats and the like as well. So it's all coming. More big projects and more big goals for 2022.

你剛才也問到外帶相關的問題。當我們在影城推出爆米花外帶產品時，也會同步提供其他外帶品項，包括透過 Uber Eats 等平台的到府外送。因此這些都會陸續到位。2022 年還有更多大型專案與更宏大的目標。

Great. Thank you very much. Next question is, can you give us an update on alternative content?

很好，非常感謝。下一個問題是：你能否更新替代內容（alternative content）的進展？

Alternative content is something that we are very intrigued by. We've dabbled in it so far to gauge consumer response. Some of the people who track us closely know that we had WWE events. We had UFC events. We showed DIRECTV Sunday Ticket for 2 years over the last 3, showing professional football games, out-of-market football games on Sundays. We've had several concerts. One is recently as 2 nights ago, Kanye West, now Ye, in IMAX theaters around the country.

替代內容是我們非常感興趣的領域。我們目前已做了一些嘗試，以衡量消費者反應。部分密切追蹤我們的人知道，我們曾舉辦 WWE 活動、UFC 活動。我們也在過去 3 年中的其中 2 年播放 DIRECTV Sunday Ticket，在週日播出職業美式足球比賽、外地市場的美式足球賽事。我們也辦過多場演唱會，其中一場就在兩晚前：Kanye West（現名 Ye）在全國各地的 IMAX 影廳演出。

We're showing some old movies. We just had a very successful reshowing of the 50th anniversary of The Godfather. I think that was in our Dolby Cinemas. We've just agreed with Warner Music to look really hard together at which of their concert artists we can bring to AMC Theatres.

我們也會放映一些老電影。我們剛在《教父》50 週年時進行了非常成功的重映。我想那是在我們的 Dolby Cinema 影廳。我們也剛與華納音樂（Warner Music）達成合作，將共同深入評估他們旗下哪些演唱會藝人可以帶到 AMC Theatres。

But the big one here is sports rights. And we all know that AMC is going to make a real splash in alternative content if we can secure the rights for major professional and collegiate sporting events, not to mention these others like WWE and UFC, that getting professional and collegiate sports is something that has great potential. It's much easier said than done. We have begun dialogue with leagues. There's a lot to work out, but it's something that we're looking at hard.

但這裡最大的重點是體育賽事轉播權。我們都知道，如果我們能取得重大職業與大學體育賽事的轉播權——更不用說像 WWE 與 UFC 這些——AMC 將能在替代內容領域掀起真正的浪潮；取得職業與大學體育賽事具有很大的潛力。這說起來容易、做起來難。我們已開始與各聯盟展開對話。還有很多細節需要協調，但這是我們正在認真評估的方向。

Next question, what is the time frame to bring premium formats to the recent theater acquisitions?

下一個問題是，把高級格式導入近期收購的戲院，時間表是什麼？

I'm so proud of the partnership that AMC has with IMAX and that it has with Dolby Cinema. We're IMAX' I think, largest customer in the world outside of China. We're certainly their largest partner here in the United States. We have an exclusive relationship with Dolby Cinema here in the United States. We had 150 or so PLFs 5 years ago. AMC globally now has over 400, and we continue to want to grow it. We're in active dialogue with both IMAX and Dolby right now how we can grow our business with each of those great companies. I have every expectation that we are going to increase the number of our PLFs, and in the case of IMAX in particular, increase the number of laser-equipped IMAX auditoriums around the AMC system.

我為 AMC 與 IMAX 以及 Dolby Cinema 的合作關係感到非常自豪。我們是 IMAX 在中國以外、我想是全球最大的客戶。我們當然也是他們在美國最大的合作夥伴。我們在美國與 Dolby Cinema 有獨家合作關係。5 年前我們大約有 150 個左右的 PLF。如今 AMC 在全球已超過 400 個，而且我們仍希望持續成長。我們目前正與 IMAX 與 Dolby 積極對話，討論如何與這兩家優秀公司各自擴大業務。我完全預期我們會增加 PLF 的數量，尤其就 IMAX 而言，會在 AMC 系統內增加配備雷射的 IMAX 影廳數量。

One of the things that we've done, we've looked at bringing new theaters into our system and see if we can add PLFs to those theaters. And for example, The Grove and Americana brand in L.A., which already are in the 30 highest-grossing movie theaters in the United States, neither one has either an IMAX or a Dolby Cinema auditorium. We're going to put an IMAX and a Dolby Cinema and our house brand, which is called Private AMC, we're going to put 3 of them into The Grove, 3 of them in the Americana brand. We're looking at other theaters as well to see where we can add IMAX or Dolby locations.

我們做的一件事是，當我們把新戲院納入系統時，會評估是否能在那些戲院新增 PLF。舉例來說，洛杉磯的 The Grove 與 Americana 這兩個據點，原本就已位列美國票房最高的前 30 家電影院之中，但兩者都沒有 IMAX 或 Dolby Cinema 影廳。我們將在 The Grove 設置一個 IMAX、一個 Dolby Cinema，以及我們的自有品牌影廳（稱為 Private AMC），總共在 The Grove 放 3 個、在 Americana 放 3 個。我們也在評估其他戲院，看看哪些地方可以新增 IMAX 或 Dolby 的據點。

In terms of timing, once you get permitted, it's kind of 6 to 12 months to get them constructed. Permitting can go fast or slow depending upon the locality. So if I had to pick a date, I would say about a year after we add a theater to our network, we got to be well underway with IMAX or Dolby or Prime at AMC locations.

就時程而言，一旦取得許可，建置大約需要 6 到 12 個月。許可申請的速度會因地方政府而快或慢。所以如果要我選一個時間點，我會說大約在我們把某家戲院納入網路後的一年左右，我們就應該已經在 IMAX、Dolby 或 AMC Prime 等據點的推進上進展順利。

Great. The next question is, what are the plans to monetize the opportunity from NFTs and cryptocurrency?

很好。下一個問題是，對於 NFT 與加密貨幣帶來的機會，變現計畫是什麼？

Look, this is a big opportunity for us. As I said in my prepared remarks about NFTs, we've already done 4 programs since November. Already 800,000 NFTs have been made available to consumers, one with Spider-Man movie, one with Dune, one with The Batman movie. We offered an "I Own AMC" NFT to our shareholders enrolled in AMC Investor Connect. This is all good for us.

你看，這對我們來說是個很大的機會。正如我在事先準備的發言中提到 NFT 的部分，自 11 月以來我們已經做了 4 個專案。到目前為止，已向消費者提供了 80 萬個 NFT：一個與《蜘蛛人》電影相關、一個與《沙丘》、一個與《蝙蝠俠》電影相關。我們也向加入 AMC Investor Connect 的股東提供了「I Own AMC」NFT。這些對我們都很有利。

We have tended to give them away free so far. We will continue to give some away free, especially if that drives a closer bond with the company or if it drives attendance to our theaters, where we'll make money selling tickets and concessions. But I also think it's possible for good and important and special NFTs to sell them to the public. And I also know for a fact that on some of these NFT programs, we already are and will be on future programs, collecting a commission on the resale of those NFTs as they get resold.

到目前為止我們多半是免費送出。我們仍會繼續免費送出一些，特別是當這能促進與公司的更緊密連結，或能帶動到我們戲院的觀影人次，讓我們透過售票與餐飲銷售獲利。但我也認為，對於優質、重要且特別的 NFT，把它們對外公開販售是可行的。此外，我也確知在某些 NFT 專案上，我們已經在、且未來也將在 NFT 轉售時，對其轉售收取佣金。

As for cryptocurrency, we're taking it now. We start with Dogecoin and Shiba Inu in a couple of weeks. We know there are a lot of consumers who are very keen on those cryptocurrencies. We expect that our market share amongst that audience will grow when we can take cryptocurrencies.

至於加密貨幣，我們現在已經開始接受。我們會在幾週後先從 Dogecoin 和 Shiba Inu 開始。我們知道有很多消費者對這些加密貨幣非常熱衷。當我們能接受加密貨幣付款後，我們預期在這類受眾中的市占率會提升。

In addition to that, the one that you know well, Sean, because we've talked about at great length, the one that has our biggest intrigue is whether AMC would be capable of issuing our own coin, our own cryptocurrency. We have to be careful how we do that. The regulatory framework surrounding cryptocurrency is going to change dramatically, I think, during this calendar year. We always believe in staying on the right side of the law. And so we want to make sure that whatever we do in this area, we fully comply with whatever regulations governments send our way. But it is something we're looking hard at, and there may be an opportunity to create significant value for us.

除此之外，你很熟悉的那一項，Sean，因為我們已經長時間討論過；最讓我們感到好奇的是，AMC 是否有能力發行我們自己的幣、我們自己的加密貨幣。我們必須謹慎處理。圍繞加密貨幣的監管框架，我認為在今年曆年內將會大幅改變。我們一向相信要站在法律正確的一邊。因此我們希望確保在這個領域所做的任何事情，都能完全符合政府未來可能提出的各項規範。但這確實是我們正在深入研究的方向，而且可能有機會為我們創造可觀的價值。

Great. The next question here is regarding our strategy for lowering debt and improving our leverage ratios.

很好。下一個問題是關於我們降低負債並改善槓桿比率的策略。

Well, the best thing we can do to lower debt is to grow our EBITDA so that by definition, the debt that we do have is a lower multiple of our rising EBITDA. And that certainly was the case in the fourth quarter, where we actually had positive EBITDA for the first time in 2 years.

嗯，我們降低負債最好的方式，是提升 EBITDA，如此一來，按定義我們現有的債務相對於持續上升的 EBITDA 就會呈現較低倍數。第四季確實就是如此，我們在兩年來首次出現正的 EBITDA。

But that's not enough. We also need to pay down debt. And we're doing that right now. We made a great start by paying off a considerable amount of deferred rent that we owe from 2020. And additionally, there still is debt out there that we could buy at a discount, and that is an intriguing use of cash that we are considering.

但那還不夠。我們也需要償還債務，而我們現在正在做。我們先以償還 2020 年所欠的一大筆遞延租金作為很好的開始。此外，市場上仍有一些債務我們可以用折價買回，這是我們正在考慮的一項很有吸引力的現金用途。

Great. Next question, what are the plans with respect to signature recliners? Do you plan to introduce these at all screens?

很好。下一個問題是，關於招牌躺椅座位（signature recliners）的計畫是什麼？你們是否打算在所有影廳導入？

We do not. Let's start with the branding of AMC. We have 3 major brands at AMC: AMC Theatres, AMC Dine-In Theatres and AMC Classic Theatres. Our Dine-In Theaters are what they are with full-blown restaurant menu items, mostly delivered to seat. We have our normal mainline AMC Theatres. And we have the Classic brand.

我們不會。先從 AMC 的品牌架構談起。我們在 AMC 有三大主要品牌：AMC Theatres、AMC Dine-In Theatres，以及 AMC Classic Theatres。我們的 Dine-In 戲院就是提供完整餐廳菜單，多數餐點會送到座位。我們有一般主力的 AMC Theatres，還有 Classic 品牌。

The Classic brand tend to be smaller, less visited theaters. The economics at a classic theater probably would not allow us to invest in putting in recliners. It's an expensive proposition. We can spend as much as $5 million or more a theater in doing it. And the traffic at the Classic Theatres just doesn't justify a return.

Classic 品牌通常是規模較小、來客較少的戲院。Classic 戲院的經濟性可能無法支持我們投資安裝躺椅座位，因為這是一項昂貴的工程。每家戲院我們可能要花到 500 萬美元甚至更多。而 Classic 戲院的客流量不足以支撐投資報酬。

But with respect to our AMC Theatres, we've already made great progress. We've got recliner seats in one or more auditoriums at somewhere around 2/3 or more of our AMC Theatres. We're very well populated with the recliners.

但就我們的 AMC Theatres 而言，我們已經取得很大進展。我們大約在 2/3 或更多的 AMC Theatres 中，至少有一個或多個影廳配備了躺椅座位。我們的躺椅配置已相當普及。

And one other thing that the pandemic threw at us is to guard our cash very carefully. And given that we already are well established with recliners and given that it's really important to keep CapEx low and to hold on to that $1.8 billion war chest, to deal with it as we described on the call earlier. I think we're going to slow down the pace of our renovations.

另外，疫情帶給我們的一件事，是必須非常謹慎地守住現金。鑑於我們已經在躺椅座位方面建立了相當基礎，也鑑於控制資本支出（CapEx）並保住那 18 億美元的「戰備資金」非常重要，以便如同我們先前在電話會議中所描述的方式來應對。我認為我們會放慢翻新工程的速度。

Now that doesn't mean that we'll do none. We will do some but at significantly lower levels than we were doing it back in 2017 and 2018. We've got to be very prudent. The best asset this company has is this $1.8 billion cash and liquidity award. We need to be reverent that our shareholders have entrusted us with $1.8 billion. We need to be very careful how we deploy it.

這並不代表我們完全不做。我們會做一些，但規模會明顯低於 2017 與 2018 年的水準。我們必須非常審慎。這家公司最好的資產，就是這 18 億美元的現金與流動性儲備。我們必須抱持敬畏之心，因為股東把 18 億美元託付給了我們。我們必須非常小心地部署這筆資金。

Thank you. And the next question here is, can you give us an update on the opportunity to introduce AMC merchandise?

謝謝。下一個問題是，你能否提供導入 AMC 周邊商品機會的最新進展？

Sure. Merchandise is one of these other ideas that came pouring in from our retail shareholder base in 2021. It sounds like they want to buy it. And if they want to buy it, we want to sell it to them. So we started to experiment back in November. When Ghostbusters: Afterlife emerged, we created a special merchandise item, a Ghostbuster ambulance. It was like $40 or something. I think we sold 40,000 of them. In like days, we sold out, which reminded us that our shareholder base and our customers are really interested in merch. We just, this week, are going forward with a big Batman popcorn holder. It's about a 6-inch high Batman head in which your popcorn will be served. I'm hoping they'll sell out.

當然可以。周邊商品是 2021 年從我們的散戶股東群大量湧入的另一個點子之一。聽起來他們想買；如果他們想買，我們就想賣給他們。所以我們在 11 月開始做實驗。當《魔鬼剋星：未來世》上映時，我們推出了一款特別周邊商品——一台魔鬼剋星救護車。大概 40 美元左右。我想我們賣了 4 萬個。短短幾天就售罄，這提醒我們，我們的股東群與顧客對周邊商品確實很有興趣。而就在本週，我們將推出一款大型蝙蝠俠爆米花桶。它大約 6 英吋高，是一個蝙蝠俠頭像，爆米花會裝在裡面提供。我希望它們也會賣光。

And merchandise is going to be a big project for us in 2022. I would expect that towards the middle of this year, we'll have a broad array of merchandise, AMC-branded merchandise that our shareholders and our guests can buy, whether they do it online or possibly many of our theaters.

而周邊商品將會是我們在 2022 年的一個重大專案。我預期在今年年中左右，我們將會推出種類廣泛的周邊商品、AMC 品牌周邊商品，讓我們的股東與來賓可以購買，不論是在線上購買，或是可能在我們許多影城購買。

Great. And then the last question that I have here is, what are your goals with respect to more theater or other acquisitions?

很好。那我這裡最後一個問題是，關於更多影城或其他收購，你們的目標是什麼？

Well, look, as I said in my prepared remarks, especially the section I called recovery, agility and transformation, we have cash. There are theaters that I believe we can acquire very inexpensively. 1 to 2x cash flow is really cheap. Even 3 to 4x projected cash flow is really cheap. And if we can grow by bringing in high-quality theaters in strong markets into our fleet inexpensively, that's a great opportunity for us.

嗯，你看，正如我在事先準備的發言中所說，特別是我稱之為「復甦、敏捷與轉型」的那一段，我們有現金。我相信有些影城我們可以用非常便宜的價格收購。以 1 到 2 倍現金流來看真的很便宜。即使是 3 到 4 倍的預估現金流也真的很便宜。而如果我們能以低成本把強勢市場中的高品質影城納入我們的版圖，這對我們而言是很好的機會。

Beyond that though, there is no specific company that we are yet ready to acquire. But I really want to say again and again and again that people who are watching and analyzing this company should think hard about what a strong management team can do with $1.8 billion of cash. And we are going to be looking seriously at M&A candidates. It's intriguing to diversify our business away from the pure movie theater industry to diversify our risk and yet capitalize on our knowledge of things like food and beverage, entertainment, selling tickets to things, running buildings that are far apart from each other, dealing with landlords with hundreds and hundreds of leases. This is all expertise that does not -- that AMC has where that expertise is needed in other industries, too.

不過除此之外，目前我們還沒有準備好要收購任何特定公司。但我真的想一再、一再、再一再地說，正在關注並分析這家公司的人，應該好好想想：一個強大的管理團隊能用 18 億美元現金做些什麼。我們將會認真尋找併購（M&A）標的。把業務從純粹的電影影城產業多元化，以分散風險，同時運用我們在餐飲、娛樂、售票、管理彼此相距甚遠的建築、以及與擁有數百、數百份租約的房東打交道等方面的知識，這是很吸引人的。這些都是 AMC 擁有的專業能力，而在其他產業也同樣需要這些專業。

And again, I think for the people who are merely valuing the AMC of 2019 and suggesting that that's all we can do going forward, you're making a mistake. There are other lines of business, whether it's NFTs, cryptocurrency, popcorn or that which we grow into through transformational M&A. There is opportunity to change this company's fortunes greatly as we look ahead.

再說一次，我認為對於那些只是在評價 2019 年的 AMC，並認為那就是我們未來所能做的一切的人，你們是犯了錯。還有其他業務線，不論是 NFT、加密貨幣、爆米花，或是我們透過轉型型併購（transformational M&A）所拓展的業務。展望未來，隨著我們向前看，有機會大幅改變這家公司的命運。

Thank you, Adam. Yes, Sherry, if you want to see if there's -- if you could repeat the Q&A instructions.

謝謝你，Adam。是的，Sherry，如果你想確認一下是否——如果你可以重複一下問答的指示。

(Operator Instructions) The first question comes from Jim Goss with Barrington Research.

（接線員指示）第一個問題來自 Barrington Research 的 Jim Goss。

Yes. I do have a question -- a couple of questions. One, I was wondering if you think there's any opportunity to maybe carve out some subset of your theaters, perhaps the AMC Classic or some of them, and create a sale that could create some value that you could use for additional acquisitions or to pay down some debt.

是的。我有一個問題——幾個問題。第一個，我想知道你是否認為有任何機會把你們的部分影城切割出來，也許是 AMC Classic 或其中一些，並進行出售，以創造一些價值，讓你們可以用於額外收購或償還部分債務。

Does the opportunity exist? Yes. Is it our plan to do that? No. I think that we benefit mightily from our size and scale. And if we give up some of that size and scale, we hurt the rest of the company in the process. You all know that there are other companies who report their financials publicly. Take a look at our film rent costs in Q4. Compare that to some other companies. That's a direct result of the relationships that we have in Hollywood but also a result of the size and scale of AMC. And we would be giving up on a competitive advantage that we now have if we got smaller.

有沒有這個機會？有。這是我們的計畫嗎？不是。我認為我們從規模與量體中獲益良多。如果我們放棄部分規模與量體，在這個過程中就會傷害公司的其他部分。你們都知道有其他公司公開揭露其財務。看看我們第四季的影片租金成本（film rent costs），再和其他公司比較。那是我們在好萊塢建立的關係所帶來的直接結果，同時也是 AMC 規模與量體的結果。如果我們變小了，就等於放棄我們目前擁有的競爭優勢。

Okay. And maybe also on the idea of trying to reduce the debt load, do you have any thoughts on any creative financial instruments beyond the common equity that's dominated by the retail investors that could improve your financial position and interest costs and also reengage institutional investors in AMC?

好的。那另外在降低負債的想法上，除了由散戶投資人主導的普通股權之外，你是否對任何創新的金融工具有一些想法，能改善你們的財務狀況與利息成本，同時也讓機構投資人重新投入 AMC？

So we do and we're not yet ready to share them publicly. Having said that, I would remind you that my new CFO sitting -- you're not so new anymore, you've been here 2 years, but who's sitting a couple of feet away from me, 6 feet away, properly, but like we've been very successful in the capital markets. And we just had this impressive, I think, refinancing of $950 million of our debt. We lowered our interest cost by 300 basis points. We stretched out maturities to 2029, and there are other tranches of our debt that we're looking at very hard to see if we can do something imaginative and creative with them, just as we did with our first liens a few weeks ago.

我們確實有，但目前還沒準備好對外公開分享。話雖如此，我想提醒你，我的新任 CFO 就坐在——你其實也不算新了，你已經在這裡 2 年了——就坐在我旁邊幾英尺處，嚴格說是 6 英尺，符合規範，但總之我們在資本市場上非常成功。我們剛完成一筆令人印象深刻的、我認為是，9.5 億美元債務的再融資。我們把利息成本降低了 300 個基點。我們把到期日延長到 2029 年，而且我們也正在非常仔細地檢視其他幾個債務分層（tranches），看看是否能像幾週前處理第一順位擔保債（first liens）那樣，做出一些有想像力、具創意的安排。

Beyond that, there are other things that we can do. But as I said -- and we're looking at them carefully. But as I said, we're not yet ready to share anything publicly. But you're on to something that it would be nice to have institutional investors embrace AMC. But I want to be very clear. I don't want to do that if it costs us our individual shareholder base. This new individual shareholder base has been very loyal to AMC since it showed up on our door about a year ago, and we intend to be very loyal in return.

除此之外，我們還能做其他事情。但正如我所說——我們正在仔細評估。不過如我所說，我們還沒準備好公開分享任何內容。但你提到的方向是對的：如果能讓機構投資人擁抱 AMC 會很好。但我想非常清楚地說，我不希望以失去我們的個人股東基礎為代價來做到這件事。這個新的個人股東基礎自從大約一年前出現在我們門口以來，一直對 AMC 非常忠誠，而我們也打算以同樣的忠誠回報。

You've been very clear about that.

你在這點上說得非常清楚。

Thank you, Jim.

謝謝你，Jim。

(Operator Instructions) As there are no further questions from the phone lines, I would now like to turn the conference back over to Adam for any closing remarks.

（接線員指示）由於電話線上沒有進一步的提問，我現在想把會議交回給 Adam，請他做任何結語。

Thank you, operator. For all of you on the call today, thank you for joining us. The fourth quarter of 2021 was so encouraging for us. AMC is on a glide path to recovery with bold, exciting plans for 2022 in an improving environment around us. With that, don't hold our feet to the fire too much for Q1. But boy, you're going to like Q2 through Q3 and Q4. We're expecting '22 is going to be a very good year for our company. Thank you, one and all. We appreciate you joining us today.

謝謝你，接線員。今天在電話上的各位，感謝你們加入我們。2021 年第四季對我們而言非常令人鼓舞。AMC 正走在復甦的滑行道上，在我們周遭環境改善之際，對 2022 年有大膽且令人振奮的計畫。話說回來，第一季不要對我們太苛刻。但你們會很喜歡第二季到第三季以及第四季。我們預期 2022 年將會是公司非常好的一年。謝謝各位。我們感謝你們今天加入。

This concludes today's conference call. You may disconnect your lines. Thank you for participating, and have a pleasant day.

今天的電話會議到此結束。您可以掛斷電話線。感謝您的參與，祝您有美好的一天。