National CineMedia’s Noovie pre-show in theaters.

Courtesy of National CineMedia

In-theater advertising firm National CineMedia unveiled its third quarter earnings on Tuesday, the first quarterly results since the company completed a financial restructuring in August.

On Tuesday, NCM LLP for three months to Sept. 28, 2023 saw overall advertising revenue rise to $69.6 million, up 28 percent from a year-earlier $54.5 million, and its operating loss jumped to $150.7 million, against a year-earlier loss of $4.2 million.

“Our third quarter revenue growth of nearly 28 percent year-over-year demonstrates the strong momentum of cinema advertising and solid execution by our team,” Tom Lesinski, CEO of NCM, said in a statement that accompanied his latest financial results. Summer box office from Oppenheimer and Barbie helped underpin an improved ad sales market for NCM during the latest quarter.

“As moviegoers went to the theaters in record numbers, advertisers turned to NCM to connect with the hard-to-reach young audiences that we deliver each week. With our strong and unlevered balance sheet and our attractive advertising platform, NCM is well positioned to unlock significant shareholder value going forward,” Lesinski added.

The latest financial results have a changed revenue recognition after the deconsolidation of NCM LLC in April 2023 and the reconsolidation of NCM LLC on August 7, 2023 to complete a financial restructuring, which included a $55 million exit financing facility,  as the company emerged earlier this year from court-directed Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings.

That was preceded by NCM’s business being hit by the shutdown of cinemas due to the COVID pandemic, followed by the slow Hollywood industry recovery since the reopening of theaters and advertising being affected by macro-economic clouds.