8th Aug 2019 09:23
(Alliance News) - Cineworld Group PLC on Thursday said it expects trading for the full year to be in line with expectations despite a "softer" first half revenue performance due to timings of major film releases.
Group revenue rose 15% to USD2.15 billion from USD1.86 billion in the six months to June 30, but fell 11% on a pro-forma basis to USD2.15 billion from USD2.42 billion. The pro-forma figure reflects what the company's performance would have been if the Regal Entertainment Group reverse acquisition was consolidated for the whole of the first half of 2018.
The FTSE-250 cinema chain recorded a 13% drop in first half pretax profit to USD139.7 million from USD160.2 million.
On a pro-forma basis, admissions fell by 14% to USD136.0 million from USD158.8 million. The non-pro-forma admissions figure for the first half of 2018 was USD123.0 million.
The comparative period, Cineworld said, was aided by a "strong film slate" which included the releases of Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War and Jurassic World, three of the top grossing films in the whole of 2018.
The company said it remains confident of meeting full-year expectations based upon strong 2019 admissions for The Lion King and Avengers: Endgame, the highest grossing film of all time, coupled with an encouraging second half release schedule.
Chief Executive Mooky Greidinger said: "The business is performing as expected and we are confident in meeting our expectations for the full year. We remain focused on implementing our strategy, with refurbishments and synergies on track.
Investing in technology and customer experience continues to be a key pillar of our strategy. In July, we launched our highly anticipated Unlimited membership program in the US, using our proven and successful experience with Unlimited in the UK to deliver value for cinema lovers everywhere."
Cineworld announced a special dividend of 20.27 cents per share and paid a first quarterly dividend of 2019 of 3.75 cents. Looking ahead, the company will release second and third quarter dividends of 3.75 cents each in October and January respectively. A final dividend payment for the year will be outlined in its final results.
Shares in Cineworld were down 3.9% at 236.80 pence each in London on Thursday morning.
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