Focus on Entertainment Stocks

Spotlight on Cineplex Odeon Corp.: The Toronto-based company, which employs more than 7,700, is considered to be the leading film exhibition duopoly in North America. A trough of quarterly losses beginning in early 1990 appears to have ended this year with the announcement of profitable second- and third-quarter results. Current plans include “Project Popcorn,” which updates the types of food and drink sold at concession stands. According to Howard Lichtman, vice president of marketing, the company sold $125 million worth of food to 85 million patrons in 1992, selling snack items to one out of every three of its moviegoers.

Major Properties * Theaters: 362 with 1,609 screens in the United States and Canada * Innovations: Digital Theater System, at 150 key locations, plays a six-channel film soundtrack on a CD-ROM unit * Smallest market: Cumming, Ga., population 2,094 Financial Data * Market capitalization: $342.2 million * Cash: $1.4 million * Long-term debt: $413.5 million * 1992 revenue: $518.7 million * 1992 loss: -$41.3 million * Loss per share: -$0.48