Murray Holdaway may have stepped down from running the cinema software company he founded but he is still reaping the benefit as it continues to report its fifth consecutive year of more than 20% revenue growth.
Vista Group is a global company that provides cinema management systems to eight of the world’s 10 largest cinema exhibitors – some 6350 cinemas in 93 countries in total.
It has also grown to become a dominant provider of film distribution and customer analytics software while its subsidiary companies provide products and services to multiple film industry segments.
Revenue has grown to over $130 million on profit of $24.7 million while staff numbers are near 650.
Since Vista went public in August 2014 it has delivered a compound annual growth rate of 29% and has seen the share price increase fourfold.
Holdaway founded the company in 1996 but has reduced his Vista shareholding from 25% to 3.68%, which is worth $33 million.
Vista launched the Vista Foundation in 2015 with well-known producer and director Roger Donaldson as its patron. It recently announced its sponsorship for the 48 Hours Film Festival, which provides a platform for up and coming local filmmakers
Holdaway’s charitable trust, Awhero Nui, handles his family’s philanthropic efforts, which include the I Have a Dream trust, supporting children to educational success, south Auckland education trust Affirming Works, and the Auckland City Mission.
2018: $70 million