Imax profit plunges to $6.3 mil

Imax net profit plunged last quarter to $6.3 million from $54 million, mostly on a major tax benefit the year before. Revenue eased to $67 million from $69 million.Backing out the tax item and others, net income fell to $9 million from $14 million. That was in line with Wall Street expectations given the quarter's soft box office.Company said 2011 was a year of record signings and installations with 497 Imax theaters installed in commercial multiplexes, up 33%, driven by China, Russia and North America. In 2012, CEO Rich Gelfond said the company will focus on South America, including four new theaters in Brazil, Western Europe and India, where a recent deal will bring Bollywood titles to Imax.Earlier this week, Imax named London-based Andrew Cripps, prexy of Paramount Pictures International, to oversee the rollout in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.Fourth quarter's film highlight was the December early release of Paramount's ''Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol,'' with scenes shot using Imax cameras. The five-day window when Imax had the pic to itself helped ''helped lead to its status as the must-see film of the holiday season,'' said Gelfond.Separately Thursday, Albert R. Broccoli's EON Productions, MGM and Sony Pictures Entertainment announced that the next James Bond pic ''Skyfall'' will be released in Imax theaters simultaneously with its international release Oct. 26, and its domestic release on Nov. 9. It will be the first Imax installment of the franchise.Imax said it signed contracts for 209 theater systems last year, including 26 in the fourth quarter, and installed 170 systems -- 57 for the quarter. At year end, there were 263 theater systems in backlog. The company expects to install 95 to 100 new theater systems in 2012, 45-50 under revenue sharing pacts and about 50 under sales arrangements.''Overall, 2011 was highly productive from a strategic perspective,'' Gelfond said, and that's carried into 2012 ''as the recent WTO agreement with China, highlighting IMAX, should enhance programming flexibility in our biggest international market.''''We believe we are positioning ourselves for both financial and strategic success, through our continued focus on differentiation, executing on network growth, and creating a compelling film slate,'' he said.The 2012 lineup is anchored by key franchise titles including ''The Dark Knight Rises,'' which will feature more footage shot in IMAX than any feature film to date; ''The Avengers,'' ''Men in Black 3,'' ''The Amazing Spider-Man,'' ''The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey'' and ''Skyfall.'' Gelfond said Imax also plans to expand local film releases. It's been been active in China and will move into Russia and France. Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com