AMC Theatres, the world’s largest movie theater operator, posted earnings growth for the first time in more than three years as it works with landlords to further expand its locations and pay deferred rents from the early days of the pandemic.

“We continue to talk to landlords all over the place and are ready to bring new theaters into our system if we can do so under good terms,” CEO Adam Aron told analysts Tuesday during a quarterly earnings call.

Aron added that a full recovery for theaters, key traffic generators at many retail centers, is still at least a year or two away. Much depends on whether its capital-raising efforts and the larger economy can help the Leawood, Kansas-based operator of about 900 theaters, including 600 in the U.S., follow up on box office successes including “Barbie” and “Mission: Impossible 7" in an era of online streaming services.

Those particular films did not arrive during the second quarter ended June 30, but AMC did post revenue of $1.3 billion, up 15.6% from a year earlier; and net income of $8.1 million, compared with a net loss of $121.6 million in the same quarter of 2022. Executives said attendance in the second quarter rose 12% from a year earlier, as per-customer food spending also increased significantly, helping the company post its best overall second-quarter revenue in four years.

AMC Theatres executives told analysts that factors they are watching closely going forward include Hollywood strikes involving writers and actors, actions that could bring film production pipelines to a standstill if talks aren’t settled soon.

It is also looking to continue bolstering its equity and debt positions as part of a larger strategy that helped it survive pandemic downtimes, meaning it is closely watching interest rates and the willingness of lenders and landlords to help it further weather the current climate.

During the second quarter, executives said AMC raised about $34 million in cash through stock sales and reduced the principal balance on its debt by $42 million through debt repurchases. The company is looking to raise more cash to fund future improvements including updating its projector systems and adding on-site bars and dining venues — though current expected annual capital spending around $200 million remains at less than half the level of pre-pandemic years.

North American theater industry revenue totaled $7.5 billion in 2022, up 64% from 2021 but still well below the $11.4 billion tally for 2019 and the record $11.9 billion total for 2018, according to media data firm Comscore. Equity research firm Gower Street has projected that North American box office revenue will reach about $8.6 billion in 2023, with many analysts not expecting a return to pre-pandemic levels until 2024 or 2025 at the earliest.

AMC Chief Financial Officer Sean Goodman said the company repaid about $27 million in deferred rents during the second quarter, bringing its year-to-date total to $61 million in payments. Its deferred rent balance is now around $96 million, and AMC plans to pay back another $40 million by year’s end.

The company has also closely adjusted its theater count by closing underperforming locations, while acquiring new ones when prices were favorable. Goodman said AMC since the start of the pandemic has closed 152 locations while opening 57.

Many of those that opened were acquired from other struggling regional and national chains that vacated their leases. CEO Aron said three of the locations acquired from other chains in the past year — two in Los Angeles and one in Redding, Pennsylvania — are now among the company’s most profitable venues. The company continues to size up venues on a location-by-location basis, and may open and close more theaters in coming months.

“We’ve got theaters where we’ve got great deals with landlords, and theaters with terrible deals with landlords,” Aron said. “Where theaters are not successful, we have entered into talks with landlords to lower rents.”

Aron said the company is also in talks with developers to join retail and mixed-use developments now in the works nationwide. He said AMC has “spectacular relations” with major mall operators including Simon Property Group and Westfield, along with at least 10 real estate investment trusts that are AMC’s landlord in several locations.

“When they build new malls, they often want us to come along for the ride,” Aron told analysts.