(Yicai Global) Oct. 15 -- Shares of Wanda Film Holding climbed further today after the biggest operator of movies theaters in China said it returned to profit in the first three quarters of the year following a year-earlier loss.

Wanda Film [SHE:002739] closed 3.7 percent up at CNY15.65 (USD2.43), after jumping as much as 5 percent earlier in the day. The stock surged by the exchange-imposed limit of 10 percent yesterday to CNY15.09.

Net profit was likely between CNY278 million and CNY328 million (USD43.2 million and USD51 million) in the nine months ended Sept. 30, the Beijing-based company said in a statement late yesterday. That compares with a CNY2 billion (USD311 million) loss a year ago.

Wanda Film also said it expected a third-quarter loss of CNY310 million to CNY360 million due to Covid-19 outbreaks. It notched up a CNY639 million profit in the first half. Nearly 200 affiliated movie theaters closed and 40 were still shuttered as of Sept. 30.

Some affiliates in Australia also suspended operations at the end of June due to the resurgence of Covid-19. A total of 42 movie theaters in Australia were closed as of the end of September, leading to a big loss in the quarter.

Wanda Film’s third-quarter box office takings were about CNY1 billion thanks to 28.8 million moviegoers, it said, noting that the total market share of its affiliated cinemas was 16.1 percent in the period, versus 15 percent in the first half.

China’s box office slumped to CNY6.7 billion in the third quarter, down 57 percent from the same period of 2019, according to data from Top Century Cultural Consultation. The number of cinema goers slumped almost 59 percent to 200 million.

Blockbuster releases such as The Battle at Lake Changjin, a war epic that should have hit silver screens in the third quarter, had their premieres delayed due to Covid-19.

Editor: Futura Costaglione