AMC CEO asks for salary freeze in 2023 as shares slump

(Reuters) – AMC Entertainment Holdings Chief Executive Officer Adam Aron on Tuesday asked the theater chain operator’s board to freeze his compensation next year because of a sharp drop in the company’s shares.

“I do not want ‘more’ when our shareholders are hurting,” Aron, who earned $18.9 million in 2021, said in a series of tweets urging other top AMC executives to also forego their hikes.

Shares of the company have declined more than 75% this year as the rise of streaming and fewer blockbuster releases hit footfall at its more than 900 theaters, driving up cash burn and losses.

AMC has tried to ride out the pressure by raising cash and taking advantage of the retail interest it got during last year’s meme stock rally. Earlier this month, the company said it would raise $110 million in new equity capital through the sale of its preferred stock and proposed a reverse stock split.

The cinema chain also said last week it was no longer in talks to acquire some theaters owned by now bankrupt Cineworld Group, following initial discussions with some lenders.

(Reporting by Tiyashi Datta in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)