Leawood, Kansas-based movie theater chain AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:AMC) preannounced first quarter results after the market close on Friday, and the stock fell in after-hours trading.

Q1 Preannouncement: AMC said it expects to report first-quarter revenue of $951.4 million and a net loss of $163.5 million (62 cents per share). This is in comparison to the year-ago numbers of $954.4 million in revenue and $235.5 million in net loss ($1.71 per share).

Analysts, on average, have modeled revenue of $861.06 million and a loss of 79 cents per share, according to Benzinga Pro data.

Commenting on the results, CEO Adam Aron said, "As predicted, the box office in the first quarter was adversely impacted by the 2023 Hollywood writers and actors strikes. Nonetheless, AMC outperformed. AMC exceeded consensus estimates for Revenue, Adjusted EBITDA, Net Income, and Diluted EPS."

AMC said it sees first-quarter adjusted EBITDA to come in at a negative $31.6 million, wider than the year-ago's negative $7.1 million, which included a $16.7 million benefit from an early termination of a theater lease.

Cash and cash-equivalents, at the end of March 31, are estimated at $624.2 million, the company said. This reflects a drawdown from the $884.3 million it held at the end of the fourth quarter.

The diluted loss per share was calculated based on 263.4 million in outstanding shares, up 137.4 million a year-ago, it added.

AMC is scheduled to release its first-quarter results after the market closes on May 8.

Stock Sale Update: AMC said that out of the $250 million worth of Class A common stock it planned to offer through an at-the-market offering launched in March, it sold 12.8 million shares and raised gross proceeds of $41.8 million as of April 25. All of these proceeds were received after March 31, it said.

Look Ahead: AMC hinted at the soft patch continuing.  

"While we anticipate that the second quarter box office will continue to be affected by the 2023 Hollywood strikes, we are ebullient about the upcoming film slate, and we expect to see an increasingly strong box office as the year progresses," said Aron.

Why It's Important: AMC is going through a multi-year turnaround from the hit it took from theater closures amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Strong retail interest in the stock amid the meme mania pushed it to staggering heights in 2021, and the company capitalized on the meme rally and raised the much-needed cash through stock offerings.

The company still faces the risk of debt repayment.

"AMC must cover its interest payments and leases while chipping away at the $3 billion in debt repayments coming due over the next three years while renegotiating the rest," said Wedbush's Alicia Reese in a recent report.

The stock ended Friday's session up 3.96% at $3.41, but fell 3.81% to $3.28 in after-hours trading following the preannouncement.