AMC 電影院 (AMC) 2003 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, my name is Lisa, and I will be your conference facilitator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the AMC Entertainment , incorporated fourth quarter and fiscal year 2003 conference call, hosted by Peter brown, chairman and Chief Executive Officer of AMC Entertainment . 234EU Any forward looking statements contained in this call which reflects math's management's best just a moment involve risk and uncertainties . Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward- forward-looking statement included herein as a result of a number of factors, including among other companies’ abilities to enter into various financing programs.

各位早安，我叫 Lisa，今天將擔任本次會議的主持人。此刻，我謹代表各位歡迎大家參加 AMC Entertainment, Incorporated 2003 年第四季及 2003 會計年度電話法說會，本次會議由 AMC Entertainment 董事長兼執行長 Peter Brown 主持。234EU 本次通話中所包含的任何前瞻性陳述，反映管理階層在此刻的最佳判斷，並涉及風險與不確定性。由於多項因素，實際結果可能與本文所載之前瞻性陳述所預期者有重大差異，包括但不限於其他公司進入各項融資計畫的能力。

The performance of films loans ed by the company, competition , con construction delays, the ability to open or close theaters and screens as currently planned , domestic and international , political, social and economic conditions, demographic changes , increases in demand for real estate, changes in real estate, zoning and tax laws, unforeseen changes in operating requirements , the company's ability to identify suit able acquisition candidates and to successfully integrate acquisitions into operations and the results of significant litigation . All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise.

公司所放映影片的表現、競爭、施工延誤、依目前規劃開設或關閉影城與影廳的能力、國內與國際的政治、社會與經濟情勢、人口結構變化、不動產需求增加、不動產市場變動、分區與稅法變更、營運需求之不可預見變化、公司辨識合適併購標的之能力以及將併購案成功整合至營運之能力，及重大訴訟之結果。為避免背景雜音，所有線路已設為靜音。

After the speak areas ' remarks, there will be a question-and-answer period. Analysts who would like to ask a question during this time should press star, then the number one on your telephone keypad and questions will be taken in the order they are received. To withdraw your question, press the pound key. Thank you, Mr. Brown, you may begin your conference.

在講者致詞結束後，將進行問答時間。分析師若欲於此時提問，請在電話鍵盤按下星號鍵，然後按數字 1；我們將依收到問題的順序進行提問。若要取消提問，請按井號鍵。謝謝您，Brown 先生，您可以開始您的會議。

Okay, Lisa, thank you very much. Good morning , everyone. Again, welcome to the fiscal 2000 - 2003 fourth quarter earnings call for AMC Entertainment. As Lisa said, I'm Peter Brown, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Joining me on a call are Craig Ramsey, our Chief Financial Officer , Bill Singleton, our Chief Operating Officer, and Dick Walsh, Chairman of our film group.

好的，Lisa，非常感謝。各位早安。再次歡迎各位參加 AMC Entertainment 2000-2003 會計年度第四季盈餘電話會議。如 Lisa 所說，我是 Peter Brown，董事長兼執行長。與我一同參與本次電話會議的還有：財務長 Craig Ramsey、營運長 Bill Singleton，以及我們影片事業群董事長 Dick Walsh。

Now, as is our custom , I'll leadoff the presentation with a few brief comments on some of the highlights for both the quarter and the fiscal year. Craig Ramsey will take us through a detailed message of the financial results for both the quarter and fiscal year and Dick Walsh will wrap up the form formal part of the presentation with comments on upcoming film product. [inaudible audio]

依照慣例，我將先以幾點簡短評論，說明本季與本會計年度的一些重點。Craig Ramsey 將帶領我們詳細說明本季與本會計年度的財務結果，而 Dick Walsh 將以對即將上映影片產品的評論，為正式簡報部分作結。[聽不清的音訊]

So on that note, let's begin. I hope by now all of you have had a chance to review the press release that went out earlier this morning over the wire. In terms of some of the key highlights, as was noted in the press release, both a quarter and fiscal year periods produced record heavy revenues and adjusted EBITDA.

那麼，就從這裡開始。希望各位現在都已經有機會閱讀今天稍早透過通訊發布的新聞稿。就幾項關鍵重點而言，如新聞稿所述，本季與本會計年度期間皆創下營收與調整後 EBITDA 的歷史新高。

Our asset quality continued to improve. We successfully integrated two acquisitions, adding over 650 screens to our circuit screen count in the fiscal year. Our free cash flow continued to grow, and a conservative balance sheet and increased liquidity fueled an improvement in our credit profile. Now, Craig will be talking more about this last point in a few minutes when he takes us through the numbers. But first, I want to take a moment to talk more about each of the highlights that I just noted.

我們的資產品質持續改善。我們成功整合兩項併購案，於本會計年度為我們的院線影廳數新增超過 650 個銀幕。我們的自由現金流持續成長，而保守的資產負債表與提升的流動性，推動了我們信用狀況的改善。Craig 將在幾分鐘後帶我們看數字時，進一步談到最後這一點。但首先，我想花點時間更深入談談我剛才提到的各項重點。

Now, even though we typically talk about our results on a quarterly and year to day basis when we get together on these calls every quarter, as many of you know, our philosophy has always been to manage the company to create value over the long-term . The fiscal year end seems like a natural opportunity to take a look back and see how we've done in this regard . That's essentially what this slide does. It takes the fiscal 2003 results and puts them in a historical context looking back over the last 11 years. Now , we look at this period because that's the time frame essentially in which the present management team has been working together. As this slide shows , since this fiscal 1992, our total revenues have grown at a compound annual rate of 14 %. Our adjusted EBITDA in that period has grown in a compound annual rate of 16% , and our leverage as measured by the ratio of our net debt divided by adjusted EBITDA has decreased over two turns in that period of time , from 4. 7 times where it stood at the end of fiscal 1992, to 2. 1 times at the end of fiscal 2003.

雖然我們通常在每季的電話會議上，以季度與年初至今的基礎來討論業績，但如各位所知，我們一向的理念是以長期創造價值來管理公司。會計年度結束似乎是回顧我們在這方面表現的自然時點。這張投影片基本上就是在做這件事。它將 2003 會計年度的結果放在歷史脈絡中，回顧過去 11 年。我們之所以看這段期間，是因為這基本上是現任管理團隊共同合作的時間範圍。如投影片所示，自 1992 會計年度以來，我們的總營收以 14% 的年複合成長率成長。同期間，我們的調整後 EBITDA 以 16% 的年複合成長率成長；而以淨負債除以調整後 EBITDA 衡量的槓桿倍數，在這段期間下降了超過兩個倍數，從 1992 會計年度末的 4.7 倍，降至 2003 會計年度末的 2.1 倍。

Now, those that follow us closely over the last 11 years know there have been some ups and downs. In the early part of the 90s, the industry was stable. By the late 90s, things were tumultuous. The industry returned to a stable state a couple of years ago and enjoyed one of its best years ever last year. The point here is that we at AMC have found a way to prosper in our business, irrespective of the cycle we're in.

過去 11 年密切關注我們的人都知道，期間有起有落。90 年代初期，產業相對穩定。到了 90 年代末期，情勢則相當動盪。產業在幾年前回到較穩定的狀態，並在去年迎來史上表現最佳的年度之一。重點在於：無論處於哪個景氣循環，我們 AMC 都找到了在本業中持續茁壯的方法。

We think that this speaks volumes to the dedication and quality of our associates and also the high quality of our asset base which I want to turn our attention to. Those of you who follow us regularly know that we segment our circuit screen portfolio into three types of theaters. Megaplex(ph) , something we call continuing multi pleases and disposition multi- plexes. We define a Megaplex as a theater 14 or more screens with predominantly stadium style seating.

我們認為，這充分說明了我們同仁的投入與素質，也反映了我們資產基礎的高品質；接下來我想把焦點轉到這一點上。經常關注我們的各位都知道，我們將院線銀幕組合區分為三種類型的影城：Megaplex(ph)、我們稱之為「持續型」multiplex，以及「處分型」multiplex。我們將 Megaplex 定義為擁有 14 個或以上銀幕、且以體育場式（階梯式）座位為主的影城。

A continuing multiplex is a theater that has a characteristic, such as a protected real estate profile that in our opinion makes it a long -term viable . A disposition multiplex is one we've targeted for disposition. Megaplex we've shown on this slide in green, and account for the greatest percentage of our circuit screen portfolio, 70% at the present time. Continuing multiplexes account for 23% of our portfolio and disposition multiplex account for 7%, which is only 243 screens.

「持續型」multiplex 是指具備某些特徵（例如受保護的不動產條件），使我們認為其在長期內仍具可行性的影城。「處分型」multiplex 則是我們已鎖定將予以處分的影城。本投影片以綠色顯示 Megaplex，且其占我們院線銀幕組合的最大比重，目前為 70%。持續型 multiplex 占我們組合的 23%，處分型 multiplex 占 7%，也就是僅 243 個銀幕。

The disposition screens will come off line over the next three years and I'll illustrate this further in a moment when I talked talk about the continued portfolio optimization strategy that we employ to keep our asset base continuously improving as it did in fiscal 2003 . Not only do we have theaters that are in almost every top market in the United States, our theaters are generally the top performers in their markets. This is something we call " "quality market coverage ." It's the combination of both the breadth of top market coverage and the productivity of our theaters as measured by their box office revenue performance over a last 12-month period. As this slide shows, AMC dominates, really continues to dominate in this metric with over 50% of the top 50 theaters in North America. As you can z the next closest competitor has only 14% . Great theaters, that are the top performers 34 in all of the top markets, that's quality market coverage, and it's what distinguishes the AMC theater circuit.

這些處分型銀幕將在未來三年內逐步退場；稍後當我談到我們所採行的持續性組合最佳化策略時，會再進一步說明，該策略使我們的資產基礎得以持續改善，正如 2003 會計年度所呈現的結果。我們不僅在美國幾乎所有主要市場都有影城，我們的影城通常也是各自市場中的頂尖表現者。我們將此稱為「quality market coverage」。它結合了主要市場覆蓋的廣度，以及以過去 12 個月票房收入表現衡量的影城生產力。如本投影片所示，AMC 在此指標上占據主導地位，且確實持續主導：北美前 50 名影城中有超過 50% 屬於 AMC。如你們所見，最接近的競爭對手僅有 14%。在所有主要市場中擁有表現最頂尖的優質影城，這就是 quality market coverage，也是 AMC 院線與眾不同之處。

How do we make sure that our as asset quality is continuously improving ? Well, the answer lies in how we manage our portfolio on both a new build and disposition front. This slide gives us some insight into what I'm talking about here. As noted in the earnings release, in fiscal 2003, we opened 93 screens and closed 111 screens. This represents a net screen count reduction of 18. You look at this in the context of what we've done over the last several fiscal years , you can see that the screens we added in fiscal 2003 are a part of over 2200 screens that we've added since fiscal 1996, which is essentially the period that the megaplexing (ph) phenomenon started.

我們如何確保我們的資產品質持續改善？嗯，答案在於我們如何在新建與處置兩個面向管理我們的投資組合。這張投影片讓我們更了解我在這裡所談的內容。如同在財報新聞稿中所述，於2003會計年度，我們開設了93個銀幕並關閉了111個銀幕。這代表銀幕數量淨減少18個。把這放在我們過去幾個會計年度的作為脈絡下來看，你會看到2003會計年度新增的銀幕，是自1996會計年度以來我們新增逾2,200個銀幕的一部分；而那基本上就是多廳影城（ph）現象開始的期間。

In that same period, we've taken off line over 1,000 screens , including 111 that we closed in fiscal 2003 that was referenced in the earnings re lease. Now, through the simultaneous new building and disposition activity, we've been able to lead our peer competitors and the industry in a key measure of asset quality, which is screens per theater , which is also noted on the slide. As you can see at present, A MC's screen per theater count stands at 14 .7 , and is projected to grow as we continue to process again of simultaneously opening and closing screens in the years ahead.

在同一期間，我們也讓超過1,000個銀幕下線，其中包括2003會計年度關閉的111個銀幕，這在財報新聞稿中已有提及。透過同步的新建與處置活動，我們得以在資產品質的一項關鍵衡量指標上領先同業競爭者與整體產業，也就是「每家影城的銀幕數」，投影片上亦有標示。如你所見，目前AMC每家影城的銀幕數為14.7，且預期將隨著我們未來幾年持續同步開設與關閉銀幕的流程而成長。

Now , in addition to our strategy of growing and improving our portfolio through new build and disposition activity, we've also been an active acquirer. As we look back at the highlights of fiscal 2003, I'm pleased to report to you that we were able to successfully integrate two significant acquisition that is we've basically closed at the beginning of the fiscal year. These acquisitions were a five-theater, 68 screen circuit based in New Orleans called gulf state, and a 66 theater , 621 screen circuit for predominantly in the northeastern part of the United States called General Cinema. In terms of their financial contribution in 2003, these two acquisitions delivered approximately $48 million of EBITDA, which was right in line with our expectations we purchased these two circuits for a combined sum of $ 212 million, so based on first year actual EBITDA delivery, we were able to acquire them for an attractive combined multiple of around 4 .4 times.

此外，除了透過新建與處置活動來擴大並改善我們的投資組合策略之外，我們也積極進行併購。回顧2003會計年度的重點，我很高興向各位報告，我們成功整合了兩項重大收購案，也就是我們在會計年度初基本完成交割的交易。這兩項收購包括：一家位於紐奧良、擁有5家影城與68個銀幕的院線，名為Gulf State；以及一家主要位於美國東北部、擁有66家影城與621個銀幕的院線，名為General Cinema。就其在2003年的財務貢獻而言，這兩項收購合計帶來約4,800萬美元的EBITDA，與我們的預期一致。我們以合計2.12億美元的金額收購這兩個院線，因此以第一年實際EBITDA的表現來看，我們得以以約4.4倍的具吸引力合併倍數完成收購。

Finally, in terms of the highlights of the fiscal year, we were able to examine the free cash flow trend that we start ed to see last fiscal year. As this slide shows, we generated $78 million of free cash flow in fiscal 2003, which was up from $14 million in fiscal 2002 . The free cash flow that we're generating is increasing our liquidity, strengthening our balance sheet and improving our credit profile . So on that financial note, I'll now turn the program over to our CFO, Craig Ramsey.

最後，就本會計年度的重點而言，我們得以檢視自上一會計年度開始出現的自由現金流趨勢。如本投影片所示，我們在2003會計年度產生7,800萬美元的自由現金流，高於2002會計年度的1,400萬美元。我們所產生的自由現金流正在提升我們的流動性、強化資產負債表並改善信用概況。基於以上財務面說明，接下來我將把議程交給我們的財務長Craig Ramsey。

Thank you, Peter. Before discussing A MC's results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year periods, let's first review some industry statistics that will serve as the backdrop. As we review these statistics for North America, keep in mind that our fourth quarter this year included 14 weeks. Now, we have accumulated the industry information that's presented on the slide so that it is presented on the same basis. That is, 14 weeks in the current period compared with a 13 week period last year. Now on that basis, you can see that the box office was up 4% from $ 2.104 billion in the fourth quarter of last year to $2.198 billion this year.

謝謝你，Peter。在討論AMC第四季與全會計年度期間的業績之前，我們先回顧一些產業統計數據，作為背景。在檢視北美的這些統計數據時，請記得我們今年的第四季包含14週。我們已將投影片上呈現的產業資訊彙整並調整，使其以相同基礎呈現。也就是本期為14週，對比去年為13週。在此基礎上，你可以看到票房較去年第四季的21.04億美元成長4%，至今年的21.98億美元。

This quarterly box office performance follows a record- record-setting calendar 2002 , as you'll recall where North America registered a year over year increase of 12 % to about $9.5 billion. The industry 's performance for the quarter was largely driven by increases in average ticket price which is we estimate at about 3.5% with about a 1% decline in attendance. I'm sorry, a 1% increase in attendance. The quarter started very strong with January up about 7.6 %. In addition to contribution from Christmas and new year's holiday re leases such as Lord of the Rings, Catch Me If You Can, and Two Weeks' notice, January's box office also benefited from strong performance of films released during the month , such as "Chicago." February 's box office was flat compared to the prior year.

這一季的票房表現延續了創紀錄的2002曆年表現；如各位所記得，北美年增12%，至約95億美元。本季產業表現主要由平均票價上升所帶動，我們估計約上升3.5%，同時觀影人次約增加1%。抱歉，是觀影人次增加1%。本季開局非常強勁，1月約成長7.6%。除了《魔戒》、《神鬼交鋒》（Catch Me If You Can）與《貼身情人》（Two Weeks' Notice）等耶誕與新年假期檔期上映作品的貢獻外，1月票房也受惠於當月上映電影的強勁表現，例如《芝加哥》。2月票房與前一年相比持平。

However anchored by strong pictures, March box office was able to give a 7.1 % improvement considering the additional week. As shown on the chart, films expected to grows over $100 million accounted for the bulk of the fourth quarter increase in box office. As you can see from the slide, four films released during the fourth quarter of this year expected to exceed $100 million in box office and contribute approximately $501 million versus two films during the same quarter last year that contributed $295 million. That's about a 70% increase.

然而，在強片帶動下，考量多出的一週，3月票房仍能帶來7.1%的改善。如圖表所示，預期票房超過1億美元的影片，貢獻了第四季票房增量的大部分。從投影片可見，今年第四季上映的影片中，有四部預期票房將超過1億美元，合計貢獻約5.01億美元；相較之下，去年同季只有兩部影片合計貢獻2.95億美元。約增加70%。

With that, let's look at AMC's fourth quarter results, and again, keep in mind that the fourth quarter this year does include 14 weeks. Total revenues increased $31 million, or 8% compared to the same quarter last year from $415 million on a pro forma basis to $446 million. Now, note that the pro forma comparison for total revenues and adjusted EBITDA that's presented on the slide, includes the general cinema and gulf states acquisitions in the 2002 results as if those acquisitions had occurred at the beginning of the fiscal year. The total revenue increase was driven primarily by the additional week included in the fourth quarter F O4 results. The adjusted EBITDA increased $4 million or 8% from the same quarter last year to $52 million dollars.

接著我們來看AMC的第四季業績；同樣請記得，今年第四季包含14週。總營收較去年同季增加3,100萬美元（或8%），由以擬制（pro forma）基礎計算的4.15億美元增至4.46億美元。請注意，投影片上所呈現的總營收與調整後EBITDA之擬制比較，已將General Cinema與Gulf States的收購案納入2002年業績中，假設這些收購在會計年度初即已發生。總營收的增加主要由第四季業績（FO4）納入的額外一週所帶動。調整後EBITDA較去年同季增加400萬美元（或8%），至5,200萬美元。

Mostly due to increases in revenues and effective cost controls. As we'll see in a minute, our operating expenses as a percent of theater revenues were down 90 basis points compared to the same quarter last year and resulted in an increase in our adjust ed EBITDA margins. The adjusted EBITDA performance exceeded our expectations for the quarter and also analyst revised expectations that averaged about $ 49.2 million.

主要歸因於營收增加以及有效的成本控管。如我們稍後將看到的，我們的營運費用占影城營收的比率較去年同季下降90個基點，並帶動調整後EBITDA利潤率提升。本季調整後EBITDA表現超出我們的預期，也高於分析師修正後的預期平均值約4,920萬美元。

Now, while the additional week did augment the quarters total revenue, and adjusted EBITDA performance, it was the -- it was not the sole factor contributing to our record results. In fact, if you drop off the 14th week and do what I'll call a same week's basis comparison, our circuit produced year-over-year positive comparison in total revenues, they were up 1.2% which exceeded the industry's performance for the comparable period.

另外，雖然額外的一週確實推升了本季總營收與調整後EBITDA表現，但它——它並非促成我們創紀錄業績的唯一因素。事實上，若扣除第14週，並以我所稱的「同週數」基礎進行比較，我們的院線在總營收上仍呈現年增的正向比較，成長1.2%，且優於產業在可比期間的表現。

And on the same week's basis our adjust ed EBITDA was also a positive comparison with last year. It increased 3.7%. Now, consistent with our objective of producing free cash flow results, we also closely monitored after tax cash flow, which we define as net loss, plus depreciation, amortization and non-cash items. As consistent with the presentation that you see in the press release, we compare our after-tax cash flow results with actual last year, and you can see the improvement in after- tax cash flow results increase buying over $9 million or a 48% increase. Net CAPEX was $16 million for the quarter, compared to $30 million in the same quarter of last year. Now this in combination with our after tax cash flow produced free cash flow of $12 million for the quarter , compared with the deficit in actual free cash flow last year during the quarter, or an increase of $ 23 million. So in summary the quarter was very strong. It exceeded our expectations and we're pleased with how the A MC circuit performed in comparison to the rest of the industry.

在同週數基礎下，我們的調整後EBITDA相較去年也同樣呈現正向比較。增加3.7%。此外，為了符合我們創造自由現金流的目標，我們也密切監控稅後現金流；我們將其定義為淨損加上折舊、攤銷及非現金項目。如同你在新聞稿中看到的呈現方式，我們將稅後現金流結果與去年實際數比較；你可以看到稅後現金流改善，增加超過900萬美元，或成長48%。本季淨資本支出（Net CAPEX）為1,600萬美元，較去年同季的3,000萬美元下降。上述因素結合稅後現金流，使本季自由現金流達到1,200萬美元；相較去年同季實際自由現金流為赤字，等於增加2,300萬美元。總結而言，本季表現非常強勁。超出我們的預期，我們也對AMC院線相較產業其他同業的表現感到滿意。

So now let’s take a look at the the -- so now let's take a look at the fiscal -year-old period which produced record setting total revenue and adjusted EBITDA results. Total revenues increased $116 million or 7% over the same period last year, increasing from $1.676 billion on a pro forma basis to $1.792 billion. Total revenue performance was driven by increases in attendance reflecting the strength of the box office during this period and by increases in total revenues per head, including increases in average ticket and concession spending per head.

那麼現在讓我們來看看——那麼現在讓我們來看看這個財政年度期間，該期間創下總營收與調整後 EBITDA 的歷史新高。總營收較去年同期增加 1.16 億美元或 7%，以擬制（pro forma）基礎計，從 16.76 億美元增加至 17.92 億美元。總營收表現主要受惠於出席人次增加（反映本期間票房強勁），以及人均總營收提升所帶動，其中包括人均平均票價與餐飲（concession）消費的增加。

Adjusted EBITDA increased $25 million or 12 % over the same period last year to $ 230 million. The combination of strong revenue performance, while at the same time controlling our operating costs, contributed to the strong EBITDA performance. For both the quarter and year to date periods , our margins at the operating level and at the adjust ed EBITDA line have improved over the prior year.

調整後 EBITDA 較去年同期增加 2,500 萬美元或 12%，達到 2.30 億美元。強勁的營收表現，加上同時控管營運成本，共同促成了亮眼的 EBITDA 表現。無論是本季或年初至今期間，我們在營運層級以及調整後 EBITDA 線的利潤率，均較去年有所改善。

The strong operating performance of our circuit also led to a year-over -year increase in our comparison of after-tax cash flow results which increased from $91 million for the full fiscal year last year, to $131 million for the current year, 44% increase.

我們院線的強勁營運表現，也帶動稅後現金流量的年對年比較結果上升：從去年完整財政年度的 9,100 萬美元，增加至本年度的 1.31 億美元，增幅 44%。

Net CAPEX for the year was $53 million, compared to actual CAPEX of $ 77 million last year. This reduction in our net CAPEX in combination with the 44 % I object crease in after tax cash flow produced an increase in free cash flow from $14 million to $ 78 million or a $ 64 million increase. Let's look at the key drivers for the quarter in fiscal year periods. Now, no new screens were opened during the quarter , but for the full fiscal year, you'll note that screen additions included 641 screens that we acquired and the opening of five theaters with 93 screens. Now, during the quarter, we closed six theaters with 40 screens, which resulted in nominal theater closure expense. For the year that brings our total closures to 111 screens and in line with our plan as we've discussed through the year of closing over 100 screens during the year.

本年度淨資本支出（Net CAPEX）為 5,300 萬美元，相較去年實際 CAPEX 的 7,700 萬美元。淨 CAPEX 的下降，加上稅後現金流量 44% 的增長（I object crease），使自由現金流由 1,400 萬美元增加至 7,800 萬美元，增加 6,400 萬美元。讓我們看看本季與財政年度期間的關鍵驅動因素。本季未新增開幕任何新銀幕，但就完整財政年度而言，新增銀幕包括我們收購的 641 個銀幕，以及新開幕 5 家影城、共 93 個銀幕。本季我們關閉了 6 家影城、共 40 個銀幕，因此影城關閉費用不高。就全年而言，這使我們的總關閉銀幕數達到 111 個，並符合我們的計畫；如同我們在年度中所討論的，全年關閉超過 100 個銀幕。

Our average screens operated were down slightly during the quarter, and up slightly during the fiscal year, both are in line with what we planned. Attendance per screen is down for both the quarter and fiscal year periods, due mostly to films performance during the quarter. You may recall during our third quarter conference call, we noted that on a year-to-date basis, attendance per screen was tracking ahead of last year. You see that our total revenues per head increased during the quarter and also during the year to -date period or the fiscal year periods, reflecting increases in average ticket prices and concession per head of house. Now, our film costs were up slightly for both the quarter and the fiscal year periods , but as we've discussed before, we don't focus totally on the percentages . We also track the productivity of our screens in terms of the dollars produced per screen, and in the case of film, we focus on retention dollars or the amount of admissions dollars per screen that we retain after paying film bills. When you can see on a retention basis, we show improvement for the fourth quarter and for the fiscal year basis.

本季我們的平均營運銀幕數略為下降，而在財政年度期間略為上升，兩者皆符合我們的規劃。每銀幕出席人次在本季與財政年度期間皆下降，主要是因為本季影片表現所致。您或許記得在第三季電話會議中，我們提到年初至今基礎下，每銀幕出席人次仍領先去年。您可以看到，本季以及年初至今期間（或財政年度期間）的人均總營收增加，反映平均票價與人均餐飲消費的提升。本季與財政年度期間的影片成本略有上升，但如同先前所討論，我們不會只專注在百分比。我們也會以每銀幕產出金額來追蹤銀幕生產力；就影片而言，我們著重於留存金額（retention dollars），也就是在支付片商分帳後，我們每銀幕可留存的入場收入金額。從留存基礎來看，第四季與全年基礎皆呈現改善。

As noted earlier, our initiatives related to reducing our operating expenses even during a time when we're experiencing increased revenues are demonstrated in the re reduction of operating expenses as a percent of total revenues by 90 basis points for the quarter and 1 00 basis points for the fiscal year period.

如先前所述，即使在營收增加的同時，我們仍推動降低營運費用的各項措施；這反映在營運費用占總營收比重的下降：本季下降 90 個基點，財政年度期間下降 100 個基點。

We continue to operate one of the most efficient major market theatrical exhibitors in terms of our overhead with G&A at 2.5 % of total revenues. So let's talk a minute about our liquidity and capital resources. We maintain a very conservative balance sheet with a lot of financial flexibility to act on opportunities that are a creative. Our balance sheet shows a strong cash position at the end of the fiscal year. And at quarter end, we also had about $70 million of con construction and process or dollars in construction process on theaters that have not yet opened. In our view this really represents a cash equivalent and we will use it in a moment as we look at our leverage. Total debt was $727 million at the end of the quarter, showing a $ 21 million decrease from the end of the last quarter, the December quarter of $748 million at that time.

就管理費用（G&A）占總營收 2.5% 而言，我們持續在間接費用方面維持主要市場中效率最高的影城放映業者之一。接著我們花一點時間談談流動性與資本資源。我們維持非常保守的資產負債表，並保有高度財務彈性，以把握具增值性的機會。我們的資產負債表顯示在財政年度末擁有強勁的現金部位。此外，在季末我們也約有 7,000 萬美元的在建工程（construction in process）支出，係投入於尚未開幕的影城。我們認為這基本上可視為現金等價物，稍後在檢視槓桿時我們會將其納入考量。季末總負債為 7.27 億美元，較上一季末（12 月季度）當時的 7.48 億美元減少 2,100 萬美元。

Our quarter end debt was comprised of senior sub debt and there were no amounts borrowed under our revolving credit facility. Net debt in the amount of $ 483 million also is down from the end of the prior quarter, which was $507 million, due to the reduction in capital lease and financing lease obligations and our positive free cash flow . At the end of the quarter, our leverage ratio was a very comfortable 2.1 times, and if you adjusted and treat the CIP CAPEX as a cash equivalent, as it adjusted down to 1.8 times. So with that, I'd like to turn the program over to Dick Walsh for a film product outlook.

季末負債由優先次順位債務（senior sub debt）構成，且我們的循環信用額度（revolving credit facility）並無任何借款。淨負債為 4.83 億美元，也較前一季末的 5.07 億美元下降，主要因資本租賃與融資租賃義務減少，以及我們的自由現金流為正。季末槓桿比率為相當舒適的 2.1 倍；若調整並將在建工程 CAPEX（CIP CAPEX）視為現金等價物，則可調降至 1.8 倍。那麼接下來，我想把會議交給 Dick Walsh，請他就影片產品前景進行說明。

Thank you, Craig . As we look at the next several months, we believe that four key trends will play out through the summer. We've already seen in our experiencing a solid and early start to summer. The season started off with " "Anger Management" that went on to grows $140 million from an April 11th opening date, and was kicked into full gear on May 2 with the opening of "X-men 2." We see this will be a summer of strong anchor films, the studios have made intensive capital commitments to field that are laced with high concept titles and proven franchises. Sequels will again play a major role. There are 8 sequels that will have a solid impact on the season's grossing potential.

謝謝你，Craig。展望未來幾個月，我們認為有四個關鍵趨勢將在夏季期間逐步展現。我們已經看到夏季檔期有一個穩健且提早的開局。本季以《Anger Management》揭開序幕，該片自 4 月 11 日上映以來累計票房達 1.40 億美元，並在 5 月 2 日《X-men 2》上映後全面進入高峰。我們認為這將是一個強檔主力片（anchor films）表現突出的夏季；片商已投入大量資本承諾，推出結合高概念片名與成熟系列（proven franchises）的片單。續集將再次扮演重要角色。本季將有 8 部續集對整體票房潛力帶來顯著影響。

We're very encouraged by the performance two date of the first two of the see quells in the marketplace . " X- men 2 grossed $85.9 million in the first two days of release. This was a stunning 58% over its 54.5m opening weekend in July 2000. Through Sunday night it has grossed $174 million, already exceeding by 11 % its total run three years ago with plenty of business left in the picture. As remarkable as that performance was, this past weekend saw the matrix 2 gross $92 million and a record -break record-breaking $134 million for four days.

我們對目前市場上前兩部續集截至目前（two date）的表現感到非常振奮。 《X-men 2》上映前兩天票房達 8,590 萬美元。相較於 2000 年 7 月首週末 5,450 萬美元的開片成績，這是驚人的 58% 成長。截至週日夜間，票房已達 1.74 億美元，已比三年前的總票房高出 11%，而且後續仍有相當大的票房空間。儘管那樣的表現已相當驚人，但上週末《The Matrix 2》票房達 9,200 萬美元，四天更創下破紀錄的 1.34 億美元。

This compares to the $28 million opening in March of 1999 and its total run of $ 171 million. You can easily see that the movie- going public is drawn to sequels of previous numbers that a built in audience has expanded since their initial release, with several more to go this summer, and indeed, the remainder of the year , we feel this is a very healthy trend for the industry. We're also encouraged by the slate of other key films that will round out the summer schedules and could very easily become tent pole franchises for the future.

這可與 1999 年 3 月上映時 2,800 萬美元的開片票房，以及其總票房 1.71 億美元相對照。您可以很容易看出，觀影大眾會被前作成功的續集所吸引；由於初次上映後累積的既有觀眾群已擴大，而今年夏天還有數部續集將陸續推出，甚至延伸到今年剩餘時間，我們認為這對產業而言是非常健康的趨勢。此外，我們也對其他幾部將補齊夏季檔期的重要影片片單感到鼓舞，它們很可能在未來成為支柱型系列（tent pole franchises）。

As we look at the slate of key summer films for early and eight summer, you can see a lineup that should make for a solid season of movie going . Daddy day care has opened and done a nice job of capturing the family audience and looks to be a $100 million hit for Eddie Murphy and Sony. Bruce Almighty with Jim Carrey who plays God for a week and Jennifer Aniston is poised for a great opening. Finding Nemo is the latest Disney Pixar release and has a great pedestrian agree. Too Fast, 2 Furious is the sequel to the surprise hit that grossed $144 million. The Hulk, the latest action hero brought to the big screen with Eric Bana and Jennifer Connelly is directed by Ang Lee the director of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. Charlie's Angels, the sequel to the 2000 November hit is round rounding out the first half of the summer. The July 4th weekend looks very solid with three major titles coming into the marketplace. Terminator III with Arnold Schwarzenegger, Illegally Blonde 2, the remake of last year's summer surprise of $91 million and Dream Works animated entry for the summer Sin Bad. They will be followed by Pirates of the Caribbean, the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen with Sean Connery, Bad Boy's 2 a remake of the surprise hit with Will Smith and Martin Lawrence. Seabiscuit could prove to be timely as Funny Cide tries to be the first horse since horse since 1978 to win the triple crown this movies stars Toby McGuire and Jeff Bridges. And finally, in August, American Wedding, the third installment of the American Pie series opens. The first two did $102 and $145 million respectively. As you can see it's a very strong lineup and one that should keep theaters busy throughout the summer.

當我們展望初夏與盛夏的重點暑期電影檔期時，你可以看到一個應該能讓本季觀影表現穩健的片單。《Daddy Day Care》已上映，且在吸引家庭觀眾方面表現不錯，看起來將成為艾迪・墨菲與索尼的一部 1 億美元票房作品。由金・凱瑞主演、飾演一週上帝的《Bruce Almighty》，以及珍妮佛・安妮斯頓，預期將有非常亮眼的開片表現。《Finding Nemo》是最新的迪士尼／皮克斯作品，且有很好的大眾接受度。《Too Fast, 2 Furious》是那部意外大賣、票房達 1.44 億美元作品的續集。《The Hulk》是最新搬上大銀幕的動作英雄片，由艾瑞克・巴納與珍妮佛・康納莉主演，導演是《臥虎藏龍》的李安。《Charlie’s Angels》是 2000 年 11 月賣座片的續集，為暑期上半段畫下句點。7 月 4 日週末看起來非常穩健，將有三部主要片名進入市場。《Terminator III》由阿諾・史瓦辛格主演、《Illegally Blonde 2》，以及夢工廠暑期動畫作品《Sin Bad》——這是去年暑期意外驚喜、票房 9,100 萬美元作品的重拍版。接著將是《Pirates of the Caribbean》、《The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen》（由史恩・康納萊主演）、《Bad Boy’s 2》（由威爾・史密斯與馬丁・勞倫斯主演的意外賣座片之重拍版）。《Seabiscuit》可能會很應景，因為 Funny Cide 正試圖成為自 1978 年以來第一匹贏得三冠王的馬；本片由陶比・麥奎爾與傑夫・布里吉斯主演。最後，在 8 月，《American Wedding》——《American Pie》系列第三集——上映。前兩集票房分別為 1.02 億與 1.45 億美元。如你所見，這是一個非常強的片單，應能讓戲院整個夏天都保持忙碌。

Okay. Thank you, Dick and Craig. We are Lisa, we're ready for the Q and A.

好的。謝謝你，Dick 和 Craig。我們是 Lisa，我們準備進入問答。

I would like to remind analysts, in order to ask a question, press star then the number 1 on your telephone keypad. Your first question comes from Jill Krutick of Smith Barney.

提醒各位分析師，如要提問，請在電話鍵盤上按星號再按數字 1。第一個問題來自 Smith Barney 的 Jill Krutick。

Thank you. Good morning. Could you give us, Peter, your sense of the consolidation out outlook or the landscape for the theater exhibition business in the wake of regale’s(ph) special dividend , is that something AM AMC would consider as the cash flow starts to accelerate. And on the box office, it certainly sounds like things are rounding out better than expected. Do you think that the box office expectations for this year may prove to actually be conservative ?

謝謝。早安。Peter，你能否談談在 Regal（音）發放特別股利之後，戲院放映業務的整併前景或產業版圖？隨著現金流開始加速，這是否是 AMC 會考慮的事情？另外就票房而言，聽起來情況確實比預期更好地逐步到位。你是否認為今年的票房預期實際上可能偏保守？

Okay . There were three questions. First being consolidation act activity. The industry has been -- if you look at the macro trends over the last several years , the industry has been consolidating , the larger circuits have gotten larger as a percentage of overall screens. The activity over the last couple of years, I mean , speaker speaking for ourselves, we did a couple of acquisitions that I referenced during the presentation.

好的。這裡有三個問題。第一個是整併活動。如果你看過去幾年的總體趨勢，這個產業一直在整併；大型院線在整體銀幕占比上變得更大。至於過去幾年的活動，我是說，就我們自己而言，我們做了幾項收購，我在簡報中也提到過。

Right .

對。

You know, I think really all I can say, Jill, we continue to be very careful about how we go about our acquisitions. They have to fit a dual criteria of either an asset quality criteria , using the two that we've done in this last year as an example, by illustration, I can illustrate the quality criteria of the gulf states transaction and the market criteria in our case of the General Cinema . As we've commented on previous calls, speaking for ourselves , we've got a very short list of those circuits that we feel would fit those criteria, and we're constantly working them in terms of getting hopefully them to a point some day where if they are interested in realizing their liquidity that they would talk to us. But you can't program an acquisition, as you well know.

你知道，Jill，我想我能說的就是：我們在進行收購時會持續非常謹慎。收購必須符合雙重標準：要嘛符合資產品質標準——以我們去年做的兩筆交易為例，我可以用 Gulf States 交易來說明品質標準；要嘛符合市場標準——以我們的 General Cinema 為例。如同我們在先前電話會議中提過，就我們自己而言，我們認為符合這些標準的院線名單非常短，我們也持續與他們接觸，希望有一天如果他們有意實現流動性（變現），會願意與我們洽談。但你也很清楚，收購不是你能排程規劃的。

What kind of pricing trends are you seeing as it relates to transactions ?

就交易而言，你們看到的定價趨勢是什麼？

Well , we, again , we don't -- our only market experience has

嗯，我們再次強調，我們沒有——我們唯一的市場經驗是

been the deals that we've done, which I noted were, you know, it was under 4 -1/2 times on the combined basis for the two of them. I think it's probably doubtful that acquisitions in the future can be done at those kinds of multiples. A lot of that has to do with the backdrop of the industry, having the record year that we had in the calendar 2002 year. I think gave people a lot of confidence in terms of some of these smaller or local or regional circuits that we might be interested in. So, we're patient and we don't feel any burning desire to do anything that would not make sense from a valuation a creative standpoint. I think I'll also address the question on the liquidity. We have commented in past calls that we're comfortable with the leverage range in and around two times, but I think we've also said up to 3-1/2 times leverage range , and we are running at around 2 times range right now, which looks to me , given what has happened with some of our competitors, they are sort of bringing their leverage a little more closely aligned to our range. So we feel comfortable with our liquidity situation right now, given our strategic plan and opportunity that we want to be available to move on in the future. Craig, do you have anything to add to that?

我們做過的那些交易；我提到過，兩筆合併計算的倍數不到 4.5 倍。我認為未來的收購恐怕很難再以那樣的倍數完成。這很大程度與產業背景有關，因為我們在 2002 年曆年有一個創紀錄的年度。我想這讓一些我們可能感興趣的較小型、地方性或區域性院線更有信心。因此，我們會保持耐心，不會因為任何急迫感而去做在估值或增值（accretive）角度不合理的事情。我也一併回應關於流動性的問題。我們在過去的電話會議中提過，我們對約 2 倍左右的槓桿區間感到舒適，但我們也說過最高可到 3.5 倍的槓桿區間；而我們目前大約在 2 倍左右。就我看來，考量到一些競爭對手的情況，他們也正把槓桿水準拉得更接近我們的區間。所以就目前而言，依據我們的策略計畫以及我們希望未來能把握的機會，我們對現階段的流動性狀況感到安心。Craig，你要補充嗎？

Well , the specific question question of a dividend, we would continue to evaluate that, watch the legislation as it progression progresses and decide at the appropriate time, but as Peter said, I think our priority is certainly to re reinvest our dollars in the business and with our free cash flow, that's being reinvested a new bill and we stay flexible with the cash balances and our available lines of credit be opportunity stick for an acquisition .

嗯，至於股利這個具體問題，我們會持續評估、觀察相關立法的進展，並在適當時點做出決定；但如 Peter 所說，我想我們的優先順序當然是把資金再投資於業務。就自由現金流而言，我們會再投入新建（new build），同時在現金餘額與可用授信額度上保持彈性，以便在出現收購機會時能夠把握。

The last question was about box office. Dick, do you want to comment?

最後一個問題是關於票房。Dick，你要評論嗎？

Yeah, certainly we're very encouraged with how April played out and may has shaped up. I think our only reticence to be more bullish than we are is that we're going up against a strong record season last summer. The table is set to be able to be able to match that season very, very closely. I think we'll know more after the July 4th weekend. I think by that time, more trends will have exhibited themselves and we should be able to have a greater sense with how the rest of the summer is going to play out, but certainly anybody would have to say so far so good.

是的，當然，我們對 4 月的表現以及 5 月目前的走勢感到非常鼓舞。我們之所以不比現在更樂觀，唯一的保留是：我們將面對去年夏天非常強、創紀錄的一季作為比較基期。目前的態勢已經具備條件，能非常、非常接近地追平那一季。我想我們在 7 月 4 日週末之後會知道更多。到那時，更多趨勢會顯現出來，我們也應該能更清楚掌握今年夏季剩餘檔期會如何發展；但到目前為止，任何人都不得不說：進展良好。

Great. Thanks very much.

很好。非常感謝。

Thank you, Jill .

謝謝你，Jill。

Your next question comes from Stewart Halpern (ph) of RBC.

下一個問題來自 RBC 的 Stewart Halpern（音）。

To follow-up on the acquisition thing, could you give us a sense in broad terms, Peter, if you X out regal because people aren't likely to be sellers, just on the quality benchmark that you used, is there any order of magnitude of number of screens that you could comment on, would actually fit within your quality criteria? That are out there?

延續併購的話題，Peter，你能否用較宏觀的方式給我們一些概念：如果把 Regal 排除在外，因為他們不太可能成為賣方，那麼就你們所使用的品質基準而言，是否能評論一下大概有多少銀幕數量，實際上會符合你們的品質標準？市場上有多少？

Craig has got --

Craig 已經——

I think you've hit on those that have information out there in the public domain. There are some regional competitors that have done a very nice job with their circuits and have high quality that would certainly fit nicely with our quality criteria, again, it's a matter of timing for a deal like that, but, there there's an order of magnitude , there is a couple, three thousand screens. There are a number out there that are not large in relation to the comps that you cited that but could aggregate to a pretty decent size.

我想你提到的那些，在公開資訊領域裡都有相關資訊。也有一些區域型競爭對手在其院線經營上做得非常好、品質很高，肯定能很好地符合我們的品質標準；同樣地，這取決於這類交易的時機。不過，就量級而言，大概有兩、三千個銀幕。外面還有一些規模不大、相對於你提到的同業可比公司不算大，但加總起來也能形成相當可觀的規模。

I didn't understand the question. I would agree, 2000- 3000 screens.

我沒聽懂這個問題。但我同意，大概是 2000 到 3000 個銀幕。

Average ticket price, you know, continues to show nice gains. How much of that is just the mix in terms of the quarter product over the quarter was adult orient ed so you didn't get kids at lower prices or how much is related to proactive elimination of discounting ?

平均票價持續呈現不錯的成長。其中有多少只是組合因素——也就是本季片單偏成人取向，因此沒有較低票價的兒童觀眾——又有多少與主動減少折扣有關？

Well , the mix on the I'd Lance that with a comp , and that is for the quarter, the average ticket price was $ 6.40 versus $6.14 for average for the year. So, not all of that is a mix of pictures , but you could probably account for some of it as mix of pictures, maybe 10 cents , maybe 15 . Your point on discounting. I guess my comment would be, we've -- as we've discussed before, been fairly targeted in our pricing strategies. We've looked hard at our discounting over the last 12 months to 18 months and have taken some discounts off the table, so that will become less of a factor going forward for us as we compare with other exhibitors . We're probably more in line in terms of our pricing structure, and our over all average ticket price to others in the market.

嗯，關於組合，我用一個可比數據來平衡說明：本季平均票價是 6.40 美元，而全年平均是 6.14 美元。所以不全然是影片組合造成的，但你大概可以把其中一部分歸因於影片組合，可能 10 美分、也可能 15 美分。至於你提到的折扣。我的看法是——我們如先前討論過的，在定價策略上一直相當有針對性。過去 12 到 18 個月我們仔細檢視了折扣策略，並把部分折扣取消，因此未來在與其他放映商比較時，折扣將會成為較不重要的因素。就定價結構與整體平均票價而言，我們大概更接近市場上其他業者的水準。

Great, thank you .

很好，謝謝。

You are welcome .

不客氣。

Your next question comes from Alex Gould of CIBC World Markets.

下一個問題來自 CIBC World Markets 的 Alex Gould。

Congratulations on the quarter, definitely a good one. I just wanted to ask if you could speak a little bit about the competitive environment. I know you've spoken about L. A. in the past and are there any theaters being built in some of your major markets?

恭喜本季表現，確實是很不錯的一季。我想請你們談談競爭環境。我知道你們過去談過洛杉磯（L.A.），那你們一些主要市場是否有新的影城正在興建？

Well, I think that we did during the year allude to some competitive activity in Los Angeles . It was -- it was a bit of an anomaly in that there was a concentration of new build in the market. As we look at the major markets that we operate in today, we're finding some good opportunities, some sites that meet our criteria, and there's competition for those sites . We believe we're fortunate to be able to proceed on those that we want to move forward on , but there is -- there continues to be new build, certainly not at the level we saw in the 2000-2001. We're seeing, I guess what we had call a more mature market approach to building, and that is that theaters are being built with adequate distance and adequate demographics between them to support, you know, the -- and appropriately sized in terms of screens and seats to really be able to support the business. So much more rational building, I think, would be how we characterize what we see in the market today .

嗯，我想我們在今年確實提到過洛杉磯有一些競爭動態。那——那有點像是特例，因為市場上新建案相對集中。就我們目前營運的主要市場來看，我們看到一些很好的機會，有些地點符合我們的標準，而這些地點也存在競爭。我們認為自己很幸運，能夠推進那些我們想要往前走的案子；但確實——仍然持續有新建案，只是肯定不像 2000-2001 年那樣的水準。我們看到的，我想可以稱之為更成熟的建置方式：影城之間會保持足夠距離、具備足夠的人口結構條件來支撐；而且在銀幕數與座位數的規模上也更適當，才能真正支撐業務。所以我認為，今天市場上看到的是更理性的建置。

Additionally, have you had any recent discussions with the rating agencies , any potential up grade, anything you could shed a little light on?

另外，你們最近是否與信評機構有任何討論？是否可能再獲得升評？有沒有什麼可以稍微透露的？

We continue to talk with the agencies on an ongoing basis to keep them apprised of what we're doing, how we're doing. We had the recent upgrade in early -- late January , early February, but at this point in time, no indication that there'll be another increase in our ratings. We are very pleased with the way that our debt securities are trading in the market. They seem to be trading at or above par actually, so, a good trading level in terms of those securities.

我們持續與信評機構保持定期溝通，讓他們了解我們在做什麼、做得如何。我們在 1 月底、2 月初剛獲得一次升評，但就目前而言，沒有跡象顯示我們的評等還會再上調。我們對公司債券在市場上的交易表現非常滿意。它們看起來實際上是以平價或高於平價交易，因此就這些證券而言，交易水準相當不錯。

Great, thank you.

很好，謝謝。

You're welcome.

不客氣。

Your next question comes from Jessica Brewer(ph) of CFSC.

下一個問題來自 CFSC 的 Jessica Brewer（音）。

Can you hear me?

聽得到我嗎？

Yes.

聽得到。

Can you guys talk a little bit about -- I've got a couple of questions. The first one is about margins on the film product this year. It looks like we have quite a few block busters.. Can you talk about how that may move the margin around on those over the summer months .

你們能不能談一下——我有幾個問題。第一個是關於今年影片產品的毛利率。看起來今年有不少強檔大片。你們能談談這在夏季幾個月可能會如何影響毛利率的波動嗎？

Okay. Did you have two questions,

好的。你有兩個問題嗎，

Jessica?

Jessica？

My other question was just about the -- you mentioned that your comfortable leverage level in 2 to 3-1/2 times, but if you look at that on a rent -adjusted basis, you guys are a turn to a turn and a half above some other folks in the market. Would that be a possible use of excess cash to bring that down.

我另一個問題是關於——你們提到你們覺得舒適的槓桿水準是 2 到 3.5 倍，但如果以租金調整後的基礎來看，你們比市場上其他一些同業高出大約 1 到 1.5 倍。你們是否可能用多餘現金來把這個水準降下來？

I'll take the latter one and Craig can talk about film product margins, but I think the way there would be to go back in an renegotiate deals with landlords, because that's what you really have to reduce in order to create a lower capitalized rent denominator , so to speak or numerator.

後面那個我來回答，Craig 可以談影片產品毛利率。不過我認為要做到那點，方法是回頭去和房東重新談判合約，因為你真正必須降低的是租金，才能在所謂的資本化租金分母——或者說分子——上形成較低的數字。

And that is an arrow in our quiver in terms of we're constantly maximizing our operating efficiencies. I will say it is not the easiest thing to get done in good times, because if you think about it, a landlord has a contract that says that we're going pay him so much, and there's got to be some incentive there for them to agree to reduce that amount of payment. But we are doing some things, particularly on the international side at this point point, where we're going in on some of the deals and reducing and actively negotiating. It's a tough negotiation. It's like a workout negotiation in a way, even though it doesn't have anything to do with the concept of a work out. It's a tough negotiation.

而這也是我們工具箱裡的一支箭，因為我們一直在最大化營運效率。我得說，在景氣好的時候這並不容易做到，因為你想想，房東手上有合約，寫明我們要付他多少租金；要讓他們同意降低付款金額，必須有某種誘因。但我們確實正在做一些事情，特別是在國際業務這邊，目前我們正針對部分合約進行調整，降低並積極談判。這是一場艱難的談判。某種程度上像是重整協商（workout negotiation），即便它與「重整」的概念本身無關。這是一場艱難的談判。

I'd only add to that. We have a couple of situations where we had ourselves negotiated some fixture leases that we have actually put some cash to work and bought those out. We -- in the general cinema acquisition had a couple of situations where we also had fixture leases. Those are the ones that we've targeted to work on. So that may present some additional opportunity for us in the future also. On the film product, I think was your second question and kind of our outlook, I'll start with that. There is others that there that can help me with it, but we do think that we're hopeful that we see a reduction in film costs.

我只補充一點。我們有幾個情況是先前談到了一些設備租賃（fixture leases），我們實際上投入了一些現金把它們買斷。我們——在 General Cinema 的收購案中，也有幾個情況同樣存在設備租賃。這些就是我們鎖定要處理的項目。因此，未來這也可能為我們帶來一些額外機會。至於影片產品，我想那是你的第二個問題、以及我們的展望，我先從這裡開始。現場也有其他人可以補充，但我們確實希望能看到影片成本下降。

We try to negotiate the best deals that we can. Related to mixture, film mix, or mix of product, there will not be a star wars picture this summer, and some of the other studios that traditionally have negotiated higher some higher terms don't appear to have as full a schedule of releases this year. So, all in all, I think we may stand to see film costs come down a bit, but primarily, again again, related to mix.

我們會盡力去談判我們所能爭取到的最佳條件。就組合而言、影片組合或產品組合而言，今年夏天不會有《星際大戰》上映，而其他一些傳統上能談到較高條款的片商，今年的上映檔期看起來也沒有那麼滿。因此，整體來看，我認為影片成本可能會稍微下降一些，但主要仍然、再一次，是與組合有關。

So, you think there is some speculation that with some of the really large releases this year, particularly maybe the mate Matrix, that the studios would be demanding higher pricing on that, maybe not as high as star wars , but based on the success they've had in the past?

所以，你認為有人在猜測，今年有一些非常大型的片子，特別可能是《駭客任務》，片商會要求更高的定價，也許不會像《星際大戰》那麼高，但會基於他們過去的成功表現？

Yeah.

是的。

Okay.

好的。

I would just add one thing, and it's a comment that Craig made earlier in the presentation which has to do with the retention concept. I don't think that that should ever be overlooked . Which really is the concept of the gross price of dollars that we end up with. There is a strange thing that can happen in our business, which is that you can actually do more business as a result of in essence paying higher film rent, because the pictures are more commercial and there is more demand for them. You can actually end up with more gross profit dollars by paying more film rent, again, by virtue of the fact that there is stronger demand for that picture picture. So it's a little counterintuitive, when you think about this business relative to some other, you know, retail businesses where you're selling blue jeans or something and you're buying units of blue jeans and the more you can buy, the deeper your discount. So, it's just a point that I think as we continue to talk in these call s, we want to make sure that everybody under stands. Both the margin, the percentage, but equally as important are the dolls that we end up retaining.

我只想再補充一點，這是 Craig 在簡報前面提到的，與「留存」概念有關。我認為這一點永遠不該被忽略。也就是我們最後能留下的毛額金額這個概念。我們這個行業有一個奇特的現象：你其實可能因為本質上支付更高的影片租金而做出更多生意，因為影片更具商業性、需求也更高。你甚至可能因為支付更高的影片租金而得到更多的毛利金額，原因同樣是那部片的需求更強。所以，當你把這個行業和其他一些零售業相比時，這有點反直覺；例如你在賣牛仔褲之類的商品，你買的件數越多，折扣就越深。因此，這只是我認為在我們持續進行這些電話會議討論時，希望大家都能理解的一點。不僅是毛利率、百分比，同樣重要的是我們最後能留存下來的金額。

Okay. Thanks a lot.

好的。非常感謝。

You're welcome .

不客氣。

Your next question comes from Matthew Harrigan of Janco Partners.

下一個問題來自 Janco Partners 的 Matthew Harrigan。

Congratulation. Two questions. One , your stored value card program, you are nicely position for that, given your premium branding. Can you update us on how that's going?

恭喜。兩個問題。第一，你們的儲值卡計畫，考量到你們的高端品牌定位，你們的條件很有利。能否更新一下目前進展如何？

And then secondly , since everything is pretty much going swimmingly domestic ally , can you give us an up date overseas. Do you think you will make not as many he will elephants in the Savannah, any more, so is there an inclination to focus on fixing Canada and fixing Europe and other areas ?

第二，既然國內業務幾乎一切都進展得很順利，能否談談海外的最新情況。你們是否認為不會再在稀樹草原上看到那麼多「大象」了？也就是說，是否傾向把重點放在修復加拿大、修復歐洲以及其他地區？

I'll take the second one, and Dick, in addition to being chairman of the film group that over sea oversees the marketing he's got a real fun card. He'll talk about the card.

第二個我來回答；另外，Dick 除了擔任海外電影事業群的主席、負責監督行銷之外，他也負責一個很有趣的卡片計畫。他會談談這張卡。

On international, as I've said before, we're in a holding pattern, really, with respect to what we've got right now, and I would characterize our activity as really more along the lines of maximizing the operating efficiencies of what we've got, which, as I just allude ed to a moment ago, when I think it was Jessica's question. You know, one of the arrows in the quiver there is to go in and work with some of the landlords to get rend reductions which will improve the cash flow picture of the units . That's really the kind of activity that we're focused on right now. We're not actively seeking out new opportunities. That isn't to say that if we had someone come to us that would be interested in working with us to build the brand in a market, in a way that would minimize our capital risk, that we would look at doing something like that, so we keep an open mind, but we really don't want to put more capital into these international markets at the present time. What we want to do is improve the cash flow picture of what we've got and in some cases, if that means a complete exit, then we'll look at that as well. On the stored value card, Dick, why don't you give us some --

關於國際市場，如我之前說過的，就我們目前擁有的資產而言，我們基本上是在觀望、維持的狀態；我會把我們的活動描述為更偏向於把現有資產的營運效率最大化。正如我剛才提到的，我想那是 Jessica 的問題。你知道，其中一支箭就是去和一些房東協商租金調降，以改善各據點的現金流狀況。這就是我們目前專注的活動類型。我們並沒有積極尋找新的機會。但這並不表示如果有人來找我們、希望與我們合作在某個市場建立品牌，並以能把我們的資本風險降到最低的方式來做，我們就不會考慮；所以我們保持開放態度，但目前我們真的不想在這些國際市場投入更多資本。我們想做的是改善現有資產的現金流狀況；在某些情況下，如果這意味著完全退出，我們也會評估。至於儲值卡，Dick，你要不要跟大家說一下——

I'm glad you picked up on that. It has been a very strong and solid success for us. Our strategic alliances with Safeway and Walgreen stores, Walgreen's is now fully implemented across the country, and the thing continues to click along at a very good pace. In fact, for the first five weeks of this fiscal year, the card is running about 30 % strong stronger than our previous gift certificate program was our per head is up almost 50 % in this area, and we do think it's because of our strong brand recognition out there in the marketplace. When we opened all of these other channels of distribution for the card, the customer is clearly taking advantage of it, and we're not seeing that much of a hit at all at our unit level, at our theater level . So theater levels sales continue to be strong, and our strategic partnerships have kicked in very nicely , and quick quite frankly, we can't wait until the next holiday season and enjoy this opportunity to really ring the bell in this department.

很高興你注意到這點。這對我們而言一直是非常強勁且穩健的成功。我們與 Safeway 和 Walgreen 門市的策略聯盟——Walgreen's 現在已在全國全面導入——而且這項業務持續以非常好的速度推進。事實上，在本會計年度的前五週，這張卡的表現比我們先前的禮券計畫強約 30%，而在這個領域我們的人均消費幾乎提升了 50%；我們確實認為這是因為我們在市場上具有很強的品牌辨識度。當我們為這張卡開放了所有這些其他的通路後，顧客顯然在善加利用，而我們在單店層級、在影城層級幾乎沒有看到太大的衝擊。因此，影城端的銷售仍然強勁，我們的策略夥伴關係也非常順利地發揮效益；坦白說，我們已經迫不及待迎接下一個假期旺季，並把握這個機會在這個部門大展身手。

In fact, while many retailers were down over the Christmas season and their gift certificate or entertainment sales or card sales, we were actually up. So, it's a very positive trend for the company and one we're very glad to have.

事實上，當許多零售商在聖誕檔期表現下滑、他們的禮券或娛樂類銷售或卡片銷售下滑時，我們反而是成長的。所以，這對公司而言是一個非常正面的趨勢，我們也很高興能有這項成果。

Good, thank you .

很好，謝謝。

You are welcome, Matt.

不客氣，Matt。

Your next question comes from Bishop Sheen (ph) of Wachovia.

下一個問題來自 Wachovia 的 Bishop Sheen（音）。

Good morning, Peter and Craig and Bill and Dick. A couple of questions that I don't think we've covered. Two, any progress do you think toward rationalization of the film zones between AMC and its competitors , and let me just follow it up with an observation and ask for some commentary. It appears that because box office has been surprisingly stronger or gaining momentum and certainly off of 2002 's spectacular box office, that the closing up of unproductive screens slowed, naturally, as they managed to eke out the last bit of productivity . Do you foresee any change in the pace of spring closings to get rid of the, you know, out with the old and in with the new ?

早安，Peter、Craig、Bill 和 Dick。有幾個問題我想我們還沒談到。第二，你們認為 AMC 與競爭對手之間在影片分區（film zones）合理化方面有任何進展嗎？我再補充一個觀察並請你們評論。看起來由於票房意外地更強或正在累積動能，而且當然是從 2002 年極為亮眼的票房基期之上延續，因此關閉低效銀幕的速度自然放緩，因為他們試圖榨出最後一點生產力。你們是否預期春季關店的節奏會有任何改變，以便「汰舊換新」？

Yeah , Bishop, on the latter point, we've looked into our crystal ball and as good as the crystal is made out of, if you know what I mean, but we -- you're right. We did have a trend it looked like, at the end of the year 2002 as we looked at what happened from 2001 to 2002 as the year ended up approximately flat versus the 2001 year where it had been declining since 1999. We've actually -- our view is that we'll see some additional net decline in a 2003 year , but I'm not talking about big numbers, we're talking about maybe a net decline in the 500 screen range which would take the north American indoor screen count around 34-7 range, probably the more important thing, though, is when you look at that metric of screen count and you look at what we've project for over all attendance for the calendar year 2003, and you look at it on an attendance per screen basis, what you see is you end up with an attendance per screen level that's about where we were in 1995 , and that's an interesting statistic because those of you that follow this business and the industry cycle over the last 7 years know that that 1995 year, May of '95 was the year when the replacement cycle, if you will, really began, when we led the move to start building the new product that we call Megaplex theater facility.

是的，Bishop，關於後面那點，我們也看了看水晶球——你知道我的意思，水晶球再怎麼好也有限——但我們……你說得沒錯。我們確實看到一個趨勢：在 2002 年底，回頭看 2001 到 2002 的變化，全年大致持平；相較之下，2001 年那一年自 1999 年以來一直在下滑。我們的看法是，2003 年仍會出現一些額外的淨下降，但我不是在說很大的數字；我們談的可能是淨減少約 500 個銀幕，這會使北美室內銀幕總數落在大約 34-7（約 34,700）左右。不過更重要的是，當你看銀幕數這個指標，再看我們對 2003 曆年總觀影人次的預測，並以「每銀幕觀影人次」來衡量時，你會看到每銀幕觀影人次大約回到 1995 年的水準。這是一個有趣的統計，因為過去 7 年有追蹤這個行業與產業循環的人都知道，1995 年——如果你願意這麼說——是汰換循環真正開始的年份；1995 年 5 月是我們帶頭開始興建我們稱為 Megaplex 的新型影城設施的那一年。

So what we're saying is, you know , even with all of this adding , disposing , et cetera, we're basically -- or even with these additions, we're going to be looking at a very healthy attendance per screen level, again , if you view that the level of 1995 was a in 1995 was a healthy level in terms of attendance per screen and 1995, just as a reference, 1995 year- year-end screen count was 27,000. So it -- screens are important to look at, but it's really that attendance per screen, the summary statement there.

所以我們的意思是，你知道，即使有所有這些新增、處置等等，我們基本上——或者即使有這些新增——我們將會看到每銀幕的出席人次（attendance per screen）維持在非常健康的水準；再一次，如果你認為1995年的每銀幕出席人次水準在當時是健康的，那麼1995年可作為參考，1995年年底的銀幕數是27,000。所以——銀幕數固然重要，但真正要看的其實是每銀幕出席人次；這就是那裡的總結性說法。

I think that's an excellent point, but I think we need to as analysts probably adjust our perceptions , because we've been hearing this 30 or be low kind of mantra for so long, that it's easy to lose sight of why we got in the swamp to begin with.

我覺得那是個非常好的觀點，但我認為我們作為分析師可能需要調整我們的認知，因為我們聽了所謂「30或更低」這種口號太久了，以至於很容易忘記我們一開始為什麼會陷入這個泥沼。

Let me do one other question along that -- the share, I noticed, unless I missed it , you didn't mention anything about AMC's market share for the year or for the quarter .

我再問一個相關的問題——關於市占率（share），我注意到，除非我漏看了，你沒有提到AMC在今年或本季的市場占有率。

We don't -- maybe we do sometimes and we don't. We're not that --

我們不——也許我們有時會提、有時不會。我們沒有那麼——

We're about 13 -1/2% and clearly up over last year due to acquisitions, but that's pretty close to where we've been performing.

我們大約是13.5%，而且由於併購，顯然比去年提高，但這也相當接近我們一向的表現水準。

So no change there. And in terms of -- is there rationalization work to be done, or is that also a misconception between maybe still too many screens crowded into a zone, a little swap ping or exchanging that could be done among competitors ?

所以那方面沒有變化。另外，就——是否還需要做合理化（rationalization）的工作？或者這也是一種誤解：也許某個區域仍然擠了太多銀幕，競爭對手之間是否可以做一些小幅的調整或交換（swapping or exchanging）？

Well, Bishop, I -- the one thing on that point, I think you had mentioned earlier in your question about film zone rationalization, we're to the point with the configuration of our circuit, this was a big theme in the early couple of years when the new Mega’s started coming out and there was still a lot of multis (ph) in the same film zone and Dick can add his two cents, the nature of the business as it relates to us these days, most ever of our theaters, pre-dominantly our circuit is in a noncompetitive situation in terms of its film profile. You'll have a few instances where there's a multiplex theater that's in the zone and it's still getting some of the product , but our experience has been that that's a short-term phenomena. Over time, you know, capitalism wins out in terms of the product naturally wanting to go and flow to those units that are going to produce more dollars of revenue for that product.

嗯，Bishop，我——就這點來說，有一件事：我想你在問題前面提到過片區（film zone）的合理化。我們就我們院線的配置而言，已經走到一個階段——這在最初幾年是一個很大的主題，當新的大型影城（Mega’s）開始出現時，同一個片區裡仍然有很多多廳影城（multis，音譯），Dick也可以補充幾句。就我們目前所處的商業環境來看，我們的大多數影院——我們的院線主要處於在影片供片結構（film profile）上相對非競爭的狀態。你會看到少數情況：片區裡有一家多廳影院仍然拿到部分片源，但我們的經驗是，那是一種短期現象。隨著時間推移，你知道，資本主義終究會勝出——片源自然會想要流向、並集中到那些能為該片帶來更多營收美元的影城單位。

It always does .

一向如此。

Yeah.

是的。

Okay. Great.

好的。很好。

There are no further questions at this time.

目前沒有其他問題。

Okay. Great. Thank you very much Lisa. Thanks everyone for joining us this morning. It's actually very exciting time of year to be in our business as most of you know, summer is our big season, and as you heard from Dick wall Dick Walsh, we think there are plenty of films that should get folks out to an AMC theater this summer. We look forward to reporting again in mid-July, and until then, we hope to see you at the movies. Thank you all very much.

好的。很好。非常感謝你，Lisa。也謝謝各位今天早上加入我們。如各位所知，這其實是一年中我們這個行業非常令人振奮的時節；夏季是我們的旺季。而正如你們從Dick——Dick Walsh那裡聽到的，我們認為今年夏天有很多影片能把觀眾帶到AMC影城。我們期待在7月中旬再次向各位報告；在那之前，希望在電影院見到各位。非常感謝大家。

Thank you for participation in today's AMC Entertainment incorporated conference call. This call will be available for replay beginning at 1 p.m. eastern time today through midnight on Tuesday, June 3rd . At the web site www.amctheatres.com . You may now disconnect .

感謝各位參與今天的AMC Entertainment Incorporated電話會議。本次電話會議的重播將於今日美東時間下午1點開始提供，並持續至6月3日（週二）午夜。於網站www.amctheatres.com。各位現在可以掛線。