Imax offers a mix of value and growth, says Canaccord’s Inglis

Canaccord Genuity portfolio manager Kim Inglis says Imax still has plenty of runway, with just 700 of a potential 1700 targeted locations secured. Investors seeking a combination of value and growth in the tech sector should take a look at Imax (TSX:IMX), says one portfolio manager.

Cannacord Genuity’s Kim Inglis was on BNN’s “The Street” this morning to talk about a tech sector she sees as divided. She says some of the money flowing from “frothier” U.S. tech names is rightly landing in value plays. Inglis says she favours old-guard tech names such as Microsoft, Intel and Cisco over tonier social media plays, noting that worldwide IT spending is set to top $4-trillion this year.

One Canadian name the fund manager thinks offers a unique combination of growth and value is Imax. Noting that the company has grown its EBITDA from $10-million in 2008 to $113-million today, Inglis says Imax still has lot of runway as the company has installed its technology in just over 700 over the 1700 locations it is targeting, with a current backlog of 400.

Inglis, who recently initiated a position in Imax, says upcoming catalysts include blockbuster releases of The Avengers, Star Wars and the next film in The Hunger Games franchise.

Mississauga-based Imax originated at Expo ’67 in Montreal, when two of its co-founder’s films, which used multi-screen, multi-projector systems, did not work well. The pair decided to try and improve the technology, founding a company called Multiscreen, based on the technology of Australian inventor Ronald Jones. The technology eventually morphed into a large, single screen format and the company changed its name to IMAX. Today, there are more than 700 Imax theatres in more than 55 countries.

At press time, shares of Imax on the TSX were down .1% to $30.42.

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