Loews Cineplex Chain Expects Default

Loews Cineplex Entertainment Corp., the No. 2 U.S. movie theater operator, said it expects to default under a bank loan by the end of the month, and warned it will lose money in the quarter ending Aug. 31. The New York-based company, whose theaters are primarily in major U.S., Canadian and European cities, also said it expects revenue and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) for the quarter ending Aug. 31 to be “considerably lower” than they were a year ago. Loews, which operates 2,967 screens in 385 theaters under the Loews, Sony, Cineplex Odeon and Europlex names and is the largest publicly traded theater chain, said it will have to renegotiate credit terms or obtain a waiver. It also said it was looking at selling and leasing back theaters, and obtaining equity infusions. Loews shares were unchanged at $2.94 on the NYSE.